https://www.scmp.com/rss/501244/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com With its high handle bars and adjustable seats — usually set pretty low — lowrider bikes seem like a relic of the past in a world of fixies and foldable bicycles. But the subculture has been given a second life by a group of bikers in Hong Kong called lowbikerhk. Its leader, Timothree, tells us how he fell in love with the lifestyle. https://www.scmp.com/culture/hong-kongs-hidden-lowrider-bike-clan-take-streets/article/3143119?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/hong-kongs-hidden-lowrider-bike-clan-take-streets/article/3143119?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jul 2021 04:15:37 +0000 What is British Chinese cuisine? Thanks to the spread of American popular culture, many people recognise aspects of American Chinese cuisine – fortune cookies, oyster pail folded takeaway boxes – if not specific dishes. Today, many decades on from the introduction of China’s culinary traditions to the states, American-style Chinese food looks and tastes quite different to the dishes found in China itself. As revealed in the food documentary The Search for General Tso, American-style Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3142567/what-will-hong-kong-locals-think-citys-first-british?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3142567/what-will-hong-kong-locals-think-citys-first-british?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jul 2021 04:00:20 +0000 The Japanese have their kimonos. Koreans, the hanbok. Indians, the sari. These cultures have traditional clothing that can also be worn in day-to-day life, without looking out of place.   Even though there is a small but growing trend of young people in China trying to normalize wearing the clothes their ancestors did, the majority of Chinese people around the world would only wear traditional Chinese clothes like the qipao and the Tang suit during celebrations and ceremonies. “If we wore qipao... https://www.scmp.com/culture/can-you-make-traditional-chinese-clothing-cool-again/article/3117758?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/can-you-make-traditional-chinese-clothing-cool-again/article/3117758?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jan 2021 10:10:29 +0000 “Roller derby is the exact opposite of the female oppression,” says Snooky Wong, co-president of the Hong Kong Roller Derby team. Started in 1930s Chicago, the rush and spectacle that is roller derby has crossed over to Asia. From the outset, the sport—which involves players circling each other on roller skates—allowed men and women to compete on equal grounds. And today, that egalitarian message is resonating with people halfway across the world. Wong has been leading Hong Kong Roller Derby for... https://www.scmp.com/identity/hong-kong-roller-derby/article/3044846?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/identity/hong-kong-roller-derby/article/3044846?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jan 2020 12:04:40 +0000 The Chinese of today are into raves, mixtapes, and baggy jeans. Hip-hop and street culture are influencing the youth of China today. They grew up listening to Jay-Z, Eminem, and 50 Cent on smuggled cassette tapes and now, streaming websites. When I was growing up in Hong Kong, I remember listening to Numb/Encore by Jay-Z and Linkin Park when I was 12. I didn’t know what hip-hop was then, but I was hooked. They grew up more familiar with Jay-Z than Jet Li. A lot of kids in China grew up like me,... https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-hip-hop-east-coast-video-series/article/3043373?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-hip-hop-east-coast-video-series/article/3043373?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Dec 2019 10:29:48 +0000 DJ Wordy is one of China’s earliest turntable masters, having picked up the skills and gone pro long before it reached mainstream popularity in the country. He’s represented China three times at the DMC World DJ Championships—widely recognized in the industry as the “DJ Olympics”—and was also one of the first Chinese artists to perform at EDC, North America’s largest electronic dance music festival. (Read more: Chinese DJs are making some of today’s most exciting electronic music) As his fame... https://www.scmp.com/culture/dj-wordy-chinese-electronic-music/article/3039899?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/dj-wordy-chinese-electronic-music/article/3039899?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Nov 2019 06:42:45 +0000 Streetball is the raw and raucous—some say purest—form of basketball. Taking a relaxed approach to the sport’s rules and regulations, streetball prioritizes style and entertainment value. Games run short and sharp, players sub in and out from the crowd, and trash-talking is endorsed. Generally, there’s no money involved, and players sweat it out for street cred and bragging rights. It’s loud, rough, and physical. In China, this freestyle form of basketball has taken hold among the country’s... https://www.scmp.com/videos/wu-you-china-street-basketball/article/3039235?