TOPIC

Year in Review

Look back on the best of SCMP coverage of the news-making events of the year. Read round-ups of top stories and review the events and milestones that made the news during the year from US-China relations, to Hong Kong politics, to the coronavirus pandemic and lifestyle topics such as health and wellness and K-pop.

last updated:

9 September, 2024

Apple

Gadget stories you read most in 2024, about the iPhone 16 Pro Max and more

We look back at our 5 most-read gadgets stories of 2024, from one about a world-first handheld device for ear surgery to an iPhone 16 review.

25 Dec 2024 - 4:15PM

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

The Hong Kong films released in 2024, ranked from worst to best

4 hours ago

North Korea

Revolution, elections and a baby hippo, this was the year in Asia

24 Dec 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

Korean drama reviews

The 15 best K-dramas of 2024 ranked, from Queen of Tears to Squid Game 2

From a vigilante thriller to a period political drama, and Korea’s most awaited sequel, here is our pick of the top 15 K-dramas of 2024.

21 Dec 2024 - 7:12AMvideocam

Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in a still from Squid Game season 2. Photo: No Ju-han/Netflix

Asian cinema

The 12 best Asian films of 2024, including The Last Dance

From a Thai tear-jerker to a Korean cross-dressing romcom and a hand-drawn Japanese anime, our pick of the best Asian films of the past year.

19 Dec 2024 - 7:15AMvideocam

Food and Drinks

Ranked: the 10 best restaurant openings in Hong Kong in 2023

From excellent Indian food that lets the chef’s personality shine through, to an upscale food court, our 10 favourite restaurant openings of 2023 in Hong Kong.

4 Jan 2024 - 4:20PM

Global Impact

After war and economic turmoil dominated in 2023, what does 2024 have in store?

In this issue of the Global Impact newsletter, we look back at the events that shaped 2023, and looks forward to what we can expect in mainland China, Hong Kong and the rest of the world in 2024.

2 Jan 2024 - 4:32PMvideocam

Fireworks explode over Victoria Harbour to celebrate the New Year in Hong Kong, China January 1, 2024. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong’s post-Covid public health wins and battles in 2023

The Post recaps some of the city’s major health-related milestones over the year, from the lifting of testing measures to sustained vaccination efforts.

4 Jan 2024 - 3:26PMvideocam

China's economic recovery

What were the top 10 most-read China economy stories of 2023?

A story looking at Chinese investors scrambling to sell overseas properties amid shaky economic conditions took centre stage at the top of a list of our economy stories in 2023.

1 Jan 2024 - 12:00AMvideocam

Singapore

This Year in Asia: Singapore criminals, Taylor Swift’s snubs, Robert Kuok at 100

Singapore’s massive money laundering case; Taylor Swift’s snub of everywhere else in Southeast Asia – and Malaysian business tycoon Robert Kuok’s 100th birthday: here are This Week in Asia’s highlights of the year.

4 Jan 2024 - 2:34PMvideocam

Taylor Swift performs during the US leg of her “The Eras Tour” in May. She is set to perform in Singapore on March 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9. Photo: AP

Books and literature

Best books of 2023 – with a twist – from Elon Musk biography to Yellow Face

From an Elon Musk biography and Prince Harry’s Spare to Yellow Face and Hong Kong poetry, Post Magazine’s round-up of 2023’s best books takes as its theme the Cambridge Dictionary word of the year, hallucinate.

4 Jan 2024 - 2:36PM

Elon Musk (the book) was written by a bona fide big-deal biographer: Walter Isaacson.

Indonesia

Problems in paradise and digital despair: Indonesia’s top social media stories in 2023

Indonesia’s online space was rocked by blasphemy arrests, exploitation concerns, and inspiring stories of fearless and talented young people.

4 Jan 2024 - 2:37PM

China's border reopening

China in 2023: Year in Review

31 Dec 2023 - 9:00AM

Hong Kong politics

Hong Kong politics in 2023: major trials, HK$1 million bounties and a district poll

2023 opened and closed with high-profile national security trials, as well as big firsts for city leader John Lee and district council revamp at other points.

4 Jan 2024 - 2:39PMvideocam

Outside a district council polling booth in North Point. Hong Kong’s political scene went through a series of shake-ups in 2023. Photo: Sam Tsang

HK and mainland border reopening

Murder, typhoons and an end to Covid: Hong Kong 2023

23 Jan 2024 - 3:39PM

07:40

Disease

Biohacking, CIA spy in China, Michelle Yeoh’s fashion: 2023’s top long reads

The life of Barney Cheng, fashion designer who’s dressed Michelle Yeoh among others, China’s release of a jailed CIA spy, a biohacker’s extreme regime – long reads in Post Magazine you loved in 2023.

