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Chinese culture
Latest news and updates on Chinese culture including the country’s traditions, food, values, history and festivals.
Contemporary Chinese ink artist Liu Dan’s selling exhibition in Hong Kong includes work spanning four decades of his career, with asking prices in the millions of Hong Kong dollars. Photo: courtesy of PhillipsX
Art

Liu Dan’s Chinese ink art with Western influences on show in Hong Kong

Known for his paintings of rocks, 72-year-old who fuses Chinese and Western artistic practices presents 26 works at Phillips auction house.

Art

Discovering calligraphy: how a traditional art is experiencing a resurgence

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | ‎The Dumpling Queen: founding of a Hong Kong food brand

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Food and Drinks

Recap | Unveiling the best of Cantonese cuisine

Explore the global influence of Cantonese cooking, from the kung fu secrets of wok hei to Michelin-starred fine dining around the world, to the worldwide embracing of XO sauce and shrimp paste.

Cooks working in a dai pai dong in Hong Kong. From such street food stalls to fine-dining Cantonese restaurants, customers savour the effect of wok hei, the “breath of the wok”, in their food. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung
History

Recap | China’s religious history features many faiths and a cult that started a war

Traditional Asian beliefs and Abrahamic religions have existed in China for centuries, columnist Wee Kek Koon looks at their impact.

China's population

More Chinese leave the knot untied as marriage registrations drop

Marriages saw a year-on-year fall of 8 per cent in China for the first quarter of 2025 – a worrying sign as demographic decline continues.

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Science

A fiery conquest in 112BC may have led to decline of the Chinese swamp cypress

Han military campaign toppled the rebel Nanyue kingdom but also decimated vast stands of cypress, study finds.

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There are fewer than 1,000 Chinese swamp cypress trees left in the wild. Photo: Paul Leader
Chinese zodiac predictions

Is Year of the Snake’s fourth month lucky for you? Forecasts for all 12 signs

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan breaks down this lunar month’s prospects for health, love, finance and career for the 12 Chinese zodiac signs.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | What China’s shift from feudalism can teach about today’s political climate

China’s first emperor ended 800 years of feudalism, then the imperial system was replaced in 1912. Political shifts are a constant of history.

Diplomacy

Opinion | China showcases its neighbourhood diplomacy across Southeast Asia

President Xi Jinping’s recent trip to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia highlighted China’s commitment to fostering regional harmony.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Diplomacy

Opinion | In Africa, China must focus on both the infrastructural and the emotional

Unlike the West’s approach, China’s aid is mostly state-led. The lack of a strong grass-roots presence leaves it open to misconceptions.

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A boy holds a Djiboutian flag in front of a Chinese flag as he waits for Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guellehas to conduct the launching ceremony of a 1,000-unit housing project with Chinese financial support in Djibouti, on July 4, 2018. Photo: AFP
United States

The changing faces of New York’s 3 most prominent Chinatowns

From Manhattan’s Cantonese enclave to Flushing, where Mandarin rules, the food and language in city’s Chinatowns tell stories of immigration.

History

Truth behind a martial arts legend played by Jet Li and Jackie Chan

It has been 100 years since the death of kung fu master Wong Fei-hung who was little known during his lifetime.

Food and Drinks

Michelin chefs in Europe are embracing China’s culinary repertoire

Japan has long been a major source of culinary inspiration in the West, but the gaze is shifting to other Asian cuisines.

A flattened chicken head at Alchemist, in Copenhagen, Denmark, designed to be held by the beak and eaten in its entirety. Photo: courtesy Alchemist
Food and Drinks

MasterChef Italia’s first ethnically Chinese winner on food and identity

Former model Anna Zhang Yilan, who wowed judges by fusing Italian and Chinese cuisine, talks about her childhood and cooking with her mother.

MasterChef Italia season 14 winner Anna Zhang Yilan. Photo: courtesy of MasterChef Italia
US-China relations

Being Chinese | I’m a Cannes-going Chinese showbiz producer. It’s fun – except when it isn’t

I make deals with international studios and platforms. Often, I face a wall of Western presumption about the Chinese way of doing things.

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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | The ancient Chinese general whose calm during surgery is still told of today

Worshipped by many Chinese, Lord Guan so personified the virtues of courage and loyalty that he was deified after his death.

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Asia travel

History of the world’s oldest Chinatown, Binondo, now a foodie paradise

Established in 1594 in the Philippine capital Manila, Binondo has gone from financial hub to culinary hotspot boasting amazing restaurants.

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While Binondo today is known as a foodie’s paradise, it was once better known as a financial hub. Photo: Shutterstock
Asian diaspora

Discover the rich history and modern revival of Bangkok’s Chinatown

Thailand’s capital boasts what is one of the largest Chinatowns in the world. We examine its growth from the late 1700s to today.

Mental health

Letters | Social connection and purpose are also vital for mental health

Readers discuss a more holistic approach to fostering youth resilience, The Last Dance’s re-release on the silver screen, and enticing visitors to Hong Kong.

Singapore

Singapore’s flavour face-off: mainland Chinese cuisine vs local food culture

The rise of Chinese food brands in Singapore and their impact on local cuisine has sparked debates on cultural preservation and coexistence.

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Chinatown Food Street in Singapore. Many Chinese food and drink operators see Singapore as a useful testing ground. Photo: Shutterstock
Chinese overseas

Chinatowns around the world

Chinatowns are often portrayed as gritty underworlds riddled with prostitution, gambling and drug trafficking. Some of this is rooted in truth, but that unfair depiction is largely the result of rampant xenophobia and cultural ignorance, especially in the West.  

London Chinatown: Photo: Shutterstock
Education in Hong Kong

Hong Kong DSE: citizen and social development exam ‘easy’, some students say

Exam paper asks candidates to discuss Hong Kong’s strengths in promoting Chinese culture and the influence of China’s foreign aid.

Chinese language cinema

How Chinese in the US hired a cinema to see Ne Zha 2 on IMAX

Across the US, in big cities and small towns, Chinese communities arrange IMAX screenings of Chinese blockbuster; some watching in costume.

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Asian diaspora

The turbulent history of San Francisco’s Chinatown, North America’s oldest

From the Chinese Exclusion Act and 1906 earthquake to sex-trafficking rings and ‘paper son’ system, this Chinatown’s story is a bumpy one.

Large crowds fill Grant Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the US state of California for the annual Mid-Autumn Festival. Photo: Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images
Horoscopes

What’s your luck like for April 2025, the Metal Dragon month?

Rats, Tigers, Roosters and Monkeys are in for a great month, but Pigs and Dogs should watch themselves – but how is famous Dragon Vladimir Putin affecting this month’s vibes?

How does the Metal Dragon affect your luck in April 2025? Illustration: SCMP Graphics
Hong Kong society

Hongkongers perform ‘lost music’ of ancient China in the West for the first time

Recent tour by Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble is part of wider efforts by city to forge cultural ties overseas.

Women and gender

Being Chinese | I identify as a Chinese auntie, cheapskate and busybody. Anyone else?

I revel in low prices and awkward questions. I’m finding that being a Chinese auntie overseas also means being part of an Asian sisterhood.

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