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/wu-you-china-street-basketball/article/3039235?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Nov 2019 14:10:30 +0000 Stanley Yang was just 23 when his best friend was killed outside a nightclub in Vancouver, a gunshot wound to the head. The death hit Yang hard. In 2003, he had just graduated from film school in Vancouver and was living the high life. By day, he worked on the production sets of indie films, and at night, he partied hard. “I was a harsh raver,” he recalls. Yang was always a rebel. He grew up in a dysfunctional family that constantly fought, and tried to spend as much time as possible away from... https://www.scmp.com/culture/zhongtv-22k-stanley-yang-chinese-hip-hop/article/3037892?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/zhongtv-22k-stanley-yang-chinese-hip-hop/article/3037892?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Nov 2019 08:36:25 +0000 For most people, winning Hong Kong’s Oscars would be a dream come true. But for one unknown rapper, it nearly derailed his career. In 2014, Dough-Boy was a 24-year-old producer just two years out of school when he won the award for Best Original Song at the Hong Kong Film Awards. He wrote the song for a small indie production called The Way We Dance on a miniscule budget of $200. “I didn’t even have anyone to thank,” recalls the rapper, whose real name is Galaxy Ho. “I didn’t even know what I... https://www.scmp.com/culture/dough-boy-hong-kong-hip-hop-rapper/article/3035795?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/dough-boy-hong-kong-hip-hop-rapper/article/3035795?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Oct 2019 11:21:22 +0000 When designer Brian Au established casual sportswear label CHSN1 in Hong Kong last year, little did he know that mass demonstrations would throw his plans in disarray. As the protests in Hong Kong have escalated, China has decided to ban exports of black clothing to the city. Many protesters have adopted black T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers as their uniform. And CHSN1, as it happens, mainly sells hoodies, sweatshirts, and sleeveless tops in black. “Black came to me because it’s easy to wear,” Au... https://www.scmp.com/culture/hong-kong-designer-black-clothes-ban-china/article/3034251?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/hong-kong-designer-black-clothes-ban-china/article/3034251?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Oct 2019 10:58:52 +0000 When James Mao first started making music videos, he had a problem. Googling his name turned up a basketball player in Taiwan named James Mao. “The first five pages are that f---ing basketball player,” says Mao, now a music video director for the Asian-American label 88rising. So he came up with “mamesjao,” a moniker he still uses. “Now you Google mamesjao and it’s all my work,” he says. A stupid reason, he admits, but it helped build his career. Now, he’s the go-to director for hip-hop... https://www.scmp.com/culture/mamesjao-james-mao-88rising-hip-hop/article/3033073?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/mamesjao-james-mao-88rising-hip-hop/article/3033073?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Oct 2019 11:25:20 +0000 A night out in Hong Kong leaves much to be desired. Clubs and lounges tend to play the same EDM and pop music. Underground parties are few, and house parties even fewer in between. In densely populated Hong Kong, you’re probably living in a tiny apartment that can fit at most four people, and your neighbors, who are literally a wall away, will likely call the cops at the first sign of a beat. Enter Yeti Out, a music collective that’s upturning the party scene in Hong Kong and mainland... https://www.scmp.com/culture/yeti-out-hong-kong-shanghai-china-party-scene/article/3032170?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/yeti-out-hong-kong-shanghai-china-party-scene/article/3032170?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Oct 2019 10:39:57 +0000 There’s a story that Chinese-born rapper Bohan Phoenix likes to tell about his first few years adjusting to life in America. Born Leng Bohan, he and his mother had just moved from China to Boston three years earlier. He was 14 years old and starting at a new high school. The building had a long hallway connecting the east and west wing. To avoid talking to anyone, Bohan would duck outside one end of the school and walk the entire perimeter to the other. “Because I was so terrified of being in... https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-american-rapper-bohan-phoenix-not-selling-out/article/3030617?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-american-rapper-bohan-phoenix-not-selling-out/article/3030617?