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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.
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China’s soft power

From Labubu to blockbuster films, was 2025 the year of China’s soft power?

Chinese lifestyle brands and other cultural exports proved to be a hit around the world this year, here are some of our most notable stories.

Macquarie

Language Matters | Word of the Year 2025 choices reflect how virtual our reality has become

Year of the Horse 2026

‘I have witnessed magic’: how horses help Hong Kong people with disabilities

Hong Kong

Explainer | What is the winter solstice? History, food and how Hong Kong celebrates

Known as dung zi in Cantonese and dongzhi in Mandarin, the winter solstice is one of the most important celebrations for Chinese families.

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A luxury poon choi from Hong Kong restaurant Duddell’s. Poon choi is a popular meal for family gatherings during the winter solstice in China. Photo: Nicholas Wong / Sixteen Photography
Blockchain

Video | How a Shanghai start-up is digitalising Chinese tea

Safety, verification and trust behind start-up company Teakan Technology’s goal to make traditional Chinese tea digitally traceable.

Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Good Autumn, Mommy: Shu Qi anchors gritty Chinese rural drama

Shu Qi stars as an impoverished woman who believes her newborn was taken from her in Good Autumn, Mommy, set in rural Guangzhou in 1995.

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Food and Drinks

Best places to eat in Hangzhou, China’s rising fine-dining hotspot

Hangzhou has become a gourmand mecca in recent years, with its Michelin Guide full of top restaurants serving a range of Chinese cuisines.

Wenzhou marinated raw swimmer crab at Golden Silk. The restaurant is one of a number of recent additions to Hangzhou’s fine-dining scene, which has taken off since the Michelin Guide arrived in the city in 2023. Photo: Golden Silk
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

3 female action stars who ruled Hong Kong cinema alongside Michelle Yeoh

Like Michelle Yeoh, female fighters Cynthia Rothrock, Kara Hui and Shih Szu starred in their own must-see Hong Kong action classics.

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TikTok

Are China’s social media apps the soft power play to win over the West?

After the US migration to RedNote, experts say transforming engagement into influence will require a ‘light touch’ from Beijing.

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Year of the Horse 2026

5 of the best-known horses in Chinese legend, from the Red Hare to qilin

Horses play a fascinating role in Chinese folklore, ranging from the downright disturbing – one kidnaps a girl – to the gently auspicious.

Warlord Lu Bu and his famous horse Red Hare are depicted in the 2013 video game Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends.
Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | The 30-word identity pitch of an overseas Chinese

To some, “Are you Chinese?” is a question about nationality. To others, it’s about ethnicity. To cover all bases, I’ve crafted a 30-word answer.

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A visitor views relics from China’s Bronze Age at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco in 2024. Photo: Xinhua
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Ancient China’s Labubu-like doll craze also saw fans splurge silly money

Mohele dolls featured expensive ‘special editions’, saw designer collaborations and even inspired cosplay, much like Labubus today.

Art

Famous horse-related works of art as the Year of the Horse 2026 approaches

To celebrate the nearing Year of the Fire Horse, we look at paintings, books and plays that show how the use of horses in art has evolved.

Asian diaspora

How Boston Chinatown overcame constant threats to win its place in history

New England’s last surviving Chinatown, Boston Chinatown has long suffered hostile urban renewal but now its community is stronger than ever.

A paifang gate marks an entrance to Boston Chinatown. Although at one time or another, Chinatowns existed in other cities in the United States’ New England region, today, Boston’s is the only one remaining. Photo: Hei-kiu Au
US-China relations

US commission wants more Mandarin language courses to curb Beijing’s sway

Move would deepen students’ linguistic and cultural understanding amid cuts to US cultural exchange programmes to China.

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Students at Yu Ying Public Charter School in Washington perform a Chinese song and dance. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China’s annual report recommends introducing more Mandarin immersion programmes in the US. Photo: Yu Ying Public Charter School
My Life

‘Architects are always jumping in water that’s over our heads’

Billie Tsien, founding partner of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, tells of designing the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre and the Obama Presidential Centre.

Food and Drinks

Hong Kong-style cafe receives top recognition. Owner has been to the city once

Tarek Hassan fell in love with Hong Kong culture as a teen. Now his Gongfu Cafe & Bao in Ottawa, Canada, serves authentic tastes of the city.

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Hong Kong culture

Why the Year of the Horse 2026 could bring chaos but also great progress

With 12 animals and 5 elements, the Year of the Fire Horse comes around every 60 years and tends to bring both good fortune and bad.

The Year of the Fire Horse begins on February 17, 2026. Being a “double fire” year, it could mean drastic change ahead. Photo: Shutterstock
Horoscopes

What’s your luck like in December 2025, the month of the Earth Rat?

It’s the luckiest month of the year for the Ox with the Rat being its astrological friend, while the Snake can also expect smooth sailing.

Hong Kong culture

Language Matters | The enduring legacy of bamboo, a symbol of resilience and strength in Asia

Bamboo is used in everything from construction to food throughout Asia, and even lends itself to global concepts like the ‘bamboo curtain’.

Food and Drinks

Best things to eat in Chaoshan, a food paradise in China’s Guangdong province

Chef Huang Jinghui reveals the secrets of Chaoshan cuisine – also called Chiu Chow cuisine – from seasonal seafood to lion-head goose.

Blanched Canadian geoduck in chicken broth at Jiang by Chef Fei. Photo: Mandarin Oriental Guangzhou
China consumption

Pursuit of hoppiness: how China’s cash-conscious drinkers embraced craft beers

As discerning alcohol consumers seek ‘wallet-friendly’ products, premium beers are winning out over higher-end options.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Food and Drinks

Peking duck diplomacy? How a US president’s China visit made the dish famous

Richard Nixon’s televised China trip in 1972 was the first glimpse behind the ‘bamboo curtain’ for many and their first exposure to the dish.

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Women and gender

Being Chinese | Why Chinese women like me are done being quiet and ‘appropriate’

Chinese women are praised for gentleness. Our tone must please; our anger must be graceful. But a new generation is speaking out.

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China consumption

China’s liquor capital faces long march to rebirth as ‘liquid gold’ glory wanes

In Maotai town, baijiu producers diversify offerings while expanding to markets such as Hong Kong and Southeast Asia amid a culture shift and economic challenges.

Illustration: Brian Wang
Art

Taiwan’s National Palace Museum marks 100-year history with stunning displays

The Taipei museum’s centennial exhibitions feature spectacular works spanning paintings, sculptures, pottery and more.

“Meat-shaped Stone”, from the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), is a piece of jasper carved to resemble a piece of “dongborou”, or braised pork belly. It is considered one of the “Three Treasures” in the National Palace Museum collection and included in “Enduring Legacy: A Centennial Celebration of the National Palace Museum” exhibition. (Photo: NPM)
Food and Drinks

How Hong Kong-born chef’s Chinese kitchen knives are cutting through stigma

Chef says ‘made in China’ does not mean low quality and that his modern, affordable chef’s knives challenge ones from Japan and Germany.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Bruce Lee hit the big time and other Hong Kong cinema highlights from 1972

Amid Bruce Lee’s rise to stardom, we look at what else made Hong Kong film headlines in 1972, from a Lee challenger to a local ‘Bond Girl’.

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