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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.
Artist Hong Wai at her show “No Way To Be Good”. Photo: Elson Li
Art

Contemporary Chinese ink artist tips hat to singer Anita Mui in show

Artist Hong Wai’s exhibition ‘No Way To Be Good’ pays homage to the late Cantopop diva and to Hong Kong’s ‘golden age’ of entertainment.

China’s film industry

China’s Ne Zha 2 still flying high as highest-grossing animated movie of all time

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Women and gender

Being Chinese | How far Chinese women have come since my grandmother’s time

Horoscopes

What’s your luck looking like for March 2025, the Earth Rabbit month?

This is your month if you’re a Rabbit like Angelina Jolie or Johnny Depp, while Horses and Roosters should tread carefully.

The Chinese Zodiac. Is your luck in this month? Photo: SCMP Graphic
Food and Drinks

Japan, Mexico or a baker’s mind? Hong Kong pineapple bun origin theories

Pineapple buns are named for the pattern of their golden-brown crust. Do we owe them to Japanese occupation or Chinese expelled from Mexico?

Books and literature

How an American experienced a ‘gay awakening’ before the Beijing Olympics

In the new memoir Beijing Bound: A Foreigner Discovers China, Glen Loveland recalls learning the nuances of the local LGBTQ scene.

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Art

Unsold artworks, kapok flowers, post-human landscapes and more this March

With Arts Month upon us, here’s a round-up of shows in Hong Kong from local, regional and international talent.

Michele Fletcher in the studio. Photo: courtesy White Cube
Books and literature

Explainer | What Journey to the West reveals about early China-India exchanges

16th century novel tells the tale of Xuanzang, a monk who contributed to Chinese religion and medicine after his travels to Buddhist India.

History

Chinese stories of California gold rush told in Hong Kong exhibition

Sojourning in Gold Mountain at Hong Kong Museum of History shines a light on migrants’ journeys from China to San Francisco in the 1800s.

Alibaba

Buns over bytes: Laid-off tech workers pursue culinary dreams

In Hangzhou, four ex-Alibaba employees have launched a thriving eatery that aims to inspire career reinvention.

The Ummy Mummy bun restaurant in Hangzhou. Photo: Handout
Sex and relationships

How Chinese astrology and aura readings can find your ideal partner

A Hong Kong-based Chinese astrologer and an intuitive reader explain how they use birth chart and aura readings to help people find partners.

“Peace and balance” will guide those born in the Year of the Snake into deep and fulfilling love this lunar year. Photo: Tinder APAC
Hong Kong society

Hong Kong singer-songwriter Khalil Fong dies at 41 after long battle with illness

Fu Music says Fong ‘left the world peacefully’ on February 21 after five years of fighting illness with a ‘positive attitude’.

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DeepSeek

Ne Zha 2 and DeepSeek trailblazers inspire Chinese looking for brighter future

‘The AI leap was achieved under the chip export sanction of the US … It convinced me that diligent and smart Chinese people can make things happen’.

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Chinese zodiac predictions

How’s your luck in month 2 of Year of the Snake? 12 zodiac sign forecasts

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

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan (pictured) breaks down this lunar month’s prospects for those born under all 12 Chinese zodiac signs. Photo: Jelly Tse
China technology

Opinion | From Ne Zha to TikTok, it’s a Chinese story of triumph over adversity

The successes of Ne Zha, Wukong, TikTok and DeepSeek show the tides are shifting for Chinese tech and entertainment, long dismissed as derivative.

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A promotion for Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2, produced by Enlight Media, outside the production company’s headquarters in Beijing on February 11. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

Opinion | People-to-people relations are the real glue of China-US ties

Despite the complex global landscape, Chinese and Americans have a genuine desire to expand mutually beneficial cooperation.

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Chinese history

Beijing’s Palace Museum taps its storage for relics to restore

The museum of imperial relics founded in the Forbidden City in 1925 has retrieved stored artefacts to restore and eventually put on show.

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China’s blockbuster hit Ne Zha 2 gets push from businesses and Beijing

Chinese companies rally behind film by booking entire cinemas while state media outlets herald box office success as a sign of soft power.

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Audience members watch the 4D version of Ne Zha 2 in a cinema in Beijing’s Dongcheng district on February 17. Photo: Xinhua
Ethnic minorities in Hong Kong

Language Matters | Why minority languages matter for learning and culture

Most people grow up hearing two or more languages spoken around them, yet many abandon their mother tongues for languages used more widely.

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China’s Communist Party

Open Questions | Political theorist Daniel A. Bell reflects on how China melds Confucius and Marx

In a wide-ranging interview, Bell considers Confucian and other ancient Chinese traditions and their role in modern politics.

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China trade

In Malaysia, affordable Chinese brands are carving out a bigger piece of the pie

Competitively priced products from China, coupled with Malaysia’s millions of ethnic Chinese residents and a growing middle class, help Chinese brands gain a stronger foothold.

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Chinese brands such as Mixue have cultivated loyal followings in Malaysia. Photo: Shutterstock
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Opinion | Why Ne Zha 2 is part of a broader Chinese cultural renaissance

The film’s strong box office performance marks a shift in how Chinese culture is perceived by young people in China and around the world.

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An artist creates a Ne Zha-themed wall painting in Shijiazhuang City, north China’s Hebei province, on February 19. Photo: Xinhua
Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | I look Chinese but don’t speak the language. Is that so bad?

I may be missing out on a deeper appreciation of the culture, but I’ve learned to live with it – thank goodness for translation apps.

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Fashion

5 Western fashion labels that took inspiration from Chinese culture

Fashion designers eternally search for inspiration, and many have rifled through China’s cultural history for their collections.

Profile

Cantonese opera star Mitche Choi on keeping the Hong Kong tradition alive

Mitche Choi knows a thing or two about being in a man’s world – the Cantonese opera star spent a career playing the male roles and modernising the highly traditional art form for today’s audiences.

Mitche Choi wears a traditional Cantonese opera costume. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
China’s film industry

Opinion | At last, Chinese folklore adds new flavour to global pop culture

Drawing on ancient myths, China’s film and gaming industry is offering the world refreshing alternatives to the traditional Western canon.

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Buildings are lit up with characters from the movie Nezha 2, in Chengdu, in China’s southwest Sichuan province, on February 12. Photo: AFP
Food and Drinks

How this bartender is bringing traditional Chinese medicine to cocktails

The West has been supping its medicinal liqueurs for fun for centuries: now, Dennis Mak has teamed up with a Chinese medicine doctor to turn Hong Kong on to the delights of TCM tipples.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Nazi salute or no, Elon Musk reminds us of the importance of gestures

Some historical gestures should never be revived. The yi greeting, once common in ancient China, is thankfully not one of them.

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