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Lisa Cam

Are your loved ones in luck this year? See our predictions for all the zodiac signs in the Year of the Horse.
What does the coming Year of the Horse 2026 have in store for those born in the Year of the Monkey (1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016)? Renowned fortune-teller Tong Pik-ha offers her comprehensive predictions for the year.
Lucky number: 5; lucky colour: yellow; lucky element: citrine
Those born in the Year of the Monkey were in conflict with the tai sui deity in the Year of the Snake, but this year their fortune will stabilise.
Monkeys will receive help from benefactors in the Year of the Horse, as well as blessings from two auspicious stars – leading to improvements in career and wealth.
The Year of the Horse will be a time to expand networks, especially abroad, so Monkeys should take opportunities to travel. Monkeys should also avoid visiting the sick or attending funerals to avoid bad energy.


Wealth and career
Monkeys will be surrounded by benefactors this year, with wealth coming from their occupation rather than a windfall. This means there will be a good turn of business or a pay rise and promotion.
The influence of a travel star dictates that there will be a lot of opportunities to go on trips, which will increase the chances of making money.
For those who are self-employed or business owners, proactively exploring overseas markets is recommended. With the help of an auspicious star in the charts, salaried employees in clerical positions are likely to receive promotions and pay increases.

The same star also inspires clear thinking and quick reflexes, which will lead to learning opportunities and the passing of examinations.
Monkeys who are eyeing a course or accreditation should pursue it this year, and also line up business trips to increase income.
However, the curse star may bring unexpected expenses, such as medical costs related to health issues or household expenses. Therefore, it is recommended to buy medical and home accident insurance, and to undertake minor home renovations or replace furniture to improve overall luck.
Relationships

Things are quiet on the romance front for Monkeys, with neither good nor bad stars in the charts.
Singletons should take advantage of the travelling star’s influence and go abroad, as this may lead to meeting someone you like in a foreign land and starting a romantic relationship overseas.
However, a star that signifies loneliness could make married Monkeys feel lonely and isolated from their partners. This could lead to emotional dependence on others, so married Monkeys who hit it off with others at social circles should be sure to check their emotions – not doing so could damage long-term relationships and distress their spouse.
Health

The Year of the Horse will be unfavourable health-wise and home-wise for Monkeys. To avoid bad energy, it is recommended to avoid visiting the sick or attending funerals, and to refrain from going to places with heavy yin energy, such as hospitals, funeral homes and cemeteries.
To counter the bad luck, it is recommended to do minor renovations or replace furniture at home. Those with elderly family members should pay close attention to their health and seek medical attention immediately if any discomfort arises.
The flipside to the travel star is that high-risk activities can lead to injuries and hospitalisations. It is best to avoid thrill-seeking activities such as diving, skiing, water skiing and parachuting to prevent injuries to the hands and feet.


Hong Kong’s cha chaan teng history, designs and legacy celebrated in new exhibition

Style Edit: Art and horology meet at the Success Upon the Horse’s Arrival exhibition

Rescuing a key Confucian text from centuries of ignominy

In their words: Tania Mohan on the rise of Asian luxury brands in Hong Kong

Chinese culture

Year of the Horse 2026 predictions for Monkeys, from their love and health to lucky colour

The Year of the Horse 2026 will be a time for those born in the Year of the Monkey to expand networks abroad. But married Monkeys are at risk of feeling alienated from their spouse. Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Those born in the Year of the Monkey will experience good fortune at work this year, with wealth coming from their occupation rather than a windfall. Photo: Getty Images

Married Monkeys will be at risk of feeling lonely in the Year of the Horse and so need to keep their emotions in check should they hit it off with others. Photo: Getty Images

Monkeys should avoid visiting sick people in the Year of the Horse to avoid bad energy. Photo: Shutterstock

Year of the Horse 2026 predictions for all 12 Chinese zodiac signs. Is your luck in?

Will the Year of the Horse 2026 be lucky for you? Fortune-teller Tong Pik-ha offers her comprehensive predictions for those born under all 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Year of the Horse 2026: predictions, facts, myths and feng shui

Photo: Shutterstock

3 Year of the Horse 2026 events in Hong Kong to welcome the new year with a gallop

The Longines Hong Kong International Horse Show will return to the AsiaWorld-Expo from January 30 to February 1. The 2026 event will feature competitions and entertainment as well as the chance to see impressive equine action. Photo: Hong Kong Jockey Club

The Scarpa CNY Horse Tour 2026 will include multiple routes to cater to runners of all levels. Photo: Facebook/Wildtrek Trail Running Series

