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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.
Chinese influencer Marcelo Wang with Rihanna at a Fenty Beauty event. Photo: @marcelowang0527/Instagram
Icons and Influencers

Meet Marcelo Wang, the influencer teaching Rihanna phrases in Mandarin

The content creator boasts over 1 million followers on Instagram, just attended Milan Fashion Week – and speaks Portuguese, too.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Herman Yau transitioned from gory cult films to action blockbusters

Year of the Horse 2026

SCMP cartoonist Harry Harrison’s Year of the Horse collection to be auctioned

Two Sessions 2026

How will Hong Kong follow mainland China’s ethnic unity promotion law?

Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress set to be passed at the closing session of 14th National People’s Congress.

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The law aims to forge a strong “sense of community for the Chinese nation” and advance “common prosperity” among the country’s 56 ethnic groups. Photo: Jelly Tse
Cantonese

This Cantonese language course is 85% Mandarin speakers. Here’s why

Originally targeting heritage speakers, the University of British Columbia’s language programme is proving more popular among another group.

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Horoscopes

Horoscopes: what’s your luck like in March 2026, Metal Rabbit month?

While it’s an auspicious phase for most signs, especially the Goat, those with the Rabbit and Rat signs need to be cautious and careful.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

This Hong Kong martial arts movie pioneered the superhero team in Chinese cinema

The Five Venoms launched the iconic run of the Venom Mob, a group of actors brought together by Chang Cheh that appeared in various films.

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Lo Mang (left) in a still from Five Deadly Venoms, Chang Cheh’s 1978 film.
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Modern Singapore knows that vigilance is key. So did an ancient Chinese minister

Wei Jiang of the state of Jin epitomises the Chinese idiom ‘in times of peace, think of danger’ – something Singapore follows closely today.

Chinese zodiac predictions

A Gen Z take on the Chinese almanac? Grandma’s tear-off calendar goes digital

Feng Shui Calendar Widget developer Jingyi Ma reveals why her digital version of the Chinese almanac is about more than finding auspicious dates.

China society

Opinion | Quietly, steadily, animal rights campaigners are making headway in China

With national laws the ultimate goal, progress is being made, one local regulation and court case at a time.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Art

8 of the world’s most exciting art exhibitions to visit this March

Catch intriguing sculpture, paintings, photography and more at New York’s Guggenheim and MoMA, London’s National Portrait Gallery, and Hong Kong’s Palace Museum and M+.

Newspaper by Dirk Van Saene, one of the famous Antwerp Six who made a big splash in fashion and design 40 years ago, and whose collected works are now on show. Photo: Handout
TikTok

Language Matters | Gen Z loves ‘Chinamaxxing’, but where does ‘maxxing’ come from?

Chinamaxxing, lookmaxxing, moneymaxxing and gymmaxxing might be new terms, but the practice of ‘maxxing’ has been around for a while.

Year of the Horse 2026

What is the Lantern Festival? Plus 6 ways to celebrate it in Hong Kong in 2026

Marking the last day of Chinese New Year celebrations, the Lantern Festival has roots that stretch back more than 2,000 years.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Love ‘A Better Tomorrow’? The Hong Kong director and film that inspired it

Patrick Lung Kong was known for films that imparted moral lessons. We look at ‘The Story of a Discharged Prisoner’ and ‘Teddy Girls’.

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The Hong Kong Film Archive of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will commence another mini-showcase of “100 Must-See Hong Kong Movies” at North District Town Hall in November. Picture shows a film still of “A Better Tomorrow” (1986).
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Hong Kong group brings ancient Silk Road murals’ musical depictions to life

The Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble’s musical compositions are inspired by ancient artworks from China’s Mogao Caves.

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Musicians from the Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble perform in front of the Nine-Storey Pagoda at the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang, in northwest China’s Gansu province. Photo: Simon Song
History

How AI is helping bring Hong Kong history to life on Instagram and beyond

Cultural preservationists use generative AI to breathe life into photos from the past, but does this practice promote or distort history?