29 Dec 2023 - 6:42PM

Singapore

‘Girl math’, MH370 jokes: Singapore’s biggest social media stories of 2023

Singapore may be small, but its capacity for online drama is surprisingly huge. Read on for the year’s biggest social media stories to set tongues wagging in the city state.

4 Jan 2024 - 2:40PM

Food and Drinks

On the Menu | The best of 2023 in food: my favourite dishes and drinks of the year

The Post’s food and wine editor Charmaine Mok reveals her favourite dishes and drinks of 2023, from sushi in Hong Kong to street food noodles in Thailand and a very special cocktail in Japan.

4 Jan 2024 - 2:41PM

Kuay teow kua gai, or wok-fired chicken noodles, from a stall in Bangkok, Thailand, run by Auntie Pien, who has been dubbed “the next Jay Fai”. The dish made Charmaine Mok’s list of the best food she ate in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia in 2023. Photo: Charmaine Mok

Smartphones

Top 5 smartphones of 2023, from iPhone 15 Pro Max to the best camera phone

We rank the five best smartphones released in 2023 – the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and Google’s Pixel 8 Pro, two important foldable phone entrants and the best camera phone bar none.

4 Jan 2024 - 2:42PM

Asia travel

Penang’s Airbnb ban, 7 wonders in 7 days: 2023’s most read travel stories

From Penang’s Airbnb ban to two Swiss towns with macabre art by Alien movie designer H R Giger to a dash to see seven wonders of the world in a week, the travel stories most read by Post readers in 2023.

28 Dec 2023 - 4:17PM

India

Asia’s weird year: Dalai Lama’s gaffe, a ‘puking’ bird and AirAsia’s topless CEO

What do the Dalai Lama, AirAsia’s CEO and an ex-Singaporean comedian have in common? They are on our list of Asia’s weirdest stories in 2023.

28 Dec 2023 - 5:40PMvideocam

The Dalai Lama’s slip of the tongue was one of the more oddball stories to catch our attention in 2023. Photo: Kyodo

Food and Drinks

Chinese durian, Korea’s whisky fad: 2023’s most-read food and drink stories

From trying China’s first home-grown durian to looking at Korea’s whisky crazy and the tributes paid to MasterChef Australia’s late host, the food and drinks stories most read by Post readers in 2023.

27 Dec 2023 - 4:15PM

The Post taste-tested Hainan durian in July 2023. Photo: Sun Yeung

Singapore

Singapore’s turbulent yet tantalising 2023: political scandals to pop sensations

For Singaporeans who had grown accustomed to the city state’s rather sedate way of doing politics, 2023 will go down as one of the most turbulent years in decades.

4 Jan 2024 - 2:48PMvideocam

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Ranking every Hong Kong film released in 2023, from worst to best

We rank the 37 Hong Kong films that were released locally in 2023, from greats like A Guilty Conscience – the city’s highest-grossing local film ever – and Lost Love to stinkers like Prison Flowers.

31 Dec 2023 - 9:49AM

Fashion

From Hermès Birkins to belly fat, 2023’s most-read fashion and beauty stories

From New Balance ‘dad shoes’ to Hermès Birkin handbags and Vogue models – both human and AI-generated – to showing your belly fat, the fashion and beauty stories most read by Post readers in 2023.

26 Dec 2023 - 11:15AM

In 2023 we told you why Hermès Birkin bags were deemed a good investment, why New Balance sneakers were trending and why more young women were showing their belly fat. See what else in fashion and beauty drew Post readers the most. Photo: Getty Images

From our archives

Hello Kitty murder, Jet Li’s manager shot: archive stories most read in 2023

Crime, crime and more crime: these were the stories from Post archives that most interested readers in 2023, from the grisly Hello Kitty murder case to the underworld assassination of Jet Li’s manager.

25 Dec 2023 - 4:15PM

The murder and dismemberment in Hong Kong of a woman kidnapped and tortured for weeks, and whose head was found stuffed in a Hello Kitty soft toy (above), was among the most read stories from the Post’s archives that we presented in 2023. Photo: SCMP

Wellness

Chris Hemsworth’s fasting, 10 diet secrets: 7 top wellness stories of 2023

We take a look back at the top health and wellness stories of 2023, from the 10 diet secrets of people living the longest and healthiest to how actor Chris Hemsworth fasted for a Disney+ series.

24 Dec 2023 - 4:15PM

Women and gender

Violence and prejudice in 2023: a year of hurdles for Asia’s women, LGBT folk

Violence in the region has meant increased risks of women and girls becoming victims of abuse and sexual attacks.

4 Jan 2024 - 2:32PMvideocam

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