Bullseye from Toy Story will make an appearance at Hong Kong Disneyland from January 30 to March 1. Photo: Hong Kong Disneyland

How to play mahjong and how to win at mahjong: basic rules to get a game started, the suits, winning hands – and what to say to claim your victory

Want to win mahjong? Here are the basics of how to win in this traditional Chinese tile-based tabletop game. Photo: Antony Dickson

These mahjong tiles have been stacked into rows two tiles high. Players take a tile in turn from one of these stacks, moving on to the next stack when the first is depleted. Photo: Antony Dickson

An example of “chicken hand”, which is four sets of any category. Photo: Antony Dickson

Examples of “sheung” (top), “pong” (middle) and “kong”. Photo: Antony Dickson

Lifestyle

Chinese Zodiac

Lunar New Year traditions and customs for each day of the holiday, from food to haircuts

On the eve of Lunar New Year, it is traditional to hold a family reunion dinner. Photo: Getty Images

Families traditionally decorate their home on the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve. Photo: Getty Images

The Kitchen God returns to the Jade Emperor on the second day of Lunar New Year, and families traditionally hold a symbolic reunion dinner to send him off. Photo: Shutterstock

Lucky red packets, known as hong bao in Mandarin and lai see in Cantonese, are given by elders to children and younger people. Photo: Shutterstock

10 great Lunar New Year food and drink gifts in Hong Kong for Year of the Horse gatherings

Hong Kong hotel Cordis’ Ming Court Deluxe Chinese New Year Hamper is one of the many great gifts you can buy for friends or family members ahead of your next Lunar New Year gathering. Photo: Cordis

Tea WG’s Red Horse Tea. Photo: Tea WG

Laderach’s Year of the Horse limited-edition chocolate boxes. Photo: Laderach

Lady M’s Year of the Horse Gift Set includes crêpe biscuits, a bag charm and red envelopes. Photo: Lady M

Mala Meow’s three-jar Lunar New Year gift set. Photo: Mala Meow

Lucullus’ Blessing Knock Chocolate & Cookie Gift Box includes popping-candy chocolates, butter cookies, crisps and almonds. Photo: Lucullus

Martell’s Year of the Horse cognacs come in packaging featuring calligraphy and horse motifs. Photo: Martell

Penfolds’ Lunar New Year 2026 Grange special edition comes in a special gift box.

Why the Year of the Horse 2026 could bring chaos but also great progress

The Year of the Fire Horse begins on February 17, 2026. Being a “double fire” year, it could mean drastic change ahead. Photo: Shutterstock

2026 will mark the first Year of the Fire Horse since 1966. Photo: Shutterstock

A squad of Red Guards rally in Beijing in 1966 at the beginning of China’s Cultural Revolution. Photo: AFP

England’s national football team captain Bobby Moore holds the Jules Rimet trophy as he is carried by his teammates following England’s victory over Germany in the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley Stadium in London. Photo: AFP

Year of the Horse 2026: 5 famous works of equine art through the centuries

A scene from War Horse, performed at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2019. The award-winning British play is one of many artworks made over the centuries with a strong equine focus. Photo: Winson Wong

One Hundred Horses, by Giuseppe Castiglione. Photo: Taiwan National Palace Museum

The cover of a modern edition of Anna Sewell’s 1887 novel. Photo: Amazon

A visitor takes a photo of Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse’s Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard (1807), modelled after Jacques-Louis David’s original from his Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801-1805) series, at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, in May 2025. Photo: Jelly Tse

The British play War Horse won recognition for the life-size horse puppets it featured that were operated by three puppeteers working in tandem. Photo: Winson Wong

Hong Kong actor and singer Hins Cheung (right) performs in a scene from Equus. Peter Shaffer’s 1973 play about a troubled teenager with an erotic fixation on horses is one of the darker pieces of equine art. Photo: Dionysus Contemporary Theatre

5 of the best-known horses in Chinese legend, from the Red Hare to qilin

Warlord Lu Bu and his famous horse Red Hare are depicted in the 2013 video game Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends.

Horse-Face (right) and Ox-Head are guardians of the underworld in Chinese folklore. Photo: Zhihu

A stone sculpture of a horse stands near the entrance to the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, in China’s Henan province. Photo: May Tse

The daughter and her horse from a story in the Chinese folk legend collection In Search of the Supernatural. Photo: Baidu

Colourful qilin decorate the roof of a Chinese temple. Photo: Shutterstock

Mongolia’s child jockeys are key to its nomadic heritage, but are they in danger?

