https://www.scmp.com/rss/501219/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Hong Kong, one of the world’s most densely populated cities, is rarely regarded as a place for conservation. If anything, quite the opposite. The city is notorious for being a trading hub for smuggled ivory, shark fins, and pangolin skins. But one critically endangered parrot species has managed to find a home in this bustling metropolis. Globally, out of the 2,000 yellow-crested cockatoos left in the wild, 10% of them are in Hong Kong. One only need to walk through Hong Kong Park, an oasis in... https://www.scmp.com/travel/cockatoo-endangered-hong-kong/article/3009408?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/cockatoo-endangered-hong-kong/article/3009408?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 May 2019 11:49:08 +0000 Chopping firewood, cooking without a stove, and getting water from a creek—this is the everyday routine of Mok Ho-kwong, a 36-year-old man who’s chosen to live a simple and green life in the outskirts of bustling Hong Kong. Mok, who calls himself “Yeah Man,” a play on the Chinese words for “wild man,” started living off the grid 13 years ago. “I studied leisure management at the University of Hong Kong, but I learned a lot about nature and the environment outside school,” he says. “I realized... https://www.scmp.com/travel/living-grid-hong-kong/article/3005326?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/living-grid-hong-kong/article/3005326?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Apr 2019 04:17:49 +0000 Wanda Huang is a forager for high-end Hong Kong restaurants and spends her days roaming abandoned farmland and paths to pick delicious plants. We hung out with her for an afternoon and learned about the world of wild, edible plants. For the video, she met us at a fishing village and led us through a hiking trail, to a waterfall, and eventually to a piece of privately-owned farmland, where we picked and munched on plants that grew on the side of the paths. I’ve noticed that foraging tends to... https://www.scmp.com/travel/we-picked-and-ate-some-wild-plants-hong-kongs-countryside/article/3003788?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/we-picked-and-ate-some-wild-plants-hong-kongs-countryside/article/3003788?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Mar 2019 04:28:42 +0000 Hong Kong’s namesake, the “heung” incense tree, is under threat by poaching, largely from mainland China. The tree is prized for its fragrant wood, known as Chinese agarwood, which has been used for centuries to make beads, perfume, sculptures, and incense. Agarwood can sell for more than its weight in gold, with the best pieces going for thousands of dollars per pound. Today, the species is listed as vulnerable, and activists estimate that fewer than 300 adult trees are left in Hong Kong. Want... https://www.scmp.com/videos/tree-hong-kong-being-poached-its-prized-wood-worth-more-gold/article/3000428?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/tree-hong-kong-being-poached-its-prized-wood-worth-more-gold/article/3000428?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jan 2019 11:22:18 +0000 Smangus was one of the last places in Taiwan to get electricity. To this day, villagers still hunt for game and maintain an egalitarian society where all profit is split evenly among residents. https://www.scmp.com/travel/life-taiwans-most-remote-tribe/article/3000299?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/life-taiwans-most-remote-tribe/article/3000299?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Dec 2018 03:21:35 +0000 Warning: The video contains graphic content that some may find disturbing. The pursuit of freshness is sweeping across China. In the past decades, rural farmhouses called nongjiales have been popping up all over. They cater to the growing urban desire for fresh food and air, and they’ve been heavily promoted by the government as a way to bridge the income gap. We visited a couple of these farmhouses and got the inside scoop. And killed a chicken while we were at it. Written by: Clarissa... https://www.scmp.com/videos/we-killed-and-ate-chicken-jungle-china/article/2160897?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/we-killed-and-ate-chicken-jungle-china/article/2160897?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:10:14 +0000 On an April afternoon, I convince the team to hop in a car and head out of the comfortable  urban confines of Chengdu into the jungle. We drive to a small village of Hongzhi in Jiulong Gou Scenic Area, a series of residential homes tucked away on mountainous winding roads surrounded by a deep green where wild giant pandas have been known to reside. A cherub-faced man named Zhang Wenjun greets us, flanked by his wife and grandmother. Immediately, we are given lunch—a wonderful spread of... https://www.scmp.com/travel/boom-rural-farm-table-dining-china/article/2160885?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/boom-rural-farm-table-dining-china/article/2160885?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Aug 2018 11:45:15 +0000