https://www.scmp.com/rss/328582/feed Andersen Xia is a video journalist who focuses on social minorities. He previously worked with Caixin Media in Beijing and graduated from Northwestern University. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Hong Kong’s festive season is in full swing despite a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections. Although the city has imposed strict social-distancing measures, the dazzling and colourful Christmas displays at shopping centres across the city still attract long queues of masked crowds. https://www.scmp.com/china/top-five-christmas-displays-cheer-hong-kong/article/3114757?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/top-five-christmas-displays-cheer-hong-kong/article/3114757?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:39:58 +0000 Hong Kong’s Ocean Park was forced to close for a second time as the city struggles to fight its third wave of Covid-19 infections. Park employees that look after animals at the attraction say there has been little impact on the standard of care they get. But the intensifying global health crisis is keeping away guests that Ocean Park relies on, deepening its financial woes and leaving the animals’ long-term fate up in the air. https://www.scmp.com/society/what-its-be-sea-lion-and-its-caretaker-during-pandemic/article/3099206?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/what-its-be-sea-lion-and-its-caretaker-during-pandemic/article/3099206?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Aug 2020 11:25:24 +0000 Hong Kong marked the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown amid a police ban on the annual Victoria Park vigil because of Covid-19 social distancing restrictions. Thousands defied the ban and gathered in the park anyway. Elsewhere in the city, people gathered to light candles and held a moment of silence to commemorate those who died in the crackdown on June 4, 1989. https://www.scmp.com/politics/hongkongers-defy-ban-mark-tiananmen-crackdown/article/3087662?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/hongkongers-defy-ban-mark-tiananmen-crackdown/article/3087662?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2020 11:20:57 +0000 Thousands of Hongkongers camped out overnight in line in the cold after a company in the Kowloon Bay neighborhood said it would release thousands of boxes of surgical masks for sale during citywide shortages caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Masks are believed to help prevent the spread of the virus, which has infected at least 24 people and caused one death in the city.  The company, Luck Well International Holdings, sold its entire stock of 11,000 boxes. https://www.scmp.com/china/coronavirus-desperate-scenes-10000-queue-masks-hong-kong/article/3049293?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/coronavirus-desperate-scenes-10000-queue-masks-hong-kong/article/3049293?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Feb 2020 12:20:25 +0000 Thousands of Hong Kong school pupils and alumni formed human chains on the morning of September 9, 2019, as part of continuing protests to pressure the government to meet their demands. Though the government has announced it will withdraw the controversial extradition bill that initially sparked protests, demonstrations continue to insist on pushing four other demands, which include the establishment of a commission to independently investigate police conduct and greater democracy. https://www.scmp.com/society/hong-kong-students-form-human-chains-support-protests/article/3026474?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/hong-kong-students-form-human-chains-support-protests/article/3026474?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Sep 2019 10:00:00 +0000 Amid anti-government protests that have rocked Hong Kong for nearly three months, some artists who support the movement talk about the works they have created to express their feelings about the movement or to offer support for demonstrators. https://www.scmp.com/society/hong-kong-artists-turning-creativity-support-anti-government-protests/article/3026302?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/hong-kong-artists-turning-creativity-support-anti-government-protests/article/3026302?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Sep 2019 09:15:53 +0000 In mid-June, more than 1,000 members of China's LGBT community and their friends and families embarked on a five-day holiday cruise making a round trip from China’s southern city of Shenzhen to Vietnam. Organized under the slogan “Be Yourself,” the cruise was described as a trip “without closets.” On board, passengers were able to take part in workshops and sharing sessions meant to help gay and lesbian people better connect with parents who often struggle to accept their children’s sexual... https://www.scmp.com/china/rainbow-cruise-chinese-sexual-minorities-relax-sea-ship/article/3020601?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/rainbow-cruise-chinese-sexual-minorities-relax-sea-ship/article/3020601?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jul 2019 10:32:17 +0000 When imperial rule collapsed in China at the beginning of the 20th century, the emperor’s Forbidden City home was turned over to the public and transformed into the Palace Museum. Fierce fighting that rocked the country for years after the leadership change posed a grave threat to the palace treasures – considered one of the world’s greatest collections of art and artifacts. To protect them, the Palace Museum director decided to evacuate a large number of items and set them on a 14-year,... https://www.scmp.com/arts/how-forbidden-citys-treasures-survived-modern-chinas-bloody-beginning/article/3009136?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/arts/how-forbidden-citys-treasures-survived-modern-chinas-bloody-beginning/article/3009136?