Advertisement
Advertisement
Lifestyle /

Travel & Leisure

Related Topics:
Responsible travel
Asia travel
Food and Drinks
Travel news and advice
Explore Hong Kong
Tourists stroll through lavender fields at Tomita Farm, one of the most colourful spots in Furano. The city in central Hokkaido comes into its own during summer, when it offers visitors the chance to enjoy its natural beauty and delicious local produce in temperate weather conditions. Photo: Kyodo News via Getty Images
Asia travel

What to do in Furano, a little-known summer haven on Japan’s Hokkaido island

From beautiful lavender fields to amazing local produce, there’s plenty to see and eat in Furano during the summer holiday months.

SCMP Highlights

‘Dying’ Chinese takeaway; ex-smoker’s fitness journey: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Chinese culture

How China’s ‘Excalibur of the East’ souvenir swords sparked airport warning

Tourism

James McNeill Whistler’s Asian muse: Chinese ceramics and Japanese fans

Chinese pottery and textiles and Japanese crafts profoundly influenced James McNeill Whistler’s work, as seen in a retrospective at Tate Britain.

Chinese porcelain appears in Purple and Rose: The Lange Leizen of the Six Marks (1864). Photo: Getty Images
Chinese porcelain appears in Purple and Rose: The Lange Leizen of the Six Marks (1864). Photo: Getty Images
US travel

He got drunk and bought a motel. Stories behind Route 66 motel owners

We meet the owners of three motels who all found themselves running roadside establishments on America’s iconic Route 66.

Art

This digital ‘puppet’ critiques a screen-obsessed world at Venice Biennale

Li Yi-fan, a video artist from Taiwan, is making waves with his creepy and funny avatars that question the way we see the world around us.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Tourism

Great holiday escapes to help you unwind and reset your nervous system

These seven destinations will help you calm your mind and body through nature, science, scenery and a slower pace of life.

Norrona’s Canvas Telemark experience in Norway is for travellers who find their calm in wild places and do not mind a bit of roughing it to get there. Photo: Instagram/norronaadventure
Norrona’s Canvas Telemark experience in Norway is for travellers who find their calm in wild places and do not mind a bit of roughing it to get there. Photo: Instagram/norronaadventure
United States

Is the US unsafe and unwelcoming? Trump’s tourism chief addresses ‘myths’

Donald Trump’s former pick for ambassador to Malaysia takes the helm of an ambitious US travel recovery effort.

19
Tourism

Checklist tourism trends as travellers go for selfies over ‘real stories’

From Paris to Turkey, tourists blitzing through sites for social media snaps are causing crowding and concerns that they’re missing the point.

Art

How Asian artists at the 2026 Venice Biennale are making their voices heard

Using everything from baby dolls to tapestries, Asian artists’ perspectives are strongly reflected in a number of memorable exhibitions.

Japanese-American artist Ei Arakawa-Nash holds two of the 208 baby dolls that are part of their exhibition “Grass Babies, Moon Babies” at the 2026 Venice Biennale’s Japan Pavilion. Photo: Uli Holz
China travel

Saunas, sure. But sleep? A couple stays overnight at a 24-hour spa in Shenzhen

A writer and her husband visit Shenzhen’s Tenz spa to see what it offers besides massages and how easy it is to get a good night’s rest there.

The Himalayan salt room is just one of the relaxing features at Tangqi Tangquan Life Tenz spa in Shenzhen, where a Hong Kong couple spent the night to see what else is on offer besides massages and pools. Photo: Ginny Wong
The Himalayan salt room is just one of the relaxing features at Tangqi Tangquan Life Tenz spa in Shenzhen, where a Hong Kong couple spent the night to see what else is on offer besides massages and pools. Photo: Ginny Wong
Art

Once an Indonesian guerrilla fighter, she’s now a ‘quantum ghost’ in Venice

Len Karamoy, a leader of an Indonesian rebel movement, is the focus of Natasha Tontey’s video installation at the 2026 Venice Biennale.

Tourism

From Hong Kong to London, travellers have a plan B lined up for summer 2026

War in the Middle East and the rising cost of air travel and fuel have pushed many to plan shorter, more local and flexible holidays.