Horse rider Dolgorsuren Batoyun (centre) is pictured as a child. Now grown up, the first woman member of Mongolia’s national polo team looks back fondly on the “cultures and customs” her father (right) taught her. Photo: Dominique Backhouse

Genghis Khan Retreat director D’Artagnan Giercke is pictured as a child. Photo: Dominique Backhouse

Dorjpalam Battumur, known as Palam, is a member of the Mongolian national polo team who started horse racing at the age of four. Photo: Dominique Backhouse

Batoyun is pictured riding a horse as a child. Photo: Dominique Backhouse

Tourists enjoy horseback riding near the iconic Turtle Rock outcrop at the Gorkhi Terelj National Park outside Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Photo: AP

People play polo in Mongolia. Photo: Ghenghis Khan Retreat

Batoyun (right) with her husband and son. In recent years, she has observed changes in laws and regulations that are “better for both jockeys and the horses”. Photo: Dominique Backhouse

How Hong Kong horse riding charity’s equine therapy helps people with disabilities

An instructor for Hong Kong’s Riding for the Disabled Association guides a child on a horse. The non-profit organisation teaches disabled children and some adults to ride a horse to the best of their ability. Photo: RDA

Students ride horses guided by instructors from the Riding for the Disabled Association at the Pokfulam Public Riding School. Photo: RDA

Joelle Scott has been working with the RDA for 30 years. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Scott demonstrates how to ride on a horse model. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Former RDA student Chi Tat (centre) recently returned to work as a volunteer. Photo: RDA

What is horse oil and why is it a popular skin treatment in East Asia?

Horse oil has been used for centuries to treat burned and chapped skin, and later as a beauty product. Photo: Shutterstock

Basashi (horse sushi) in Kumamoto, Japan. Horse oil products are widely available in Japan, where horse meat is eaten. Photo: Sam Evans

Horse oil cream has a lighter, less greasy consistency than creams derived from other animal fats. Photo: Charmzone

Horse oil is a popular traditional product, but a dermatology expert does not recommend its use to her patients because of a lack of research. Photo: Getty Images

New Hong Kong restaurant Yurt brings Kazakhstan’s horsemeat tradition to the city

A variety of dishes at Yurt, including beshbarmak (top left). Photo: Yurt

The beshbarmak – boiled horsemeat served with noodles – at Yurt is made with beef instead of the traditional horsemeat, but it can be upgraded to kazy, seasoned horsemeat sausage. The new restaurant in SoHo, Hong Kong, gives visitors a taste of Central Asia. Photo: Yurt

(From left) Yurt founder Ali Nuraly, head of communications Xeniya Tregubenko and executive chef Marat Zakaryayev. Photo: Yurt

Baursak is a traditional fried dough served with a dip of sour cream and honey. Photo: Lisa Cam

How My Little Pony collectible trading cards took China by storm

My Little Pony trading cards have become hugely popular across China, with fans hoping to find rare cards in packs.

A selection of My Little Pony collectible cards.

People play a game of My Little Pony with the cards. 

A My Little Pony display in Shanghai. Photo: SCMP

What is the horse pose in yoga? Only ‘3 out of 10 students’ can do it, instructor says

A yoga practitioner performs horse pose. Also known as horse face pose or vatayanasana, it is a very advanced posture in yoga that can boost hip mobility and strength. Photo: Shutterstock

Yoga instructor Carrie Pun demonstrates horse pose. Photo: Carrie Pun

How Chinese artist Xu Beihong’s horse paintings have galloped through history

The Three Stallions, by Xu Beihong. The piece is just one example of the many horse paintings that Xu was known for.

Two Galloping Horses (1941), by Xu Beihong. Photo: courtesy of Bonhams

Five Galloping Horses, by Xu Beihong, is seen at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2015. 

Slave and Lion (1924), by Xu Beihong, is displayed during a Christie’s auction preview in Hong Kong in 2006.

Two Horses On Hillside, early 1900s, by Xu Beihong. Photo: Getty Images

Standing Horse (1953), by Xu Beihong.

