Long Reads
‘Fashion was freedom’: Yoox Net-a-Porter boss on London and her dream job
New Yorker Alison Loehnis, the Yoox Net-a-Porter boss, tells Kate Whitehead about falling in love with fashion, being trained to within an inch of her life at Ralph Lauren and landing her dream job in London.
Raped at 14, she was haunted for years – now her dream has come true
Fresh from her talk at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, newly minted author Sonia Leung tells Kate Whitehead about life in a Diamond Hill slum, a devastating rape and how she finally followed her dream.
How European maps helped paint a picture of China in the age of exploration
A new book containing reproductions of 127 printed European maps of Ming and Qing China from 1584 to 1735 reveals how they helped paint a reasonably accurate picture of the Middle Kingdom for the first time.
Taiwan’s forgotten disco era and how it changed the course of Mandopop
As Taiwan’s young generation dust off disco records from the 1970s and 80s, scholars consider how the island came to embrace a Western music genre at a time when even dancing in public was illegal.
Why German museums are scouring collections for looted Chinese artefacts
German museums have begun to research the provenance of their vast collections of imperial Chinese artefacts in an attempt to identify items that were looted amid the chaos of the Boxer war.
The Disney logo that symbolised China’s fight against Japan during WWII
Japan’s aerial dominance in World War II was ended by volunteer US and British fighter pilots who protected Free China in planes bearing a Flying Tigers logo designed by Disney’s best and brightest.
‘A new view of the city’: US artist’s film of Hong Kong, star of M+ facade
American visual artist Sarah Morris’ new film ‘ETC’ – which is being screened on the facade of M+ until March 17 – displays her unique artistic language in offering an outsider’s depiction of Hong Kong.
Game on: why hunting is trending with young urbanites in rural Japan
A new trend has emerged in Japan, with young urbanites and local clan members dusting off ancient hunting techniques and heading to rural areas in search of wild game.
Hong Kong is her home – and protecting its wildlife is her passion
Wildlife trade researcher Astrid Andersson tells Kate Whitehead how her passion for Hong Kong and its flora and fauna fuelled a career in conservation.
She was weak, alone, pregnant. And suddenly a prisoner of war no more
An excerpt from Searching for Billie sheds light on the life of a World War II internee at Hong Kong’s Stanley camp – the author’s mother – in the chaotic days following the Japanese surrender.
After ‘Picasso of the East’ left China, his life was a mystery. Until now
Chang Dai-chien, or Zhang Daqian, was one of China’s most famous 20th-century artists, but little is known of his life after he left his homeland in 1949. A new documentary aims to fill in the gaps.
Book extract: 32 bucolic years in a car-free island village in Hong Kong
In an excerpt from his new book, a cartoonist and writer pays homage to his carefree and car-free adopted Hong Kong home and its fascinating collection of colourful characters.
Book extract: new thinking about Marco Polo’s China travels, often doubted
With his outlandish stories of the East, Marco Polo has always drawn scepticism. But historian and author Christopher Harding’s latest book makes the intrepid Venetian’s travels harder to doubt.
How animals suffer for Buddhists to earn spiritual points
Nine in 10 Cambodians release animals as part of Buddhist merit-making, but the practice and the trade surrounding it are killing and injuring millions of birds every year, and disturbing the environment.
‘A gift I’d been given’: climber’s 3am epiphany and a Hong Kong high
Swedish climber Matilda Soderlund tells Kate Whitehead about honing her competitive spirit as an infant, finding her life’s passion in an instant and getting engaged at sunset atop Kowloon Peak.
‘Freedom’: the Taiwanese naturists defying social – and legal – norms
Strictly speaking, like most of Asia, public nudity is against the law in Taiwan. But one group holds monthly events where they can bare all without outside interference and encourage body positivity.
‘I owe a lot to Hong Kong’: Mono chef Ricardo Chaneton on forging his path
The Venezuelan chef-owner of Latin American restaurant Mono in Central talks to Kate Whitehead about finding his passion – for both food and Hong Kong.
How AI development has fostered a digital ‘sweatshop’ in poor countries
The development of artificial intelligence has created opportunities for educated workers in the Philippines and other developing countries. But they are poorly paid and lack training.
‘My life is a string of serendipities’: Hong Kong photo art gallery founder
Sarah Greene, the Belgian founder of Hong Kong’s Blue Lotus Gallery, reveals how she went from being an in-demand shipbroker to opening one of Asia’s art hotspots showing photographers like Fan Ho.
‘Like discovering gold’: US fashion designer teams with Chinese villagers
American luxury fashion designer Angel Chang is employing artisans from ethnic minorities in China’s mountain villages to recreate their intricate traditional clothing in a sustainable, high-end line.