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Chinese culture

Chinese culture
Latest news and updates on Chinese culture including the country’s traditions, food, values, history and festivals.
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
US-China relations

Chinese art takes long march home from US museums

Works amassed by America’s Gilded Age tycoons are returning to Chinese hands as wealthy collectors reshape a centuries-old art trade.

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Food and Drinks

Meet the doctor baking some of the UK’s best Cantonese-inspired bread

Fashion

Appropriation or appreciation? Artisans on the great Chinese fashion debate

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | The surprising history of beer in China, from li to Tsingtao

From ancient China’s fermented grain drink li to the founding of Tsingtao Brewery, China has a long history of brewing.

Bottles of beer dating from 1903 to 1916 on show at the Tsingtao Brewery Museum in Qingdao, in China’s Shandong Province. Photo: Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Fashion

Chinese designers Susan Fang, Yuhan Wang and more at London Fashion Week 2026

London Fashion Week featured the most Chinese designers in years. Here are looks from the likes of Yuhan Wang and less-established talents.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why the Hong Kong New Wave was a pragmatic win over commercial genres

Directors like Ann Hui, Tsui Hark and Patrick Tam were united by a desire to experiment and an ambition to modernise the local film industry.

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Science

Online claims revive mercury mystery around tomb of first Chinese emperor

A Weibo hashtag about ancient cinnabar sites has reignited debate over the ‘rivers and seas’ in Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum.

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The Archaeological Site Park of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, in Xian, Shaanxi province, encompasses Qin Shi Huang’s still-unopened tomb, along with burial pits containing the terracotta warriors. Photo: Xinhua
China travel

China’s ‘mountain of immortals’: why millions flock to the peaks of Wudang

The sacred mountain range dotted with ancient Taoist temples attracts pilgrims and visitors praying for everything from peace to good weather.

New Zealand

Slow is beautiful: China’s war against AI drama goes beyond algorithms

Rapid expansion in production has intensified concerns over copyright and the mounting pressure on human creators.

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Food and Drinks

What truly defines the melting pot that is Cantonese cuisine?

The region’s diverse food culture spans Cantonese, Chiu Chow and Hakka cuisines, each with unique traditions yet interconnected flavours.

Sea cucumber, tofu fish mousse and Mapo minced pork represent different cultural traditions all brought together in a single dish at Hong Kong Cuisine 1983. Photos: Handout
China consumption

As Chinese retirees boost consumption, some hope for greater respect in society

Age bias is an obstacle to the growth of China’s silver economy, researchers say.

Two elderly Beijing residents stretch at an exercise park. Photo: AFP/File photo
Mainland China

Remote section of China’s Great Wall damaged by 20 years of mine waste dumping

Whistle-blowers were repeatedly ignored as mining interests removed Ming dynasty stones to create a short cut to slag dump, CCTV reports.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | When centuries of Chinese knowledge were destroyed by warlord who burned a city

Xiang Yu’s razing of the Qin capital Xianyang, which left libraries full of vital texts in ruin, was echoed centuries later in Warsaw.

Food and Drinks

Chinese Restaurant Awards 2026: Mott 32 takes Canadian top spot

Mott 32 locations in Toronto and Vancouver were crowned the best Chinese restaurants in Canada in the 17th edition of the awards.

Representatives of Mott 32 in Vancouver and Toronto. The restaurants were named joint No 1 on the 2026 Elite 30 Canada list at the 2026 Chinese Restaurant Awards. Photo: Mayowill Photography
China consumption

Mooncakes for the dog? How China is reinventing its iconic festive snack

China’s consumers appear to be going off the dense Mid-Autumn Festival treat, but tiny mooncakes for pets are a different story.

Dog mooncakes have become a popular new trend ahead of this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival in China. Photo: Handout
Chinese history

Who was Wang Zhenyi? Chinese female scientist who defied gender expectations

Wang shot for the stars with her work in astronomy and mathematics at a time when learned women did little more than write poetry.

Fashion

How Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan is a symbol of China’s fashion soft power

Peng once again shows off exclusively Chinese designs as she accompanies President Xi Jinping on Washington visit.

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Music

Pipe dream: traditional wind instruments blow up a storm in Hong Kong

Wind instruments from China, Japan, Laos and beyond joined the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra to close the International Sheng and Reeds Festival 2026.

Russian musician Olene Uutai playing the Jaw Harp during “Thousand Reeds, One Universe” Yang Zhengping playing the Lusheng during “Love Song from the Countryside”, in an arrangement by Ngai Kwun-wa for the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra Reimi Miura playing the shō, a traditional Japanese free-reed mouth organ
Hong Kong society

From moongazing to bus tours: how to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong

Here’s a round-up of things to do and see for the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Friday this year.

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Food and Drinks

History of mooncake moulds and their designs, and those preserving the craft

Mooncake artistry flourished during the Ming and Qing dynasties, carved onto wooden moulds depicting flowers, birds and even deities.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Few still make Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns the classic way. This artisan does

Hong Kong lantern artisan Wan Wong explains why she keeps the traditional craft alive, barriers she faced as a woman and the key techniques.

Rabbit lanterns made by Hong Kong fashion designer and lantern artist Wan Wong, who continues to keep the traditional ways of making Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns alive. Photo: Wan Wong
Food and Drinks

Hong Kong-style milk tea that has customers queuing out the door – in Tokyo

Despite none being from Hong Kong, the three founders of Urushi to Hibi have created a unique – and popular – cultural fusion experience.

Strong brewed tea is poured at Urushi to Hibi, a cafe in Tokyo serving authentic Hong Kong-style milk tea. Photo: Urushi to Hibi
Style Edit

Style Edit: Chow Tai Fook’s Song collection draws on the Chinese drum

Double-drum forms, gourd motifs and diamond-set details express blessings, family ties and traditions passed down through the generations.

Wellness

All about Hong Kong’s herbal teas and how Gen Z is reviving the health tradition

These century-old ‘leung cha’ cooling teas for ailments such as excess internal heat are finding new fans among health-conscious Gen Z.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | A Polish priest’s perilous mission to save a doomed Chinese dynasty

In 1651, the embattled Ming court, which included several Christian converts, sent Michal Boym to seek the Pope’s aid. It never came.

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Michal Boym, also known as Bu Mige, was a 17th century Jesuit missionary dispatched to Europe to seek papal aid for the struggling Qing dynasty. Although his diplomatic endeavour failed, the knowledge he spread helped demystify China for European audiences. Photo: Wikipedia
Chinese history

Being Chinese | The unspoken reason my Chinese friends choose America

When friends say they can just ‘exist’ in the US, they mean they can stop performing to the Confucian expectations that define Chinese life.

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A noodle restaurant along a largely deserted pavement in Arcadia, California. Outside the Confucian system, there is no perpetual appraisal of your earning power, your waistline or your marital status. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
2026 Xi-Trump summits

US hands over 64 artefacts to China in diplomatic push before summit

Beijing praises repatriation of looted treasures as concrete proof of constructive US-China cooperation before high-level talks.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

From Cheng Pei-pei to Michelle Yeoh, Hong Kong’s history of action heroines

Hong Kong studios embraced female action stars long before Hollywood. Here’s how some of the biggest triumphed in wuxia and kung fu films.

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