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Chinese culture

The Chinese zodiac consists of 12 animals. Photo: SCMP Graphics
Horoscopes

Chinese horoscopes: how’s your luck in December 2024, Fire Rat month?

If you’re a Rat like Dwayne Johnson or William Shakespeare, this is a great month both for parties and setting new goals – but what about the other 11 Chinese astrological signs?

Asian cinema

5 notable screen adaptations of Chiung Yao romance novels

Why people born in the Year of the Snake make good lovers and colleagues

Hong Kong society

Opinion | Hong Kong must break the taboos around end-of-life care and death

With a law passed on advanced medical directives, the onus is on government to provide life-and-death education and facilitate discussion.

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A still of The Last Dance. The success of the film, which lifts a veil on Hong Kong funeral rites, suggest a growing openness among Hongkongers to exploring the difficult subject of death. Photo: Emperor Motion Pictures
Books and literature

Obituary | Chiung Yao, Taiwanese romance novelist, dies aged 86

Writer known for novels including My Fair Princess reportedly leaves suicide note saying ‘I choose this way to go home gracefully’.

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Architecture and design

Those ‘lucky cat’ figures? They’re not what you think

Numerous myths surround the maneki neko, but one thing is certain: these wealth-magnet felines are of Japanese origin, not Chinese.

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Lunar New Year

Why the coming Year of the Wood Snake could be lucky

With 12 animals and 5 elements, the Year of the Wood Snake comes around every 60 years, and 2025’s may be more favourable than 1965’s.

A snake at a farm in Bangkok, Thailand. The next lunar new year will be a Year of the Wood Snake, which comes around every 60 years. The previous one, in 1965, saw dynamic change and upheaval. Are we in for more of the same? Photo: Getty Images
Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | I may not use my ‘beautiful’ Chinese name often, but I’m glad of the gift

My father was renamed when a Briton couldn’t make out his Chinese name. I’m grateful for mine, though I now use a name that confounds some.

Hong Kong cinema

How Taoist funeral customs inspired Hong Kong plays and a movie

From hit film The Last Dance to stage shows, Hong Kong writers use Chinese funerals to find meaning and help audiences cope with death.

China travel

Life, love and loss at museum of Chinese migrants’ letters home

People who left Chaoshan, southern China, for work sent back remittances and reflections on life. A museum in Shantou displays their letters.

Filled with sorrow, joy and reflections on politics and events, letters to loved ones written by Teochew migrants from Chaoshan in southern China are on display at the Qiaopi Museum in Shantou, Guangdong. Photo: Mabel Lui
Books and literature

Letters | Multilingual writers enrich the world’s literary canon

Readers discuss the challenges and rewards of writing in a non-native language, the decline in student performance in Hong Kong and hiring civil servants with disabilities.

Writing as a non-native speaker is a journey of growth and discovery. Photo: Shutterstock
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Chinese film about Covid lockdown wins top prize in Taiwan awards

Lou Ye’s An Unfinished Film, winner of best film and best director at Golden Horse awards, ‘the most special directing job’, director says.

Diplomacy

Opinion | China offers world an optimistic problem-solving framework

China’s collectivist world view isn’t about undermining individuality but about emphasising interdependence. The idea could reshape global governance.

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China’s Communist Party

How Xi Jinping is going back to Confucius to define China’s future

Xi’s plan to glorify China’s deep cultural roots is embodied in Ruzang, a compilation of the philosopher’s writings and related works.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
China exports

As China’s vertical dramas charm US, soft-influence exports offer risks, rewards

Facing oversaturation in China, short-form video companies are finding lucrative new markets abroad, even amid geopolitical tensions.

A director monitors from vertical screens while filming specialised short-video content that has become increasingly popular in the United States. Photo: Reuters
Fashion

How Chinese haute couture is taking on the fashion world

Chinese high-fashion designers have dressed everyone from Rihanna to royals in recent years and their presence is growing on global catwalks.

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China's population

China’s lonely-heart crisis fuels a growing ‘companionship economy’

As Chinese society becomes more atomised, consumers devoid of human interaction are increasingly opening their wallets to stave off loneliness.

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China trade

Can Chinese tea find favour in coffee-crazy US?

American fan of Chinese crosstalk comedy finds that cultural connection helps attract customers to online teahouse.

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Tea master Wei Jiequn prepares Liubao tea in Wuzhou, in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in May. Photo: Xinhua
China society

Female Chinese military pilot wows air show fans

Books and literature

Being Chinese | English took me out of a Chinese factory, but not China out of me

I learned English as a bored young factory worker and began writing in it to avoid censorship. But my decision has come with pros and cons.

SCMP Highlights

Recap | Ancient king’s tomb unearthed, a Song dynasty fashion shock and more historical finds

From ancient Chinese kings to cutting-edge AI in archaeology, explore fascinating discoveries that rewrite history in some of our recent stories looking into the past.

Chinese scientists have created a digital reconstruction of a wealthy woman’s clothing from the Southern Song dynasty. Photo: Wuhan Textile University
Weddings

Why is there a cake voucher with your Chinese wedding invite? We explain

A cake voucher often accompanies an invitation to a Chinese wedding, part of a practice that dates back centuries.

Assorted Chinese wedding cakes. Photo: May Tse
China economy

Chinese workers to get 2 extra days’ holiday, including longer Lunar New Year

Two public holidays will be extended by a day, but the survival of the unpopular ‘holiday swap’ system tempers enthusiasm.

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How Chinese wedding dresses are made and their meaning on the big day

Whether cheongsam or qun kua, here is what the colours and embroidery mean on Chinese wedding dresses and why some can take a year to make.

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Hong Kong

At Hong Kong’s Tam Jai noodle joint, waitresses are the stars

These ‘Tam Jai jeh jehs’ are not only the backbone of the beloved chain, they’ve even modelled for a fashion show with the Hong Kong Design Institute.

A female staff member carrying out a bowl of soup noodles at a Tam Jai restaurant in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Photo: Alexander Mak
Climate change

Opinion | How feng shui can inspire China’s quest for environmental justice

China’s efforts to mitigate climate change and protect nature reveal a modern commitment to principles embodied by an ancient discipline.

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An offshore wind farm in Tangshan City in north China’s Hebei province. After the city began promoting the construction of wind and solar power plants, installed capacity of clean energy has reached 3.242 million kilowatts. Photo: Xinhua
China’s Communist Party

In mainland China, Taiwanese books wait in limbo as censors bolster barriers

Mainland editors say new rules and pressure from regulators have slowed publication of Taiwanese literature to a trickle since 2019.

Food and Drinks

Meet the ‘Bourdain of China’ telling ‘amazing’ food stories on YouTube

Christopher St. Cavish is known for writing about soup dumplings. His new video series spotlights foods around China and those behind them.

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Chinese culture
Latest news and updates on Chinese culture including the country’s traditions, food, values, history and festivals.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
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