Men work on pig sculptures in preparation for the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Pig, in the Changping district of Beijing. Photo: Reuters
Men work on pig sculptures in preparation for the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Pig, in the Changping district of Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Behind the Story: How SCMP reported the Lunar New Year in the Year of the Pig

  • Journalists, video producers and editors from the SCMP talk about the stories they cover for the Lunar New Year.

Men work on pig sculptures in preparation for the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Pig, in the Changping district of Beijing. Photo: Reuters
Men work on pig sculptures in preparation for the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Pig, in the Changping district of Beijing. Photo: Reuters

The Lunar New Year holiday is one of the few times in the calendar year the South China Morning Post does not publish a newspaper. This year we’ve made a podcast talking to some of our journalists about the stories they cover at this time of year, as well as the new stories they’ve uncovered in the hunt for interesting people, places and happenings.

The zodiac animal for this coming Lunar New Year is the pig – and SCMP reporters have worked on some fascinating stories on that theme, from the disappearing breeds of rare Chinese pigs said to have made a style of ham as good as the famed Spanish Iberico to the Mongolian grindcore rock band that has a pig as its lead singer.

So it’s not all just about fireworks and fortunes (but we talk stories about them too).

Presenter: James Legge

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Reporters: Bernice Chan, Tashny Sukamaran, Bonnie Au, Mantai Chow

Producer: Jarrod Watt 

Out now on iTunes and Spotify.

Jarrod Watt

Jarrod Watt

Jarrod Watt joined the Post in 2015 after more than a decade working as a multi-platform reporter and editor with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, creating video, radio and text stories. He currently produces podcasts and video, as well as developing new digital storytelling methods, including augmented reality and 360 interactive photography.

James Legge

James Legge

James Legge is a former sub-editor on the Post's Hong Kong desk. Before that, he was a reporter and editor in the UK and a freelance reporter in Hong Kong.