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 May 2019 09:37:19 +0000 The presence of eunuchs in the Chinese court was part of a long-standing tradition. These emasculated men frequently served as menial workers, spies and harem watchdogs in ancient Chinese imperial society. Over time, eunuchs serving in government roles began to exert enough influence with emperors that they could control state affairs or even orchestrate the fall of a dynasty. Check out our video, above, to find out more. https://www.scmp.com/china/army-eunuchs-behind-chinas-forbidden-city/article/3005494?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/army-eunuchs-behind-chinas-forbidden-city/article/3005494?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Apr 2019 10:00:15 +0000 Grave-sweeping is an important part of the Ching Ming, or Qing Ming, festival – a 2,500-year-old tradition that sees millions flock to cemeteries to pay tribute to their dead. Family members and friends burn paper money, light joss sticks, and offer food and other trinkets to their departed loved ones. But these offerings don’t come cheap. And what’s worse, Hong Kong is running out of space for cemeteries, columbariums and cremation facilities. The dignity of death may be under threat. https://www.scmp.com/society/ching-ming-festival-high-cost-hong-kongs-burial-sites/article/3005144?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/ching-ming-festival-high-cost-hong-kongs-burial-sites/article/3005144?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Apr 2019 07:53:10 +0000 In China, children with autism are referred to as “children of the stars,” because communicating with them has been compared to talking to aliens. China has some an estimated two million people on the autism spectrum, but there’s very little support for them or their families. Wang Xuetao, 13, has never spoken clearly.  His mother Yang Yang, whose husband is intellectually disabled, struggles to raise her son by herself. https://www.scmp.com/health/struggle-raising-child-autism-china/article/3004284?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/health/struggle-raising-child-autism-china/article/3004284?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Apr 2019 08:27:03 +0000 The Excelsior hotel sits on a slice of Hong Kong history. The iconic waterfront hotel was built on Lot No 1: the very first plot of land sold in 1842 when the British took control of the colony. The hotel itself opened in 1973 – and now, after 46 years of catering to Hong Kong’s great and good, it's seen its final turndown service. In recent years, the hotel has struggled amid rising rents and competition from newer hotels. Its owner, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, will tear down the four-star... https://www.scmp.com/society/hong-kongs-iconic-excelsior-hotel-closes-redevelopment/article/3004110?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/hong-kongs-iconic-excelsior-hotel-closes-redevelopment/article/3004110?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Apr 2019 10:17:02 +0000 Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is facing increasing scrutiny, particularly from the US. Its new lakeside research headquarters appear to be untouched by international pressure – although there’s an international influence nonetheless. The buildings on campus have replicated elements of 12 European cities, but in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan. The 313-acre campus is expected to provide office space for 25,000 employees. Check out our video, above, for more. https://www.scmp.com/china/last-wonton-inside-huaweis-european-lakeside-campus-dongguan/article/3003436?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/last-wonton-inside-huaweis-european-lakeside-campus-dongguan/article/3003436?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Mar 2019 09:38:00 +0000 Videos of Taiwanese grandfather Chen San-yuan have gone viral, thanks to his 21-phone bike setup. Chen says that playing on multiple phones increases his chance of catching rare creatures in the augmented reality game Pokemon Go. The 70-year-old Taoist priest has been obsessed with the game since his grandson introduced him to it in 2016. Videos of Chen and his phones fixed to a bicycle that carries him between Pokestops have gone viral online, and even earned him a gig endorsing a mobile phone... https://www.scmp.com/society/last-wonton-taiwanese-grandpa-uses-21-phones-play-pokemon-go/article/3002162?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/last-wonton-taiwanese-grandpa-uses-21-phones-play-pokemon-go/article/3002162?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Mar 2019 10:12:59 +0000 All women living in imperial China’s Forbidden City were carefully sequestered in quarters deep inside the palace. Most were employed as maids and servants, but there was also a select group of concubines tasked with bearing children for the emperor – as many as he could father. The selection process was extensive… and the life of a concubine was often a harsh, lonely one. Check out our video, above, to find out more. https://www.scmp.com/china/inside-forbidden-city-emperors-harem/article/3001212?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/inside-forbidden-city-emperors-harem/article/3001212?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Mar 2019 10:04:46 +0000 Soy sauce is everywhere in Hong Kong cuisine, but increasingly the city’s heritage makers are going out of business. Rising rents and cost of production are making it harder to stay afloat. For one soy sauce factory in the north of the city near the Chinese border, there’s another threat: a government plan to redevelop the largely rural area into a dense “new town.” But for the workers of the factory, it might just be a graceful way to go. Check out our video, above, for more. https://www.scmp.com/food/hong-kongs-heritage-soy-sauce-makers-squeezed-rising-costs-and-new-territories-redevelopment/article/3000894?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/food/hong-kongs-heritage-soy-sauce-makers-squeezed-rising-costs-and-new-territories-redevelopment/article/3000894?