Sorry, cafe society, tea-drinkers are still ahead

CHINA’S NATIONAL DRINK, tea, is the most popular drink in the world. More of it consumed than all the cappuccinos, lattes and espressos in the world. At least one study says more tea is drunk than all other drinks put together -- coffee, fizzy drinks, wine, beer, juice and everything else. The daily number of…

March 21, 20220Comments ByH.C. Lu

Culture

Suzhou’s eternal gardens touch the soul

IN APRIL OF 1977, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was taken on a visit to one of the many legendary classical Chinese gardens of Suzhou. The one chosen for her was called The Garden of the Futility of Politics. The extraordinary name surely stuck in the British leader's mind--particularly as she would go on to…

March 15, 20220Comments ByH.C. Lu

Culture

Landscapes filled with quiet messages

CHINESE ART IS ONE of the oldest continuous visual styles in the world. It is instantly recognizable, whether the painting was created today or a thousand years ago. And the most extraordinary genre of Chinese art is landscape painting, known as Shan shui (山水), literally meaning "mountains and rivers". For more than 1500 years, Chinese artists…

March 10, 20220Comments ByH.C. Lu

Culture Life

There’s a pharmacy in your kitchen, tradition says

AN OLD MAXIM says: “Food is the medicine you take every day.” This is a relatively new idea in the west, popping up in books like Food Pharmacy (2018). But food therapy is an old belief in China, known Shi Liao. The Chinese have long believed that all naturally occurring foods, including fruits, vegetables, meat…

February 22, 20220Comments ByH.C. Lu

Culture

Tai chi: the fighting steps that bring us peace

THE GRACEFUL CHINESE exercise known as Tai Chi Chaun is gradually spreading around the world - and even into the fictional world of Hollywood movies. “I love the idea of having a place I can go every day. I want the connection, the excitement. I wanna be challenged,” says Robert De Niro, playing a retired executive…

February 21, 20220Comments ByH.C. Lu

Culture

Tiny Hong Kong becomes giantkiller in global art market

STEP ASIDE, LONDON. Tiny Hong Kong has overtaken Europe to became the second largest art market in the world: and has its eyes on claiming the top spot from the United States. America has a big lead, for now, and is staging something of a recovery. Yet in the long run, Asia will surely…

February 15, 20220Comments ByH.C. Lu

Features

Hong Kongers who have retired over the border

MANY HONG KONG people have opted to go north for retirement. Currently, more than 500,000 Hongkongers, many of them elderly people, have already moved to the Mainland. They benefit from the SAR government’s special schemes for Guangdong and Fujian, which allow eligible seniors across the border to receive monthly welfare payments from Hong Kong.…

February 4, 20220Comments ByH.C. Lu

Features

All change at Legco

A new regular feature, Friday Numbers, highlights data in Hong Kong and mainland China TODAY IS THE first session of Legislative Council under the new electoral arrangements. As the first in series of Friday Numbers, we walk you through important figures which you may not be aware of in other media. Image…

January 12, 20220Comments ByH.C. Lu

Features

Accupuncture? Stars are getting the point

WHAT HEALTH HABIT DO Western screen stars Robert Downey, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston have in common? All three love acupuncture and cupping to improve their well-being. These stars, constantly in the public eye, have important reasons to look happy and healthy. Downey, who starred as Tony Stark in…

January 7, 20220Comments ByH.C. Lu