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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.
Will the Year of the Horse 2026 be lucky for you? Fortune-teller Tong Pik-ha offers her comprehensive predictions for those born under all 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Chinese zodiac predictions

Year of the Horse 2026 predictions for all 12 zodiac signs. Is your luck in?

A fortune-teller gives Year of the Fire Horse predictions for careers, relationships and more, plus lucky numbers, colours and elements.

Food and Drinks

‘Umami, salty, stinky’: how 3 flavours define China’s Ningbo cuisine

Fashion

History of Chinese-style ‘frog buttons’, seen on viral Adidas jacket

Hong Kong culture

Editorial | Zhou Shen concerts a showcase of Hong Kong-mainland cultural ties

The Mandopop superstar’s concerts in Hong Kong attracted a large number of mainland visitors and his tribute to Cantonese culture won him new fans.

A poster is seen for Zhou Shen’s concert tour in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Photo: captured for online
Food and Drinks

5 premium sparkling teas in Hong Kong to try during Dry January

From The Peninsula’s Cuvée Sparkling Tea to Saicho’s limited-edition osmanthus offering, these low- or zero-alcohol tipples let you ditch the hangover but not the ceremony.

Art

Hong Kong’s women tattoo artists who draw on Chinese culture to ink differently

These artists channel elements of Chinese painting, calligraphy and Buddhism through their needles in a new form of ‘poetic expression’.

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Horoscopes

Horoscopes: what’s your luck like in January 2026, Earth Ox month?

It’s going to be smooth sailing for the Dragon, Horse and Dog, but those under the Ox sign need to be careful while on the road.

The Chinese zodiac is comprised of 12 animals. Illustration: SCMP Graphics
Year of the Horse 2026

3 Hong Kong events to celebrate the Year of the Horse 2026

From a horse show to a run in nature to a special character’s appearance at Hong Kong Disneyland, ring in the Lunar New Year at these events.

World of performing arts

‘I’d lie on the floor and cry’: Peking opera actress on the art’s challenges

Peking opera actress Zhang Wanting performs poses that can take months to perfect, and leave more than a few bruises.

China's ageing population

For Shanghai’s elderly, dancing ‘makes us feel we still have value’

Shanghai’s elderly are flocking to the city’s dance halls for exercise, socialising and entertainment, with some venues open as early as 6am.

Guests dance at the Shiguang Dance Hall in Shanghai. The city’s dance halls offer retirees vibrant social spaces to exercise and connect. Photo: AFP
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why Jet Li and Wong Jing’s The New Legend of Shaolin is underrated

The 1994 cult classic The New Legend of Shaolin blends comedy, action and child martial artists in a fresh take on the Shaolin myth.

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Jet Li in a still from The New Legend of Shaolin, which married lighthearted comedy and above-average action in an underrated gem of a film.
Fashion

When a Korean horsehair underskirt sparked a fashion frenzy in China

The maweiqun, an underskirt made from horsehair, was so popular in the Ming dynasty that the government banned it.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Chinese diners’ preference for warm water is not as ancient as you’d think

The ‘ancient Chinese wisdom’ about warm water being good for you is rooted in 20th-century health campaigns, not aeons of tradition.

US-China relations

US poet laureate Arthur Sze on slowing down to translate poetry across cultures

As the first Asian-American poet laureate, Sze reflects on Chinese cultural inheritance and poetry’s role beyond borders.

Arthur Sze has woven the translation of classical Chinese poetry into his work across a five-decade career. Photo: by Shawn Miller
Food and Drinks

This former restaurateur releases debut book on Singaporean food culture

Little Perfections, by a Singaporean, US-based writer and cook, examines what Singaporean food is truly worth with essays and recipes.

Lim Tse Wei opened several restaurants in the US, but closed them all in 2017. His culinary journey began with a book, not family tradition, and his debut book explores Singaporean food culture. Photo: Lim Tse Wei
China consumption

China’s box office up 22% in 2025 to US$7.4 billion, led by smash hit Ne Zha 2

World’s second-largest movie market sees domestic films capture nearly 80 per cent of sales, while Disney’s Zootopia sequel sets new high for imported titles.

Science

Could 2,000-year-old machine from tomb in China be earliest binary computer?

Silk-weaving loom dating to Western Han is world’s oldest known ‘computer hardware’ with corresponding ‘software’, China science body says.

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China economy

Opinion | As history makes clear, a powerful China is not expansionist

China was an unmatched power in the Song and Ming dynasties, with greater concentrated authority. But it consolidated, rather than colonised.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Asian diaspora

The Chinese cowboys challenging narratives of the American Old West

Whether through art or immersion in the rancher lifestyle, these Asian men are redefining what it means to be a cowboy in the American West.

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US-China relations

‘No fixed identity’: new Chinese-American writers are telling their own stories

They’re not shaped by history like the previous generation, and observer says US-China tensions can give them ‘more space’ to explore issues.

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Chinese zodiac predictions

7 successful people born in the Year of the Horse, from Ang Lee to Lu Han

Horses are considered to be energetic, capable and driven to succeed. Here are 7 famous, successful Horses who epitomise those characteristics.

Jackie Chan, famous for his stunts and martial arts films, was born in 1954, the Year of the Horse. Photo: Golden Harvest
Horoscopes

What’s your luck like in 2026, the Fire Horse year? Horoscopes for every Chinese zodiac sign

What are your lucky numbers and months in 2026? Here’s how you fare in terms of wealth, career and relationship prospects.

What’s your luck like in 2026, the Fire Horse year? Illustration: SCMP Graphics
Food and Drinks

Chinese chef of 2-Michelin-star restaurant is redefining plant-based cuisine

Chef Dai Jun talks about his philosophy at Beijing’s Lamdre, a restaurant that sits at the vanguard of the Chinese vegetarian food scene.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Stephen Chow and Donnie Yen reinvented Bruce Lee’s classic Chen Zhen

Fist of Fury 1991 with Stephen Chow and TV series Fist of Fury with Donnie Yen saw two different versions of Bruce Lee’s famous character.

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Jewellery

Luxury jewellery designers are embracing spirituality and mindfulness

Local brands fuse traditional Chinese motifs with a modern aesthetic, while Boucheron takes inspiration from Japanese art and philosophy.

Jeweller Choo Yilin’s pieces are about identity. Photo: Handout
Malaysia

How the Peranakan Chinese built one of Southeast Asia’s most powerful networks

Born of trade and migration, the Peranakan community has forged a distinct identity that has bridged China and Southeast Asia for centuries.

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The Khoo elders observe the Tung Chen prayer ceremony in the ancestral hall of the Long San Tong Khoo Kongsi on December 20. Photo: Ushar Daniele
Food and Drinks

7 of the most popular food stories of 2025, including top Malaysian breakfasts

From Penang’s Malaysian breakfasts to Hong Kong’s Uncle K, here are some of the food stories that went down a treat with readers this year.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Chinese historical myths that are accepted as fact, and why they’ve endured

Like Singapore’s ‘ejection’ from Malaysia, Chinese history contains fallacies, including ones about Sun Yat-sen and Empress Dowager Cixi.

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