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Feb 2019 09:45:30 +0000 Beijing's former imperial palace, the Forbidden City, was the royal residence and seat of the Chinese government for five centuries. The massive complex contains more than 8,700 rooms, inside buildings constructed without a single nail or drop of glue. We look at the durable construction techniques that have allowed the Forbidden City to withstand plundering, fire and the test of time. This video was made in collaboration with the South China Morning Post’s infographics team as part of their... https://www.scmp.com/china/how-chinas-forbidden-city-was-built-survive-fires-and-test-time/article/3000649?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/how-chinas-forbidden-city-was-built-survive-fires-and-test-time/article/3000649?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jan 2019 08:59:30 +0000 The Chinese-owned Pearl River Piano Group makes around 150,000 instruments each year. But while the factory in the southern city of Guangzhou supplies more pianos than any other manufacturer in the world, only about 10% of their products reach international customers. The reason: an enormous domestic market, and limited interest from overseas. China may have the volume, but it has yet to nail the level of quality sought by international musicians. Check out our video, above, for a look inside... https://www.scmp.com/china/chinas-pearl-river-piano-group-biggest-piano-maker-world/article/3000558?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/chinas-pearl-river-piano-group-biggest-piano-maker-world/article/3000558?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jan 2019 09:27:59 +0000 The world’s top-selling electric vehicle maker is a Chinese brand named BYD Auto – that stands for “Build Your Dreams.” At its assembly line in Shenzhen, the largest electric car factory in China, a vehicle rolls off the production line every 90 seconds. The Chinese government wants the country to be a global leader in electric vehicles, as part of its ambitious “Made in China 2025” initiative. Check out our video, above, to take a look inside the beating heart of China’s growing electric car... https://www.scmp.com/business/inside-chinas-largest-electric-car-factory/article/3000500?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/inside-chinas-largest-electric-car-factory/article/3000500?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jan 2019 10:31:34 +0000 Forty years ago, 18 residents from poverty-stricken Xiaogang village, in China’s eastern Anhui province, risked their lives to secretly sign a contract which divided their communally owned farmland into family plots. With just 18 thumbprints, they forever transformed China’s rural economy. But in the present day, the village is still far from prosperity, and the younger generation is leaving for the country’s big cities. Watch our video to find out how this village changed history. https://www.scmp.com/china/40-years-ago-xiaogang-village-became-chinas-birthplace-economic-reform-now-its-struggling/article/2173938?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/40-years-ago-xiaogang-village-became-chinas-birthplace-economic-reform-now-its-struggling/article/2173938?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Nov 2018 09:37:48 +0000 China has strict controls on media and journalism, but a group of artists in the southern city of Guangzhou are trying to empower citizen journalists. The group of artists is training residents in the urban village of Xisan, Guangzhou, to use their phones to report on forced demolitions and other issues in the community. But many question if doing so can really bring change. https://www.scmp.com/china/can-citizen-journalism-work-china/article/2172127?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/can-citizen-journalism-work-china/article/2172127?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2018 10:30:45 +0000 Duojie Caidan, a 13-year-old Tibetan boy, lives among the mountains of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, northwestern China, more than two miles above sea level. Like many generations before, he and his family are nomadic herders. Duojie and his siblings spend their school holidays on a pasture herding yaks. Their days start at 6am, helping to milk the yaks, before they drive them out to graze. It’s fun work to do when school’s out: but Duojie has his own dreams and doesn’t envision being a herdsman... https://www.scmp.com/society/yak-herding-and-growing-zekog-county-chinas-qinghai-tibet-plateau/article/2171223?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/yak-herding-and-growing-zekog-county-chinas-qinghai-tibet-plateau/article/2171223?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Nov 2018 09:45:30 +0000 Horse racing has been ingrained in Tibetan and Mongolian culture for nearly a thousand years. Ejian Cairang, a Tibetan, has been racing horses since he was eight years old and treats his horse as a family member. Unlike most horse trainers, who often lack formal education, Ejian graduated from college and choses to make a living from horse racing. Does his horse win? Watch what happens at the Tibetan Horse Racing Festival. https://www.scmp.com/sports/why-university-graduate-chose-make-living-raising-tibetan-race-horse/article/2169823?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/why-university-graduate-chose-make-living-raising-tibetan-race-horse/article/2169823?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Oct 2018 10:30:00 +0000 Hong Kong’s double-decker trams are a genuine icon of the city. They’ve been trundling along the same tracks for more than a century. Now cultural start-up Circus has teamed up with Hong Kong Tramways to create the world’s first private club inside a working tram carriage. Warm wood, red leather, light marble and brass accents are the name of the game in this refurbished mobile meeting space. Check out our video above for more. https://www.scmp.com/style/hong-kong-unveils-circus-tram-private-members-club/article/2165661?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/style/hong-kong-unveils-circus-tram-private-members-club/article/2165661?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Sep 2018 09:45:00 +0000