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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.
Rabbit lanterns made by Hong Kong fashion designer and lantern artist Wan Wong, who continues to keep the traditional ways of making Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns alive. Photo: Wan Wong
Mid-Autumn Festival

Few still make Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns the classic way. This artisan does

Hong Kong lantern artisan Wan Wong explains why she keeps the traditional craft alive, barriers she faced as a woman and the key techniques.

Food and Drinks

Hong Kong-style milk tea that has customers queuing out the door – in Tokyo

Style Edit

Style Edit: Chow Tai Fook’s Song collection draws on the Chinese drum

Wellness

All about Hong Kong’s herbal teas and how Gen Z is reviving the health tradition

These century-old ‘leung cha’ cooling teas for ailments such as excess internal heat are finding new fans among health-conscious Gen Z.

A staff member fills bowls with herbal tea known as leung cha ("cooling tea") from a giant copper pot at Pak Po Tong on Temple Street in Hong Kong. Photo: Elson Li
Bowls of tea at Pak Po Tong. Photo: Elson Li
A customer enjoys herbal jelly at Pak Po Tong. Photo: Elson Li
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | A Polish priest’s perilous mission to save a doomed Chinese dynasty

In 1651, the embattled Ming court, which included several Christian converts, sent Michal Boym to seek the Pope’s aid. It never came.

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Chinese history

Being Chinese | The unspoken reason my Chinese friends choose America

When friends say they can just ‘exist’ in the US, they mean they can stop performing to the Confucian expectations that define Chinese life.

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2026 Xi-Trump summits

US hands over 64 artefacts to China in diplomatic push before summit

Beijing praises repatriation of looted treasures as concrete proof of constructive US-China cooperation before high-level talks.

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Dozens of relics and fossils were handed over to Chinese officials in the United States on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

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

Hong Kong studios embraced female action stars long before Hollywood. Here’s how some of the biggest triumphed in wuxia and kung fu films.

Chinese history

The tragic Qing politician whose legacy lives on in descendant’s new novel

The life of Duanfang inspires E.L. Shen’s novel Foreigners, about identity, queer awakening and the immigrant experience in modern America.

China society

Opinion | Why women in China are still at risk of abduction and forced marriage

The latest incident has exposed many failings in local authorities’ work in a country where a mindset of favouring sons over daughters still exists.

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A wedding takes place in Kaizhou city, Chongqing, in 2014. As long as a preference for sons exists, daughters will continue to be seen as good for little more than marrying a man and bearing his children. Photo: Shutterstock
Wellness

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

Martial arts legend Wu Bin talks about mentoring Jet Li and other wushu stars, and how building good habits is key to health in older life.

90-year-old Wuxia master Wu Bin, in Wan Chai. 17AUG26 SCMP/Jonathan Wong
Vietnam

Asian Angle | Politics aside, young Vietnamese are warming to China

Hit dramas, trendy consumer brands and economic opportunity are drawing a new generation into China’s cultural orbit.

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Trending in China

A symbol of harmony: ancient China tomb discovery reveals oldest dragon-phoenix pairing

The two mythological creatures represent the peaceful balance created when opposing forces come into union.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Amid ‘Lake America’ stink, the Chinese emperor whose renaming campaign backfired

Two thousand years ago, Wang Mang’s renaming of places, peoples and titles fuelled rebellions that ended both his regime and his life.

People take photos in front of a sign reading “Lake Ontario Now and Always” on August 29, 2026. The sign was unveiled by Ontario Premier Doug Ford at Fifty Point Conservation Area in the Canadian city of Hamilton after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the lake as Lake America. Photo: Reuters
Chinese history

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
Chinese zodiac predictions

Is the Year of the Horse’s eighth 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.

Asian cinema: Chinese films

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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Horoscopes

Horoscopes: what’s your luck like in September 2026, the Fire Rooster month?

The Fire Rooster month brings challenges for the Rabbit, but strong love luck for the Tiger and stable wealth to the Monkey.

Here’s a look into what your luck looks like in September 2026, the Fire Rooster month. Photo: SCMP Graphic
Food and Drinks

Chinese matcha’s rise and the Hong Kong couple stirring up the UK tea scene

A mission to bring Chinese tea culture to Britain unexpectedly turned Hong Kong couple Raphael Chow and Joyce Ding into matcha entrepreneurs.

Special Reports

Hong Kong’s push for human infrastructure beyond ports and railways

Beyond physical trade routes, the city’s museums, universities and orchestras are cultivating the personal relationships needed to sustain international cooperation.

Travel

On a tower trip: a bike tour around China’s Unesco-listed Kaiping watchtowers

Many of the ‘diaolou’ can be reached only by farm tracks and quiet paths, making cycling the ideal way to explore them.

Kaiping’s diaolou watchtowers are scattered across the flat countryside of China’s Guangdong province, and with many only accessible along farm tracks and quiet paths, a bicycle tour is the ideal way to see them. Photo: Bruce Foreman
Luxury brands

Eastern aesthetics go global with Chinese brands like Songmont and Bosideng

From Paris flagships to viral social media debuts, Chinese creators are leveraging quiet luxury design, direct-to-consumer strategies, and rich cultural resonance to build international footprints.

Home-grown fashion houses like Songmont pay tribute to Chinese culture. Photo: Handout
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

China targets youth with plan to revamp ‘outdated’ heritage products as ‘trendy’

Heritage is the latest sector targeted by authorities, following similar efforts in the sports, winter tourism and nightlife industries.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | From prison and poverty to Chinese emperor: rags-to-riches tale of Liu Bingyi

Spared execution as a baby, imperial family member Liu Bingyi grew up a palace outcast, but this served him well after taking power in 74BC.

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.

Clockwise from left: Elvis Tsui (left) and Shu Qi in a still from Sex and Zen II (1996); Chingmy Yau Suk-ching in a still from Naked Killer (1992); Veronica Yip Yuk-hing in the film, Hidden Desire (1991); Simon Yam Tat-wah in a still from Dr Lamb (1992); Amy Yip Chi-mei in a still from Sex and Zen (1991); The Untold Story. (Pork bun murders) starring Anthony Wong.
Martial arts

How Africa’s first Shaolin Temple shares Chinese martial arts and culture

The temple in Zambia has become one of the most visible symbols of China’s cultural footprint in a country where its influence already runs deep.

Shaolin monk Yan Chen helps a student do a somersault during a training session at the Shaolin Temple in Ngwerere, outside Lusaka, Zambia, on August 8, 2026. Photo: AFP
Food and Drinks

How this Hong Kong maker of authentic shrimp roe noodles is leading a comeback

Wing Lok Noodle Factory’s second-generation boss shares how the 50-year-old company is thriving by innovating a dying traditional craft.

Food and Drinks

What are five-kernel mooncakes? A history of the protein-packed treat

Rich in nuts and seeds, five-kernel mooncakes are making a comeback as a protein-packed alternative to have during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

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