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Culture

When Giganto walked the earth – and why he disappeared

A GIANT PRIMATE called Giganto walked the earth for millions of years, but died out when its food source became scarce, scientists said this week. The massive creature was twice the height of humans, at three meters tall, and weighed as much as three or four people, at 200 to 300 kilograms. Details emerged from…

January 11, 20240Comments ByNury Vittachi

Culture

Van Gogh’s iconic painting exhibited in Hong Kong

A MASTERPIECE BY Vincent Van Gogh (梵高), Long Grass with Butterflies (長草地與蝴蝶), together with dozens of classic landscape paintings by famous western painters, are being exhibited in Hong Kong for the first time. Art lovers can now visit a western painting exhibition called “Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from The National Gallery” at the…

January 11, 20240Comments ByH.C. Lu

Culture

A herdsman in Tibet just won a top literary prize

A FORMER HERDSMAN on the remote Qinghai-Tibet steppes has won a top literary prize in China—even though he left school at the age of 12. Suonan Cairang (索南才讓) first encountered modern storytelling as a child—when people set up tents in which rural people could watch videos. The organizers would sometimes play the videos so loud…

December 29, 20230Comments ByEmily Zhou

Chinese history Culture

The quiet Taoist who stood up to legendary slaughterer Genghis Khan

AS CHINESE AND other diplomats urge a halt to brutal wars raging in Israel and elsewhere today, this may be a good time to remember one of the most extraordinary meetings between a peacemaker and a ruthless warrior. The two characters in this story are Qiu Chuji (丘處機), a Taoist master, and Genghis Khan, the…

December 28, 20230Comments ByEmily Zhou

Chinese history Culture News

Business cards found, 18 centuries old

ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOUND wooden business cards 18 centuries old, it was revealed this week. Searching in ruins and abandoned wells in Chenzhou, Hunan province, they located nearly 10,000 thin wooden strips. These would have been ordinary throwaway documents at the time they were written—but today provide a priceless window into how people lived 1,800 years ago,…

December 28, 20230Comments ByNury Vittachi

Culture Features Hong Kong News

Monet steals the show at extraordinary Hong Kong art exhibition

WANT TO LEARN the history of western art in a single afternoon? The Hong Kong Palace Museum is showcasing the UK National Gallery's prestigious painting collection - with 52 of the world’s finest masterpieces painted by fifty influential artists over a 400-year period. All the big names are there, including Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Rembrandt,…

December 12, 20230Comments ByEmily Zhou

Culture Features

Groundbreaking animation tells tale of extraordinary Chinese poet

Chinese filmmakers have created a dramatic animated movie in the Disney-Pixar style, with 3D characters in thrilling adventures. Yet at the same, "30,000 Miles From Chang'an" is also very different. It celebrates Chinese history, telling the story of China's most famous poet, and it is unapologetically educational: it has 48 classic Chinese poems scattered throughout…

November 23, 20230Comments ByEmily Zhou

Chinese history Culture

Will BRI change the world as much as the old Silk Road did?

THE ORIGINAL SILK ROAD quietly crept into existence over many years, but ended up transforming much of the world. China’s new Silk Road is already doing the same. A total of 151 countries were represented at the Belt and Road Initiative gathering last week—and 215 new BRI projects were announced for the coming months.…

October 30, 20230Comments ByJoshua Cheung

Culture

Treasures of China’s ‘lost civilisation’ on show in Hong Kong

THE UNEARTHING OF STRANGE and sometimes grotesque bronze artefacts at the Sanxingdui (三星堆) site in Sichuan has been regarded as one of the most astounding archaeological discoveries in China, shedding light on the mysterious ancient Shu civilization that flourished about several thousands of years ago. A golden mask unearthed in Sanxingdui is displayed in the…

October 27, 20230Comments ByH.C. Lu

Chinese history

Soong Ching Ling: a survivor of momentous times

MADAM SOONG CHING LING, the wife of modern China’s founder Dr Sun Yat Sen, was a woman of charisma who served the underprivileged women and children of the country. Her life spanned many momentous events in modern China’s development. As the daughter of a missionary Charlie Soong, Madam Soong was in the first batch of…

October 11, 20230Comments ByH.C. Lu

Culture

When Giganto walked the earth – and why he disappeared

Van Gogh’s iconic painting exhibited in Hong Kong

A herdsman in Tibet just won a top literary prize

The quiet Taoist who stood up to legendary slaughterer Genghis Khan

Business cards found, 18 centuries old

Monet steals the show at extraordinary Hong Kong art exhibition

Groundbreaking animation tells tale of extraordinary Chinese poet

Will BRI change the world as much as the old Silk Road did?

Treasures of China’s ‘lost civilisation’ on show in Hong Kong

Soong Ching Ling: a survivor of momentous times

Starmer meets Xi today, hopes to rebuild UK’s relationship

Treasures from 800-year-old sunken vessel exhibited in Hong Kong

At the Great Wall, I learned how the Chinese dealt with their enemies