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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: Mario Rivera
Chinese history

China challenges Western ‘tribute system’ theory in push for narrative control

Article by US billionaire investor Ray Dalio puts spotlight back on English term used to describe Chinese diplomatic and economic posture.

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China's economic recovery

How China’s Zhangjiajie aims to revive a US$296 million loss-making tourist site

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Architecture and design

How the Shenzhen Natural History Museum was designed to reflect its landscape

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Even Confucius was buff? How ancient China prized strength and fitness

The gentle philosopher was said to possess extraordinary strength, while Chinese military officers long had to pass tough physical tests.

Health and well-being were important in ancient China, while impressive muscles were, at most, a welcome side effect. Photo: Shutterstock
Cantonese

Want to learn Cantonese? These influencers are sparking a Canto revival

Influencers like Uncle Donnie, Andrew Bui and Mihi Matshingana are connecting a Cantonese-speaking diaspora and inspiring learning.

Chinese history

As I see it | The world that made Confucius – and the China he made

China’s most enduring philosophical tradition didn’t merely revere the past; it drew upon history to construct the future.

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Chinese overseas

The Chinese sex worker who built an empire in America’s Old West

Ah Toy rose from new immigrant to madam running a chain of successful brothels, fighting racism, sexism and the authorities on the way.

Olivia Cheng (right) plays pioneering Chinese madam Ah Toy in the US martial arts crime drama series Warrior. Ah Toy was the first recorded Chinese sex worker in San Francisco, who went on to own a chain of successful brothels. Photo: HBO Max
China consumption

In Focus | ‘Quiet luxury’: why premium Chinese consumers are embracing home-grown brands

A growing number of local brands are winning over premium consumers who prize craftsmanship, innovation and a high‑value sense of luxury.

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Mainland China

VIP, APP, PPT: Are English abbreviations harming China’s cultural confidence?

Commentators worry that loanwords are becoming too common, especially for new tech, leaving no space for Chinese to grow.

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Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Back to Love: the Teochew romance that led to smash hit Dear You

Exploring family dynamics and modernity in a heartfelt Teochew romance, Lan Hongchun’s Back to Love charms with its cultural themes.

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(From left) Lu Shan, Zheng Runqi and Zhong Shaoxian in a still from Back to Love.
Asian diaspora

Opinion | Why global migration data should recognise subgroups like the Teochew

Until our data systems see past broad labels like Asian or Chinese, and recognise subgroups, our picture of global migration is incomplete.

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David Tran, a Teochew-Vietnamese refugee who settled in California, created the world-famous Sriracha sauce, turning a regional flavour profile into a global household staple. Photo: Griffin Hammond
Asia travel

Why Singapore’s record-breaking giant fire dragon goes up in smoke every 3 years

Unlike other dragon dance traditions, one Singaporean temple’s fire dragon exists within a cycle of creation, sacrifice and renewal.

Food and Drinks

Why this Chengdu restaurant was city’s first to make the Asia’s 50 Best list

Chinese ingredients meet French flair at one-Michelin-star Co, a five-table restaurant in Sichuan’s capital run by Yang Jin and You Meiyi.

Food and Drinks

‘We were just 2 kids’: how Hong Kong Gen Z pair started Chinese wine business

Anson Sik and Edson Bichon’s Purple Rain Wine is bringing Chinese natural wines – many from obscure vineyards – to drinkers in Hong Kong.

Purple Rain Wine founders Anson Sik (left) and Edson Bichon make a toast. The Gen Z entrepreneurs founded their company to bring Chinese natural wines to drinkers in Hong Kong, and to tell the stories behind the bottles. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | As Jolie-Pitt kids change their surname, why ancient Chinese did the same

From an emperor who demanded no one share his surname to personal protection and punishment, the reasons for name changes in China were many.