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | After Andrew’s arrest, how high-born criminals were treated in ancient China

The long-spoken Chinese maxim that nobles were punished like commoners when breaking the law is not upheld by history.

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Food and Drinks

Why Hangzhou’s 2-Michelin-star Ru Yuan is ‘a restaurant unlike any other’

Ru Yuan’s chef Fu Yueliang shares why everything from local dishes to design at his restaurant is about transcending Song-dynasty tradition.

Ru Yuan’s signature braised pork belly and seasonal vegetables with soy sauce. At the restaurant in Hangzhou, China, chef Ru Yuan takes classic Zhejiang dishes and elevates them for modern diners. Photo: Ru Yuan
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Scare Out: Zhang Yimou tackles national security in subpar Chinese spy thriller

A story of a mole inside a state security team in China, Scare Out is slickly executed but narratively muddled, and far from Zhang’s best.

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Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Trump is abducted by aliens and has Chinese ‘twin’ in chaotic Cantonese opera

Showing in Hong Kong, Trump on Show 4.0 combines political satire and surreal Sino-US commentary but feels like a ‘paper tiger’ with no bite.

Lunar New Year

Sharing the luck: inside Southeast Asia’s embrace of Lunar New Year

Malay and Indian households are increasingly embracing the festivities, tossing ‘yusheng’ and giving hongbao to show ‘unity in diversity’.

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The Lourdes family take part in the traditional “yusheng” toss on Lunar New Year’s Eve. Photo: Alyssa Ann Lourdes
Style Edit

Style Edit: L’ÉCOLE Asia Pacific’s new engagement ring course

Today, the engagement ring takes pride of place in Hong Kong alongside Chinese ceremonial gifts – L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts’ new course will offer a closer look.

L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts is offering a course on engagement rings in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How these 2 films became classics of Hong Kong’s Chinese folk opera cinema

Love Eterne and Dream of the Red Chamber are two very different ‘huangmei diao’ films from legendary Hong Kong director Li Han-hsiang.

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Social media

Ancient Chinese astrology gets a Gen Z rebrand in Southeast Asia

Forget rituals and superstitions, today’s young professionals are using ‘bazi’ 10-year luck forecasts to plan their next career pivot.

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Asia travel

The Chinese city where waffles, watchtowers and world history meet

Guangdong’s ‘hometown of overseas Chinese’ is where architecture and cuisine created by returning émigrés reveal how culture flows both ways.

The Tower of Heavenly Success with the Tan River in the background, in Majianglong, Taishan. Photo: Graeme Kennedy
Chinese zodiac predictions

Feng shui tips for all 12 Chinese zodiac signs for the Year of the Horse 2026

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan shares where each Chinese zodiac sign can place items for good luck in the Year of the Fire Horse.

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Customers choose colored glaze snake handicrafts for the coming Chinese New Year, the Year of Snake, in Xiye Colored Glaze Studio in Boshan district, Zibo city, Shandong province, China, on Jan. 9, 2025. With a long history of colored glaze, Boshan is regarded as China’s Hometown of Colored Glaze and has 12 colored glaze enterprises and 65 art studios. (Xinhua) 新华社照片，淄博（山东），2025年1月9日 1月9日，消费者在淄博市博山区西冶工坊展销厅内挑选蛇年主题琉璃工艺品。 春节临近，山东省淄博市博山区的琉璃生产企业推出众多蛇年主题创意琉璃制品，受到市场青睐。博山区被誉为“中国琉璃之乡“，琉璃生产历史悠久，当地已发展琉璃生产企业12家、工作室65个。 新华社记者 朱峥 摄
Food and Drinks

Chinese food, but make it fine dining? Chefs push back against stereotypes

Forget fast food in boxes: chefs at upscale restaurants in the US are elevating Chinese cuisine to fine dining status, tasting menus and all.

Chinese zodiac predictions

Feng shui advice for Snakes for luck in money, health and romance

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan shares where Snakes can put lucky coloured items at home and work for luck in the Year of the Fire Horse.

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