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Asian cinema: Chinese films

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Asian cinema: Chinese films
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Asian cinema: Chinese films. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM
Wanrong and Puyi, in Tianjin, circa 1925. Photo: Getty Images

Paul French lifts veil on final months of China’s last emperor in the Forbidden City

It is not the first biography of China’s Puyi, but Paul French’s latest book brings with it a feminine voice of modernity and fully exploits its place in the ‘doomed-monarchy’ sub-genre.

Reading Time:6 minutes
The city of Baguio, on Luzon island, in the Philippines, was favoured by American administrators for its climate. Photo: Thomas Bird

Escape Manila’s heat for northern Luzon’s pine-scented hills and Sagada’s hanging coffins

Reading Time:6 minutes
Nurbol Baimukhanov’s Zhabe horse, Ayan, near Almaty, Kazakhstan. Photo: courtesy Nurbol Baimukhanov

Ode to the horse: 5,000 years of human-equine connection on display in new Kazakh museum

Reading Time:7 minutes
Soy-glazed, fish-sauce-marinated chicken thigh with black-garlic oil at Chiu San. Photo: courtesy Chiu San

Hong Kong’s hottest new openings, from Sugar Daddy’s creamy pastries to Japanese-Chiuchow fusion fare at Chiu San

Reading Time:2 minutes
Architect Kisho Kurokawa with his creation, Japan’s Nakagin Capsule Tower, in 1972. Photo: Tomio Ohashi/M+

How Japan’s innovative Nakagin Capsule Tower is finding new life

Reading Time:6 minutes
John Yiu, an art historian and the deputy director of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole academic research and cultural centre, at the University of Hong Kong, with his guqin. Photo: Alexander Mak

Hong Kong’s guqin revival bridges ancient philosophy and modern passions

Reading Time:6 minutes
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Content from SCMP's Specialist Publications
Illustration: Mario Rivera
Hong Kong culture

Opinion | What Hong Kong cinema can take away from a popular Chinese war film

If productions need not be set in China to be seen as Chinese, why must Hong Kong films rely on language or place as proof of identity?

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

From Cheng Pei-pei to Michelle Yeoh, Hong Kong’s history of action heroines

Wellness

He trained Jet Li. Wu Bin, 89, shares his secrets to great health in old age

Chinese culture

Famous Chinese women in folklore, from Mulan to a dynasty-toppling consort

These women have inspired countless poems, books, movies and TV shows over the centuries, but what are their stories and why do they endure?

Fan Bingbing (left) as Daji, one of the most famous women in Chinese folklore, and Tony Leung Ka-fai as King Zhou of Shang in League of Gods, a 2016 film adaptation of the 16th century Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods. Photo: China Star Entertainment Group
Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How Cantopop lyricist Wyman Wong became a cultural force in Hong Kong

Songwriter for the stars, fashion journalist, LGBTQ activist – Wong’s impact on modern Hong Kong culture cannot be overstated.

Chinese language cinema

Review | Once Upon a Time in the Middle East: Shen Teng leads anti-war blockbuster

Full of roaring action and heart-wrenching tension, this mainland China hit delivers a message of peace through Chinese cooking appreciation.

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Chinese language cinema

Review | Arrested Memory: Ethan Ruan leads Sabu’s muddled police thriller

Ethan Ruan plays a detective with memory issues investigating a kidnapping case in this action-packed if confused police procedural.

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Ethan Ruan in a still from Arrested Memory.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

The wild days of Hong Kong’s Category III era: when sex and gore went mainstream

The adults-only, Category III rating was introduced in 1988, making stars of actresses including Shu Qi and Amy Yip.

US-China relations

Can Chinese sleeper hit Dear You conquer the US box office next?

After grossing nearly US$300 million in mainland China, its North American release will test its popularity beyond Chinese-speaking diaspora.

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Chinese language cinema

Review | I Know Who You Are: Hu Ge leads Chinese spy drama that falters at the finish

Feng Xiaogang’s drama set during the early years of the People’s Republic of China entertains but is let down by an unsatisfying ending.

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Hu Ge as Feng Jingbo, a spy who becomes embroiled in a years-long cat-and-mouse game with a stubborn Beijing official, in a still from I Know Who You Are (category: IIA Mandarin), directed by Feng Xiaogang. Lei Jiayin co-stars.
American cinema

Desk job to Jackie Chan stunts: martial artist Alfred Hsing’s rise in film

After leaving a financial career, the wushu champion became a fight coordinator, stuntman and actor working with some of film’s top stars.