Angelina Jolie with her and Brad Pitt’s daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt at the Tony Awards at New York’s Lincoln Centre on June 16, 2024. Several of Jolie and Pitt’s children recently announced their decision to drop Pitt from their surname, following their parents’ drawn-out divorce, which was finalised in 2024. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Food and Drinks

10 great early-bird mooncake deals for Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong

Lock in your order now to enjoy discounts from top hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants and other recommended outlets.

High Jewellery

De Beers Group unveils its Desert diamonds campaign in Shanghai

The Shanghai event drew top retailers like Chow Tai Fook and Chow Sang Sang, alongside global diplomats and influencers.

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Food and Drinks

Bitter, earthy, herbal: why wild Chinese honey has chefs buzzing with excitement

Wild natural honey from Yunnan province and beyond is becoming a favourite among food professionals looking for flavours besides sweet.

A selection of wild honeys from Honey On Road, a brand that sources the sticky substance from China’s Yunnan province. Its founder, Liu Kai, is on a mission to educate Chinese consumers about natural honey and the bees and landscapes that produce it. Photo: Liu Kai
Food and Drinks

This chef turns down-to-earth Cantonese recipes into luxury diasporic gastronomy

Eva Che draws on her Chinese heritage and luxury experience for her catering brand whose clients have included Saint Laurent and Adidas.

US-China relations

How America’s 250-year China dream became its greatest strategic challenge

Historians trace how US hopes of trade, reform and friendship gave way to rivalry with the power it once sought to transform.

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Food and Drinks

Celebrity chef Hugo Leung, aka To To, on the road to becoming a ‘Gourmet God’

Leung wasn’t always a ‘Gourmet God’ – as an apprentice, he was expected to clean woks, sharpen knives and even wash his master’s underwear.

Hugo Leung (left) at his Tai Wing Wah Restaurant in Yuen Long, Hong Kong, in 2007. He shares his journey from chef apprentice to celebrity. Photo: Dickson Lee
China society

Being Chinese | The self-sacrificing Chinese mother I never wanted to become

By always stepping in, I enabled my husband to step back. But the consequences of years of unequal parenting became impossible to ignore.

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Anxious parents wave as their children emerge from the National Higher Education Entrance Examination at a high school in Beijing in 1998. In Chinese society in the 1980s and 1990s, the self-sacrificing mother could be seen and heard everywhere. Photo: AP
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | When Chinese emperors and prime ministers fell out, the results could be deadly

Imperial China relied on officials to run government affairs under the emperor, but as history shows, this power dynamic was a fragile one.

Science

Letters | China’s Mazu system is a win for climate adaptation and cultural heritage

Readers discuss Chinese names for scientific projects, why ride-hailing cars pose a problem for Hong Kong, and the quality of teaching at universities.

Health & Fitness

Explainer: How to train at a Shaolin kung fu centre, like Victor Wembanyama

The San Antonio Spurs star and YouTube sensation IShowSpeed have both travelled to China to experience Shaolin martial arts – here is how you can do it too.

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama visited a Shaolin Temple in Zhengzhou, China, last June. Photo: @wemby/Instagram
Food and Drinks

‘Piece of history’: old cookbook exhibition traces Hong Kong’s culinary past

‘Treasured Recipes’ at PMQ Taste Library features food-themed books and magazines spanning decades to show how the city’s food scene evolved.

A copy of Lisa Yam’s World, a Hong Kong cooking magazine popular in the 1980s and 1990s, features in “Treasured Recipes”, an exhibition at PMQ Taste Library that traces Hong Kong’s rich culinary heritage through food-themed literature. Photo: PMQ Taste Library
Artificial intelligence

Can this AI-powered Chinese astrology platform shake up the industry?

Singapore-based astrologer Sean Chan trained Tian Qi on over 9,000 of his own consultations. But not all his peers are so keen on using AI.

Chinese history

How Chinese pirate queen Ching Shih ruled the South China Sea in the 1800s

Ching, aka Zheng Yi Sao, became China’s most successful pirate during the Qing period, building a fearful empire that terrorised the region.

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