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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.
The company uses powder from China’s Zhejiang province to spotlight the green tea’s true Chinese origins, which, the founders say, are contrary to “everything this generation knows about matcha”. Photo: Chloe Loung
Food and Drinks

Think matcha is Japanese? Think again, says this Hong Kong tea brand

Hong Kong bar owner Gavin Yeung founded matcha brand Celadon after being ‘floored’ by its long history in China before reaching Japan.

Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | Dear You: nostalgic Teochew family drama is a surprise box office hit in China

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Food and Drinks

7 top places for sticky rice dumplings in Hong Kong for the Dragon Boat Festival

Chinese history

How a Chinese empress shaped her country without ever taking the throne

Empress Xiaozhuangwen secured power, averted crises and deposed enemies while raising and guiding China’s longest-serving emperor.

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A painting of Empress Xiaozhuang (1613-1688), known for most of her life by the title Grand Empress Dowager. After securing power by having her son ascend the throne in 1643, she raised his successor, her grandson Kangxi, who would go on to be China’s longest-ruling monarch, reigning from 1661 to 1722. Photo by: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Wellness

The TCM influencers demystifying ancient Chinese healing practices for Gen Z

Traditional Chinese medicine is trending as university-educated practitioners take to Instagram with clips combating common misconceptions.

Chinese zodiac predictions

Is the Year of the Horse’s fifth month lucky for you? Forecasts for all signs

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan breaks down this lunar month’s prospects for all 12 Chinese zodiac signs in work, finances, romance and health.

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China-Asean relations

Dear You – the Chinese migration film igniting a propaganda debate in Southeast Asia

Some are worried that the Teochew-language drama represents a new, softer era of propaganda targeting the diaspora.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | When a Chinese auntie met the right uncle

We work well together because we enjoy discovering a version of ourselves in each other, and new things and new ways of being.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | The history of weiqi, or go, Chinese board game dating back over 2,000 years

More popularly known as go – its Japanese name – weiqi has for centuries been embraced as a mark of cultivation and refinement.

Food and Drinks

What are alkaline rice dumplings, the Dragon Boat Festival sweet treat?

Alkaline rice dumplings, traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat or Tuen Ng Festival, boast a rich history that dates back to ancient times.

A golden kumquat rice dumpling from Tsui Hang Village in Hong Kong. Alkaline rice dumplings are a Dragon Boat Festival sweet treat with ancient origins. Photo: Tsui Hang Village
Hong Kong society

Board backs proposal to give temple, mosque highest level of heritage protection

Hung Shing Temple in Wan Chai and Stanley Mosque should be classified as statutory monuments, Antiquities Advisory Board says.

Hung Shing Temple is believed to have been built between 1847 and 1852. Photo: Karma Lo
Asia travel

Best things to do in Wuxi, China’s lakeside city of gardens and sweet cuisine

Nestled on China’s Lake Taihu, Wuxi, with its industrial heritage, serene gardens, temples and decadent cuisine, is great for a weekend trip.

Art

At Art Basel Hong Kong, 3 artists reimagined the ancient art of Chinese ink

Xu Jiong, Chao Chung-hsiang and Tang Chang brought calligraphy and ink landscapes with Western sensibilities to the fair.

Horoscopes

Horoscopes: what’s your luck like in June 2026, the Wood Horse month?

Gordon Ramsay, Greta Thunberg and Joe Biden were all born in the Year of the Horse – and they may find themselves facing a turbulent month.

What’s your luck like in June 2026? Illustration: SCMP Graphics
Food and Drinks

Chinese photographers serve a visual feast at World Food Photography Awards 2026

Hotpot feasts, communal banquets and street food scenes were the highlights from Chinese photographers during this year’s competition.

A family preparing red glutinous rice cakes for Chinese New Year in Putian, Fujian province, China. The photo was featured in the annual World Food Photography Awards. Photo: Chen Ying/World Food Photography Awards sponsored by Bimi
Chinese history

Who was Yang Guifei, the Chinese beauty blamed for toppling a dynasty?

One of ancient China’s ‘Four Beauties’, Yang besotted an emperor, was the target of a rebellion, and in death became a tragic romantic icon.

US-China relations

How Chinese drink chains are testing the limits of soft power

New tea and coffee brands from China are winning customers across America, but their broader influence remains unclear.

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Food and Drinks

Prawn toast as a Scotch egg? How UK chefs are reinventing a Cantonese classic

A beloved Chinese restaurant dish across Britain, Cantonese prawn toast is being transformed in ways that must be tasted to be believed.

The prawn toast scotch egg at Jikoni is a coming together of Cantonese, British and Southeast Asian influences. Photo: Laura Jalbert
China travel

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

Tourists with replicas of the ancient Sword of Goujian, from the Hubei Provincial Museum, were told not to hand-carry them onto planes.

Food and Drinks

This Edinburgh Chinese takeaway is ‘dying’. Meet the daughter out to save it

Opened in 1997, China Star has weeks to turn things around before it sinks. Can the founder’s Instagrammer daughter Lisa He serve up success?

Hong Kong society

Student recalls eye-opening trip with American peers that drew praise from Xi

CUHK undergraduate Liu Runjie describes how Chinese and US students reached common understanding during youth exchange trip.

Liu Runjie (centre in white) was among 20 young students from China and the US who took part in the two-week “A Shared Voyage: China-US Youth Friendship Program” in March and April. Photo: Handout
US-China relations

Opinion | TV coverage of Trump’s visit showed Americans how ordinary Chinese live

If the Xi-Trump summit gave Americans a clearer picture of contemporary China, that may prove to be one of its more enduring achievements.

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People walk past a TV screen broadcasting US President Donald Trump’s visit, in Beijing, China, on May 14. Photo; EPA
Food and Drinks

This legendary Chinese snake soup was all but lost. How 2 chefs are reviving it

Once the centrepiece of political and business gatherings, Taishi five-snake soup is making a return in a form more suited to the modern era.

Food and Drinks

95-year-old dim sum chef launches menu of forgotten items in Hong Kong

Foo Shing looks back on an astonishing life as he opens up about items featured in Tim Ho Wan’s nostalgic dim sum series.

Hong Kong society

Editorial | Cheung Chau Bun Festival flies flag for Hong Kong’s cultural heritage

The festival’s success adds momentum to the citywide heritage promotion drive aiming to bolster the city’s cultural identity.

Spectators take photos as fireworks sparkle after the bun scrambling competition final at the annual Bun Festival in Cheung Chau on May 24. Photo: Karma Lo
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Hong Kong Dance Company’s ode to Wu Guanzhong paints a confusing picture

‘In Between – Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey’ might celebrate the great Chinese painter but provides little inspiration to discover his works.

The “Spirit of Trees” scene from “In Between - Wu Guanzhong’s Ink Odyssey”, a Hong Kong Dance Company performance that premiered at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on May 22, 2026 (Photo: Henry@S2 Production; Mak Cheong Wai; Kenix Chan)
Hong Kong society

Bun king and queen scramble to victory once again at Cheung Chau festival

Kwok Ka‑ming wins the men’s crown for the 11th time while Janet Kung also successfully defends her title.

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Food and Drinks

A Vietnamese-American’s quest to make the perfect Peking duck

Radiologist Hong Pham’s dedication to making roast duck has seen him start his own catering business and even cook the bird at weddings.

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