https://www.scmp.com/rss/15754/feed Simon Song joined the Post in 2006 after 19 years as a photo journalist in mainland China, the US, and Hong Kong. He was the first mainland Chinese photographer credited with a White House press card. Simon has a master's degree in journalism from The University of Hong Kong. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The audience is roaring at the jam-packed Anchor bar in Beijing’s Chaoyang district. Lola Du Jour and Anita Schwanz are about to werq the stage. The two drag queens hit the catwalk on nine-inch heels – lip-syncing, voguing and flirting outrageously with the audience. Homosexuality is not illegal in China (and the nation has the world’s largest gay dating app), but it’s frowned upon by both the authorities and much of the country’s conservative culture. That hasn’t stopped the crowds from... https://www.scmp.com/society/drag-queens-beijing/article/3000860?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/drag-queens-beijing/article/3000860?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Feb 2019 09:31:37 +0000 A team of four (landbound) space pioneers have emerged from 110 days in isolation in a “lunar lab” designed to approximate living conditions in a moon base. China is planning to send its astronauts to the moon, although not for at least a decade. The United States is performing similar experiments: in 2017 it performed an eight-month isolation study in preparation for a potential colony on Mars. NASA hopes to send humans to the planet by 2030. South China Morning Post photographer Simon Song... https://www.scmp.com/science/lunar-palace-1-lab-volunteers-emerge-after-110-days-isolation/article/2146390?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/science/lunar-palace-1-lab-volunteers-emerge-after-110-days-isolation/article/2146390?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 May 2018 08:19:16 +0000 China’s Buddhist temples aren’t consigned only to antiquity. Welcome to the Hezhang Cliff Buddhist Grotto, in Shunchang county, southeast China’s Fujian province. The grotto is a work in progress: it was started in 2003 and had been steadily expanded over the years, but it’s not done yet. When it’s completed it’s expected to contain at least 10,000 statues and engravings. The entire project is funded by donations from the devout, and the grotto’s completed sections are free to visit – including... https://www.scmp.com/society/last-wonton-inside-hezhang-cliff-buddhist-grotto/article/2145507?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/last-wonton-inside-hezhang-cliff-buddhist-grotto/article/2145507?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 May 2018 06:30:45 +0000 More than 500,000 Lego blocks were used to create this astounding model of Beijing’s Palace Museum. Also known as the Forbidden City, the Palace Museum was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Lego model is part of an exhibition A Modern Royal Household and was made by Andy Hung, one of the world’s best LEGO Certified Professionals, with over 500,000 pieces of LEGO. The Forbidden City is the former imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties located in the centre of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2113307/pictures-beijings-forbidden-city-re-made-lego?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2113307/pictures-beijings-forbidden-city-re-made-lego?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Sep 2017 01:28:36 +0000 The Beijing Auto Show, which opened on April 25 and runs until Wednesday, May 4, is the premier event for carmakers from around the world to present their latest models in China, the world’s biggest car market. But it’s not just the overseas carmakers that target the show. It is also an opportunity for the burgeoning mainland industry to highlight their latest models and concept cars, such as the vehicles highlighted here. Watch: Take a tour of the Beijing auto show 2016 The mainland carmakers... https://www.scmp.com/photos/week-photos/article/1940430/pictures-2016-beijing-auto-show?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/photos/week-photos/article/1940430/pictures-2016-beijing-auto-show?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 May 2016 03:46:37 +0000 China’s transformation has been elegantly displayed in pictures by showing what’s missing, in this series shot with an iPhone in Beijing. South China Morning Post photographer Simon Song went to the former sites of ancient gates of the Inner City, which protected the palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties (14th to 19th centuries). Beijing’s no. 2 subway line follows the path of the inner city’s former walls, and now readers can too with the included map and these ghostly images. 1. Deshengmen... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1898215/beijings-lost-inner-city-revealed-photographer-recreates-ancient?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1898215/beijings-lost-inner-city-revealed-photographer-recreates-ancient?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Jan 2016 14:48:33 +0000 Hundreds of angry protesters, many of them family members of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 passengers, marched on the Malaysian embassy in Beijing on Tuesday against what they call cover-up and mishandling of the disaster by Malaysian authorities.   Beijing authorities had to call in reinforcement of paramilitary soldiers and plainclothes security agents to guard the embassy as protesters, some arriving by bus and others on foot, breached police lines set up several streets... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1456595/tears-fury-and-disbelief-relatives-over-flight-mh370?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1456595/tears-fury-and-disbelief-relatives-over-flight-mh370?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Mar 2014 17:45:45 +0000 As students at Beijing’s prestigious Peking University returned to campus this week after a long summer break, many of them had a rude welcome back. Layers of fresh graffiti in the form of hundreds of messages scribbled in ink covered the crimson walls, beautifully carved stone arches, and even the white-painted roof of the Goddess of Flower Temple archway that stands on a bank of the university’s picturesque Nameless Lake. “I will come back to Peking University as a proud student,” reads one of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1302573/video-aspiring-students-deface-peking-university-temple-graffiti?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1302573/video-aspiring-students-deface-peking-university-temple-graffiti?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Sep 2013 07:57:18 +0000 For those unfamiliar with its rich history, dating back more than 5,000 years, the simple-looking guqin and its seven strings may not strike a responsive chord. But in the eyes and hands of Huang Wenyi, the instrument is regarded as the "father of Chinese music", long favoured by scholars and literati, including Confucius. The elegant device and its beautiful music appealed to Huang, 58, when she was a child. But it wasn't until about 14 years ago, when she was building her career as a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1187334/guqin-strikes-chord-huang-wenyi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1187334/guqin-strikes-chord-huang-wenyi?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Updated 7.15pm Thank you all for staying tuned to the maiden voyage of the speed rail and my first live reporting. Its freezing in BJ gotta run! Goodbye! Updated 7.07pm The journey of over 2,000km by high speed train finally took 9 hours to complete. With improved catering and punctuality, the Beijing-Guangzhou rail link is set to be a comfortable journey in the future. Updated 6.55pm We have finally arrived at Beijing West Railway Station, a delay of about an hour. Updated 6.44pm The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1112841/live-updates-guangzhou-beijing-new-bullet-train?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1112841/live-updates-guangzhou-beijing-new-bullet-train?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Dec 2012 01:46:30 +0000 At first glance, "Beijingemily" appears to be a relatively normal online pseudonym. Nothing flashy. No puns. But when it appears on Instagram - a photo-sharing social media application - it is quickly recognised by tens of thousands of people. For Beijingemily's photos have become an internet phenomenon, giving her 74,000 followers a glimpse of the streets of Beijing. Emily Schreck, a 24-year-old American, moved to China's capital two years ago and, using an iPhone 4S, began taking pictures of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1050451/photo-blogger-beijing-beat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1050451/photo-blogger-beijing-beat?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Bamboo carving is a craft that dates back to the Tang dynasty, but it is still alive today thanks to contemporary masters such as the late Bai Shifeng and his student Wang Zhiwei ABOVE The carving style practised by Wang Zhiwei is known as liuqing, which literally means 'leaving the green'. Wang's teacher, the late famed carver Bai Shifeng, is known as a master of the style BELOW One of Bai's works, a display piece, that is estimated to be worth 100,000 yuan (HK$114,000) ABOVE A bamboo grove,... https://www.scmp.com/article/661868/masters-their-groove?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/661868/masters-their-groove?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:00:00 +0000