7 successful people born in the Year of the Horse from Jackie Chan to Ang Lee and Lu Han

Jackie Chan, famous for his stunts and martial arts films, was born in 1954, the Year of the Horse. Photo: Golden Harvest

Brigitte Lin was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 60th Golden Horse Awards in Taipei in 2023. Photo: CNA

Jackie Chan carries the Olympic torch through the Archaeological Park in Pompeii, Italy, on December 22, 2025. Photo: AP

Tu Youyou was a joint winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for her work on artemisinin in the fight against malaria. Photo: Xinhua

Director Ang Lee poses for photos at the 61st Golden Horse Awards in Taipei in 2024. Photo: Reuters

Leon Lai Ming, one of the “Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop”, was awarded the Medal of Honour for his charity work. Photo: Instagram/leonlaifansclub

Lu Han, a former member of K-pop group Exo, is a social media star in China. Photo: Weibo

Zheng Qinwen during a women’s singles match during the China Open at the National Tennis Centre in Beijing, China, in September 2025. Photo: AP

The Chinese cowboys challenging American Old West narratives through art and self-discovery

Self-professed Chinese cowboy Bruce Wang Shibo stands with a horse. The Chinese national is one of those rewriting narratives of the American West. Photo: Bruce Wang Shibo

A piece from Kenneth Tam’s Silent Spikes exhibition. Photo: Christian Carroll

Wang did not intend to stay in the US forever, but has settled in Texas. Photo: Bruce Wang Shibo

A Korean horsehair underskirt sparked a fashion frenzy in China during the Ming dynasty

Ming Emperor Xianzong’s Tour of the Lantern Festival is a painting that depicts Emperor Chenghua in 1485 with eunuchs and palace maids portrayed wearing skirts that look like umbrellas spread out. South Korean researcher Koo Do-young proposes that they are wearing mamigun, the Korean originator to the Chinese maweiqun.

Visitors dressed in traditional Korean attire at the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main royal palace during the Joseon dynasty, in Seoul, South Korea, in 2019. Photo: AP

A Korean woman poses with her daughter in traditional hanbok dress, c. 1910. The mamigun was the Korean originator to the underskirt that both rose to fame and died in infamy during the Ming dynasty. Photo: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

A section from the painting Beauties in History, attributed to the Ming dynasty artist Qiu Ying. Korean fashion became popular among wealthy Chinese people during Emperor Chenghua’s reign (1465-1487). Photo: Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

A view of Jeju Island in Korea. During the Joseon period, commodities made of horsehair were mainly provided from Jeju Island. Photo: Shutterstock

History of Chinese-style ‘frog buttons’, seen on viral ‘Tang-style’ Adidas jacket

A model wears Adidas’ “Tang-style” jacket that combines streetwear cool with Chinese details including “frog buttons”. The jacket has become a viral hit on social media. Photo: Adidas Power of Three

Frog buttons are seen on Adidas’ limited-edition “Tang-style” jacket during Shanghai Fashion Week in October 2025.

An example of the pankou or frog button used as fasteners on clothing. 

A hussar uniform jacket with frog buttons worn by Prince Arthur, the Duke of Connaught and third son of Queen Victoria, in the 1900s. Photo: National Army Museum

A 1930s qipao that uses frog buttons. Photo: The Met

A piece by Valentino featuring frog buttons. Photo: Valentino

Year of the Horse 2026 predictions for Horses, from lucky colour to romance and health

Those born in the Year of the Horse can expect a turbulent Year of the Horse, with good wealth prospects mixed with less luck predicted in the areas of health and romance. Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Aquamarine is the lucky element for Horses in the Year of the Horse 2026, according to fortune-teller Tong Pik-ha. Photo: Dickson Lee

The Year of the Horse may be a critical year for Horses with relationships that are prone to changes and potential break-ups. Photo: Shutterstock

Horses are advised not to undertake any risky activities such as adventure sports this year, especially if there is metal involved. Photo: Chris Gursky / YouTube

Year of the Horse 2026 predictions for Sheep, from their lucky colour to romance and health

Those born in the Year of the Sheep will have a change in fortunes in the Year of the Horse, with good luck in their careers, relationships and health. Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Sterling silver is the lucky element for Sheep in the Year of the Horse 2026, according to fortune-teller Tong Pik-ha. Photo: Mr Porter

Sheep in long-term relationships should proactively reinforce their bonds with their partners this year. Photo: Shutterstock

Chinese Lunar New Year greetings in Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese and Hokkien dialects

A woman holds Lunar New Year decorations. Throughout China, greetings in various dialects will be exchanged to welcome the Year of the Horse. Here are some of them and their meanings. Photo: Shutterstock

People shop at a market selling Lunar New Year decorations in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, in 2023. Photo: Edmond So

People walk past a sign reading “Happy New Year” on a screen outside a shopping centre in Beijing in 2025. Photo: AFP

Year of the Horse 2026 predictions for Monkeys, from their love and health to lucky colour

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}In the Year of the Fire Horse, Monkeys should focus on travel and avoid places with heavy yin energy, fortune-teller Tong Pik-ha says

In the Year of the Fire Horse, Monkeys should focus on travel and avoid places with heavy yin energy, fortune-teller Tong Pik-ha says