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Sep 2019 05:31:18 +0000 It was a steamy July night in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin when the crowd erupted inside the 66 Live House concert venue. The rapper Jony J had just finished his set when he suddenly got down on one knee and turned to his girlfriend Baima. “Will you marry me?” he asked. Speechless, Baima reached out her left hand. It was a yes. The venue’s 3,000 fans started screaming, cheering, and frantically typing on their phones. Within minutes, Jony J’s proposal became the top trending topic on... https://www.scmp.com/identity/jony-j-rap-china/article/3021935?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/identity/jony-j-rap-china/article/3021935?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Aug 2019 09:03:03 +0000 “I want people to know that traditional Chinese landscapes, still-life paintings, and portraits can also be tattoos,” says Beijing-based tattoo artist Chen Jie. Although still largely taboo, tattoos have become increasingly popular in China. And while styles from abroad such as old school and new school—characterized by hard lines and bold colors—were once the trend, a distinctly Chinese aesthetic, inspired by traditional watercolor paintings, is gaining ground. Chen is one of many tattoo... https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-watercolor-tattoo-artist/article/3021090?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-watercolor-tattoo-artist/article/3021090?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Aug 2019 13:03:28 +0000 Liu Jiaming, 22, is in his most natural state on the skateboard. Every day for five hours, he practices jumps, flips, and spins in a park in Nanjing, the official home of China’s national skateboarding team. Liu joined the team after winning a national championship in April. At the time, China was assembling a team of skateboarders—six men and six women—to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where the sport will be an event for the first time. “I was the oldest among the trainees,” Liu says.... https://www.scmp.com/culture/2020-olympics-china-skateboarding-team/article/3015062?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/2020-olympics-china-skateboarding-team/article/3015062?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jun 2019 12:04:26 +0000 Despite the Chinese government’s official disapproval of street art, graffiti is blooming in certain pockets of Beijing. Colorful, funky pieces have adorned the walls along Jingmi Road in the capital’s Chaoyang District for years, and Andy Chen claims to be the first person to have left his mark there in 2010. Chen and his collective, ABS, are among a handful of graffiti artists active in Beijing. Most of them do commercial work because unsanctioned art is often quickly scrubbed off by street... https://www.scmp.com/culture/beijing-street-art/article/3000554?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/beijing-street-art/article/3000554?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jan 2019 14:28:39 +0000 She’s worked with some of the world’s best choreographers, appeared on Ellen—and she’s just 10 years old. Amy Zhu is a bona fide hip-hop prodigy, moving with the grace, confidence, and attitude of a pro three times her age. Whenever she dances, her videos get hundreds of thousands of views in China and the United States.         View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Sinostage-Amy (@sinostage_amy) on Jan 15, 2019 at 7:35pm PST But if her age... https://www.scmp.com/culture/10-year-old-chinese-girl-whos-owning-hip-hop-scene/article/3000512?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/10-year-old-chinese-girl-whos-owning-hip-hop-scene/article/3000512?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jan 2019 10:53:59 +0000 Hong Kong street artist Dom started making his own furniture because he couldn’t afford to buy them. Now, his wood pieces sell better than his street art. https://www.scmp.com/videos/wood-street-artisans-ep-2/article/3000238?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/wood-street-artisans-ep-2/article/3000238?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Nov 2018 05:05:05 +0000 Xiaofu is a pro-longboarder from Wuhan, China. She didn’t grow up around a culture of skateboarding and longboarding, but later on discovered videos online of other longboarding women around the world, which developed her passion. Since then she became hooked, and now even runs her own skate shop in her hometown, growing the community and spreading the love for the sport. Written and Voiceover by: Dolly Li Featuring: Xiao Fu Produced by: Dolly Li and Timmy Shen Shot by: Landyachtz Team and... https://www.scmp.com/culture/finding-longboard-subculture-china-dance-and-freestyle/article/2156554?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/finding-longboard-subculture-china-dance-and-freestyle/article/2156554?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jul 2018 02:45:30 +0000