From Canada to China, millions around the world are preparing for the fateful day of December 21, 2012, which many believe marks the end of a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count on the Mayan calendar. As doomsday "preppers" rush to stock their homes with bottled water, food rations, gas masks and weapons for an impending apocalypse, nobody is preparing for the end of the world in Mexico or Guatemala; instead, they're bracing for a tsunami of spiritual visitors.
Mayan doomsday 2012
Photos: Doomsday preparations... and celebrations
20 Dec 2012
Inspired by Hollywood doomsday film ‘2012’ and the 2004 Asian tsunami, Chinese furniture maker Liu Qiyuan has constructed spherical emergency shelters in a village in Langfang, Hebei. Liu believes his structures could save his family from big floods, earthquakes or solar storms. Photo: AFP
Editor's Pick
Forty years after his death, two of Bruce Lee's siblings reminisce about their famous brother's life and a legacy that is inspiring a whole new generation of fighters. Jo Baker reports.
10:40PM
Lifestyle
In 1949, computers and robots were largely the stuff of...
4:35AM
British fashion designer Stella McCartney is in Hong Kong as...
11:17PM
Four-year-old Rico Bishop has already sampled sheep brains...
1:12PM
Photo Galleries
-
![]( "Photo: Benny Lam")
News24 May 2013 -
![]( "Quarry Bay. Photo: Romain Jacquet-Lagreze")
News16 May 2013 -
![]( "\"Beetle Sphere\" by Ichwan Noor")
Photos25 May 2013 -
![]( "Monday''s enormous tornado ploughed a 32-kilometre destruction trail through the suburbs of Oklahoma City, flattening entire neighbourhoods and destroying schools and a hospital. Photo: AP")
Photos22 May 2013 -
![]( "Notorious for drugs and crime, residents of Kowloon Walled City endured dangerous living conditions with 50,000 people crammed into only a few blocks.")
News25 Apr 2013 -
![]( "Workers in Lushan county build settlements for earthquake survivors. Photo: Simon Song")
News21 Apr 2013 -
![]( "Hong Kong actor Andy Lau poses on the red carpet of the 7th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on March 18, 2013. Photo: AFP")
News18 Mar 2013 -
![]( "Yuan Zhitong (left) and wife Zhang Junmei (right) wait inside Shenzhen railway station before boarding their train to Shangqiu, Henan province, on Tuesday February 5, 2013. Photo: Helene Franchineau/SCMP")
News15 Feb 2013 -
![]( "Hongkongers protested after a Dolce & Gabbana store banned photos being taken. Photo: Felix Wong")
News31 Dec 2012
Pages
Video Channels
- Hong Kong Hong Kong greets giant Rubber Duck May 2, 2013|2:48
![]()
- World Chevrolet in hot water over 'offensive' ad May 1, 2013|1:02
![]()
- Hong Kong Should Hong Kong donate to the Sichuan earthquake victims? Apr 24, 2013|1:48
![]()
- World Singapore supervisor caught on video slapping intern to 'nurture him' May 21, 2013|0:16
![]()
- Hong Kong Fast and Furious on the streets of Hong Kong May 9, 2013|3:45
![]()
- Hong Kong How to deal with Hong Kong's smog Apr 15, 2013|2:11
![]()
- Unravelling the mystery behind a WW2 plane crash May 13, 2013|6:45
![]()
- Health The Incident Apr 24, 2013|4:19
![]()
- Hong Kong Chapman brothers unveil diabolical art in Hong Kong May 24, 2013|1:00
![]()
- Dead Man Down May 16, 2013|2:23
![]()
- INFINITI May 15, 2013|2:39
![]()
- @HOMES Episode 7 - 2013 May 8, 2013|3:57
![]()
- Global Finance Seminar Series - 19 November 2012 - Part 1 Nov 23, 2012|11:59
![]()
- Arts World's premier art fair comes to Hong Kong May 23, 2013|1:04
![]()
- So Young May 16, 2013|1:06
![]()
- FACES SUMMER 2013 Apr 24, 2013|2:02
![]()
In Case You Missed It
Login
SCMP.com Account
or
Log in using a partner site
Log in using your Facebook account. What's this?
Don't have an SCMP.com account? Subscribe Now!