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Martial arts choreographer, actor and stuntman Alfred Hsing (left) worked as a member of Jackie Chan’s stunt team on the 2015 historical epic Dragon Blade. The California-raised wushu expert has also shared the screen with some of the world’s biggest movie stars, from Michelle Yeoh to Jet Li. Photo: Courtesy of Alfred Hsing
China society

Opinion | How a Chinese kitchen in the Middle East could stir up global cinema

Upending Hollywood’s ‘saviour-hero’ convention in war films, a tale about a humble chef offers a quiet, distinctly Chinese perspective.

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Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | How Josie Ho rejected her billionaire heiress destiny for indie filmmaking

Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho’s eighth child has built her own legacy as a musician, award-winning actress and movie producer.

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Wakesurf Lovers: Jeffrey Ngai, Renci Yeung make a splash in uneven sports drama

Full of beautiful bodies but paper-thin characters, Fung Chih-chiang’s film about wakesurfing and cybershaming drifts nowhere in particular.

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Renci Yeung (left) and Jeffrey Ngai in a still from Wakesurf Lovers (category IIB, Cantonese), directed by Fung Chih-chiang.
Chinese language cinema

The Chinese Mulholland Drive? Why ‘so bad it’s good’ film Niu Lai is special

Initially mocked, the low-budget film by a first-time animator and his mum is now being hailed as a bastion of hard work and free expression.

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A still from Niu Lai, a Chinese micro-budget animated feature by Xin Yumeng and Sun Lifang. Met with memes and widespread mockery upon its release on August 5, 2026, the movie has since become a must-see box-office hit that has made millions. Photo: courtesy of Dalian Jingyuan Culture Film and Television Media
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How Ronny Yu and Jet Li made Fearless (2006) a martial arts masterpiece

Director Ronny Yu put Jet Li’s martial arts skills and acting chops to good use in this classic, blending superb fights and a human story.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | A Mighty Adventure: wordless animation by McDull director is breezy if flawed

Hong Kong director Toe Yuen’s film about insects surviving the city is a visual marvel, though dialogue would have made it more expressive.

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Trending in China

Meme magic: how a crude Chinese animation reshapes country’s viewing habits

Expert cautions against replicating Niu Lai as a business formula, viewing it instead as a unique social phenomenon.

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The low-budget Chinese animated film “Niu Lai” has ignited conversations about the value of cinema and the influence of internet culture on audience perceptions of what constitutes “worthy viewing.” Photo: Weibo
China society

Opinion | Why Chinese film-goers are flocking to a movie they hate

Niu Lai’s runaway success is not an endorsement of its quality. Audiences are paying for the perverse enjoyment of seeing how bad it gets.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | The Dating Menu: a drifter chef looks to connect in wistful romantic drama

Lo Chun-yip plays a chef who tries out a dating app and cooks for four very different women as he tries to get over a previous relationship.

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100 Top Picks

Video | Niu Lai is China’s latest box office hit

Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan predicted that the film could make 18.4 million yuan (US$2.7 million) within 30 days of release.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How ‘Siuyea’ Lo Chun-yip shed his indie director mindset to become a leading man

The ‘late bloomer’, who switched directing for acting in 2015, takes on his first main lead role with new film The Dating Menu.

Hong Kong actor and filmmaker Lo Chun-yip, also known as Siuyea, at an interview with the SCMP at the Golden Scene office in Jordan. Photo: SCMP/Jonathan Wong
China’s film industry

How a ‘rough’ and ‘crude’ Chinese cartoon ox went from box office zero to hero

Widely slated on its release, Niu Lai has become the summer’s most surprising smash hit despite competition from The Odyssey and Spider-Man.

Chinese language cinema

Review | All Wishes Come True!: Chinese animation reinvents the Eight Immortals

This culturally authentic and wholly accessible origin story is a visually dazzling infusion of Chinese and Western storytelling conventions.

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Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | Alex To’s 40-year Cantopop legacy: R&B origins, comebacks, acting triumphs

The now 64-year-old Hong Kong-born singer and actor remains one of the industry’s most enduring and unpredictable figures.

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Alex To performs during the “2021 New Year Concert – Sailing in the Greater Bay Area” in Shenzhen in January 2021. Photo: Weibo
European cinema

How this British-Chinese filmmaker aims to build the Blumhouse of action

Inspired by John Woo and Chow Yun-fat, Chee Keong Cheung talks about his Action Xtreme studio and upcoming film Bad Day at the Office.

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Filmmaker Chee Keong Cheung on the set of one of his films. Cheung founded the UK’s first action-oriented film studio, Action Xtreme, while his new feature, Bad Day at the Office, will have its world premiere on August 13 at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
China property

Derelict cinema on scenic Hong Kong island has a US$1 million price tag

Peng Chau Cinema was once a bustling nightspot but has lain virtually empty for almost four decades and is now set to go under the hammer.

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American cinema

How did Snow Flower and the Secret Fan become such an ambitious failure?

Wayne Wang’s 2011 film blends past and present, but despite its ambition and talent, it struggled to resonate with audiences.

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