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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.
Lisa He with her mother Sophie at their family restaurant, China Star. The Edinburgh takeaway is months away from closure, but He’s viral social media post has brought lots of attention, and hope. Photo: courtesy of Lisa He
Food and Drinks

This Edinburgh Chinese takeaway is ‘dying’. Meet the daughter out to save it

Opened in 1997, China Star has weeks to turn things around before it sinks. Can the founder’s Instagrammer daughter Lisa He serve up success?

Hong Kong society

Student recalls eye-opening trip with American peers that drew praise from Xi

US-China relations

Opinion | TV coverage of Trump’s visit showed Americans how ordinary Chinese live

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Food and Drinks

This legendary Chinese snake soup was all but lost. How 2 chefs are reviving it

Once the centrepiece of political and business gatherings, Taishi five-snake soup is making a return in a form more suited to the modern era.

A complex soup of wu yu dan, or cuttlefish “roe”, created by chefs Li Chi-wai and Dong Zhenxiang that harkens back to the legendary Taishi five-snake soup that Dong once tried. Photo: Rosewood Hong Kong
Food and Drinks

95-year-old dim sum chef launches menu of forgotten items in Hong Kong

Foo Shing looks back on an astonishing life as he opens up about items featured in Tim Ho Wan’s nostalgic dim sum series.

Hong Kong society

Editorial | Cheung Chau Bun Festival flies flag for Hong Kong’s cultural heritage

The festival’s success adds momentum to the citywide heritage promotion drive aiming to bolster the city’s cultural identity.

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Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Hong Kong Dance Company’s ode to Wu Guanzhong paints a confusing picture

‘In Between – Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey’ might celebrate the great Chinese painter but provides little inspiration to discover his works.

The “Spirit of Trees” scene from “In Between - Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey”, a Hong Kong Dance Company performance that premiered at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on May 22, 2026 (Photo: Henry@S2 Production; Mak Cheong Wai; Kenix Chan)
Hong Kong society

Bun king and queen scramble to victory once again at Cheung Chau festival

Kwok Ka‑ming wins the men’s crown for the 11th time while Janet Kung also successfully defends her title.

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Food and Drinks

A Vietnamese-American’s quest to make the perfect Peking duck

Radiologist Hong Pham’s dedication to making roast duck has seen him start his own catering business and even cook the bird at weddings.

China’s Communist Party

Video | How a rural French town became the cradle of Chinese communism

Late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping was among the many Chinese students who studied in Montargis in the early 20th century.

Late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping was among the many Chinese students who studied in Montargis in the early 20th century
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Chinese history

The dark story of Consort Wan, 17 years older than the emperor who loved her

Wan Zhen’er became a beloved consort of Emperor Chenghua against all conventions, but records indicate a pernicious side to her tale.

Tavia Yeung (left) as Consort Wan Zhen’er in a scene from The Emperor’s Harem (2011). Wan Zhen’er rose from child servant to Emperor Chenghua’s beloved consort. Photo: Lafeng Entertainment
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | The earliest Chinese irons date back over 2,000 years. Here’s how they evolved

Long before electric irons, the Chinese had already developed sophisticated methods of pressing and smoothing garments.

Hong Kong

Origin of Hong Kong’s ‘peace buns’, Cheung Chau Bun Festival’s iconic snack

‘Ping on bao’ are both happily eaten and the focus of the festival’s famous bun scrambling competition. One baker explains how he makes them.

Food and Drinks

The Hong Kong chefs serving up East-West fusion food without the stigma

We meet three Hong Kong restaurant pioneers who are elevating the maligned food trend by serving French and Nordic dishes with Asian accents.

Chinese liangpi noodles done in a Nordic style at Aera, in Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan neighbourhood. Chef Chevalier Yau’s restaurant is one of a handful in the city that are removing the stigma from fusion food, which has been dismissed by serious chefs in recent years. Photo: Instagram/aera.hk
Art

Soft Hours: artist Juno Shen’s Song dynasty teahouse for today’s New Yorkers

An ode to slow living that dovetails with ‘Chinamaxxing’ trends, the fully functional artwork/retreat serves teas that change according to the seasons in keeping with ancient Chinese beliefs.

Artist Juno Shen shows off her latest project, Soft Hours, a Chinese teahouse on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How Got7’s Jackson Wang went from Hong Kong fencing prodigy to global music icon

One of the world’s most prominent Chinese singers, Jackson Wang was a star fencer before his music career exploded with K-pop boy band Got7.

Food and Drinks

The story of Snow Garden, Hong Kong restaurant loved by the rich and famous

Frequented by people such as Run Run Shaw, Jet Li’s wife Nina Li Chi and Macau’s Stanley Ho, Snow Garden continues to delight Hongkongers.

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Food and Drinks

A food critic’s top Hong Kong restaurants for sushi, Cantonese and Chiu Chow

Entertainment journalist Eileen Cha, who grew up on Cantonese and Hunanese food, says she has a split personality palate.

Ho Ho Chak, which means “delicious” in the Teochew dialect, is a popular Chiu Chow restaurant in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district.
Books and literature

She rejected her Chinese heritage as a child. Now, she writes about it

Scottish-born Eliza Chan, who once dropped out of medical school, is a fantasy writer who marries Eastern myths with Western folklore.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

East meets West in melodic concert blending the suona with the organ

Organist Eric Chan will make his Hong Kong debut in a programme that marries the Western pipe organ with the suona, a Chinese woodwind.

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Style Edit

Style Edit: Hermès’ revamped Elements store is a cosmology-inspired escape

The maison’s revamped boutique in West Kowloon layers phoenix-inspired ceramics, stylish salons and curated art into a calm, fable-inspired setting.

A phoenix feather-inspired facade graces the outside of Hermès’ Elements store in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. Photo: Handout
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why Alex Law and Mabel Cheung’s nostalgic films are among their finest

Two of the most poignant movies by life partners Law and Cheung explore migration and memory, and star the likes of Sammo Hung and Simon Yam.

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Simon Yam (left) and Sandra Ng in a still from Echoes of the Rainbow (2010).
Chinese zodiac predictions

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

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan breaks down this lunar month’s prospects for all 12 Chinese zodiac signs in work, finances, romance and health.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How the Chinese did laundry before washing machines: ash ‘soap’, stone beatings

Before chemical detergents and modern equipment, Chinese people kept their clothes clean with little more than river water, wood and ash.

Icons and Influencers

Couture craft meets whimsical walls in Laura Cheung’s Lala Curio

Craft traditions inform bespoke wall coverings and collectable objects for the contemporary home at the brand’s Peninsula Hong Kong showroom.

Laura Cheung, founder of Lala Curio, at its flagship store at The Peninsula, Hong Kong. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
China’s film industry

How a tiny indie movie sparked a major tourist boom in southern China

Made on a shoestring budget, the hit drama Dear You has triggered a surge of interest in the history of southern China’s Teochew diaspora.

A poster for Dear You, an independent film set in Chaoshan, Guangdong province, which has become an unexpected box office hit in China. Photo: Handout
Mainland China

Being Chinese | How to deal with this ‘very Chinese time’ in Western lives

The question is not whether outsiders are getting China or Chinese culture right, but what we choose to do with their attention.

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2026 Xi-Trump summit

Video | Executive chef offers insight into Xi-Trump banquet

The state banquet menu blended Chinese cuisine and Western favourites, with a nod to the US president’s personal tastes.

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