Art

Sex, desire and intimacy explored in Singapore art exhibition for over-18s

‘Passion is Volcanic’ at National Gallery Singapore focuses on the artistic expressions of sexual pleasures.

Dissolving into the Same Breath #3 (2024), by Taiwanese-Singaporean artist Lavender Chang, used long-exposure photography to capture two people engaging in intimacy. The piece is one of more than 70 works in National Gallery Singapore's “Passion is Volcanic" exhibition. Photo: National Gallery Singapore
Tourism

What is China’s luxury Silk Road Express train like? We ride its new route

A three-day return journey straddling Sichuan and Yunnan provinces highlights the best of what this world-class luxury tourist train offers.

4
A meal is served aboard the Silk Road Express, a luxury tourist train in China that recently started operating a new route straddling Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Photo: Courtesy of Train of Glamour
A meal is served aboard the Silk Road Express, a luxury tourist train in China that recently started operating a new route straddling Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Photo: Courtesy of Train of Glamour
European cinema

Inside The White Lotus season 4’s luxury 5-star hotel in Cannes, France

Guests including Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie have stayed at Hotel Martinez in Cannes, whose top suite goes for up to US$35,000 a night.

Art

When London’s museums started losing visitors, they decided to get creative

Faced with falling visitor numbers, the British capital’s museums – both old and new – have a plan to win back the crowds. But will it work?

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Asia travel

Best things to do in China’s Nanjing, from food and architecture to history

Planning a weekend in Nanjing? Here’s an itinerary to consider for visiting the bustling metropolis in eastern China.

Jiming Temple rises above surrounding buildings in Nanjing. The ancient city, which has served as China’s capital at various points in history, is a feast for the senses. Here’s how to spend a weekend there. Photo: Shutterstock
Jiming Temple rises above surrounding buildings in Nanjing. The ancient city, which has served as China’s capital at various points in history, is a feast for the senses. Here’s how to spend a weekend there. Photo: Shutterstock
China's population

‘It’s a new crowd’: how Shanghai’s expat population is recovering – and changing

Four years ago, Shanghai’s draconian lockdown sparked an exodus of foreigners. Now, there are signs the city’s expat community is slowly bouncing back.

videocam
Travel news and advice

4 of the best destinations for luxury multi-generational holidays

Booking a holiday for children, parents and grandparents all together can be daunting. Here are some ideas that offer something for everyone.

Asia travel

How Seoul’s strangest subway station made escalator weddings a thing

After plans for it to become a major transport hub fell through, Seoul’s grand Noksapyeong station pivoted. Here’s its fascinating story.

A couple rides an escalator during their wedding ceremony at Noksapyeong station in 2001. After opening in 2000 as a grandiose transport hub to serve a relocated Seoul City Hall that never happened, the station was forced to pivot in interesting ways. Photo: The Korea Times
Asia travel

The Irish-American pub helping put a quiet Seoul suburb on the cultural map

Seoul’s Nowon district has never been known for nightlife. Irish-American Brendan Kelly shares how his bar, Kelly’s Pub, is changing that.

Brendan Kelly stands behind the bar at Kelly’s Pub in Seoul’s Nonwon district. The Irish-American expat shares how his bar attracts locals and “foreigners from all over the world” as the face of the neighbourhood changes. Photo: Korea Times
Brendan Kelly stands behind the bar at Kelly’s Pub in Seoul’s Nonwon district. The Irish-American expat shares how his bar attracts locals and “foreigners from all over the world” as the face of the neighbourhood changes. Photo: Korea Times
Art

Why Lacma’s new US$724 million David Geffen Galleries space flows like oceans

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new building encourages accidental interactions with artwork that visitors often ignore.

Tourism

Frozen’s magic hits Disneyland Paris with its new World of Frozen

Innovative technology in the World of Frozen at Disneyland Paris brings the franchise’s characters to life, captivating guests, young and old.

Asia travel

Profile | Meet the Hong Kong chef serving tastes of city’s past using new techniques

Celestial Court chef Kan Wong talks about tapping into memories to recreate flavours of 1980s Hong Kong, and the ingredient he doesn’t miss.

Kan Wong, the executive Chinese chef of Celestial Court at the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, talks about cooking to recapture a time “before all the awards and social media and plating became important”. Photo: Celestial Court
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW