https://www.scmp.com/rss/512793/feed Formerly an intern with NBC News, Sarah Vega is a recent Master's of Journalism graduate from the University of Hong Kong. She's a Colombian-American who first came to Asia in 2012 and moved to China in 2016. Sarah was an ESL teacher turned reporter. She recently interned with the Post's culture team, with a focus on travel. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Neon signs have been drawing the eye in Hong Kong for more than a century, a familiar sight in the city’s nightscape advertising everything from pharmacies and seafood restaurants to topless bars and saunas. In the past 20 years, though, most of Hong Kong’s neon signage has been removed, either for safety reasons or because of the increased popularity of cheap, more energy-efficient LEDs. One of the most well-known signs to have come down recently was that promoting the Koon Nam Wah Bridal store... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3197396/hong-kong-neon-artist-teaching-his-craft-new-generation-can-he-help-it-survive-onslaught-leds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3197396/hong-kong-neon-artist-teaching-his-craft-new-generation-can-he-help-it-survive-onslaught-leds?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Oct 2022 06:15:08 +0000 I struggled with acne when I was growing up. I lived in the United States, in the South, and was an avid swimmer. The sun, chlorine and hormones took a toll on my skin and I had scars from picking at my imperfections. As I got older, my acne mellowed – but the scars persisted. In February 2021, my aesthetician, a skincare specialist, suggested I try out microneedling, which is a minimally invasive procedure that involves the use of tiny needles to make microscopic punctures in the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3194894/microneedling-scraped-layer-my-face-why-people-darker-skin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3194894/microneedling-scraped-layer-my-face-why-people-darker-skin?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Oct 2022 09:15:09 +0000 In May 2022, James Hong became the 19th Asian-American actor – and the oldest person – to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Recognition for the 93-year-old, who has close to 700 film and television credits, may have long been overdue but the actor remains humble about his achievements. “As a young fellow, I never thought my voice would be anything,” Hong says in a Talking Post interview with South China Morning Post chief news editor Yonden Lhatoo. Yet it is his expressive voice that... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3190285/kung-fu-pandas-james-hong-70-years-movies-his-star?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3190285/kung-fu-pandas-james-hong-70-years-movies-his-star?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Aug 2022 02:15:13 +0000 Tap here to launch the special feature https://www.scmp.com/infographics/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3189752/mid-autumn-festival-visual-guide-mooncakes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3189752/mid-autumn-festival-visual-guide-mooncakes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Aug 2022 02:30:16 +0000 Online fast fashion website Boohoo has become the latest retailer to cancel free returns, angering its customers. Many people have become accustomed to free returns, free shipping and the general convenience of online shopping that has become the norm during the coronavirus pandemic. “A single return may not seem like much, but consumers are often unaware of the sheer scale of the problem, which damages our planet and hits their pockets,” said Whitney Cathcart, co-founder of 3DLook, the company... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3189040/free-returns-out-fast-fashion-retailers-introduce-charge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3189040/free-returns-out-fast-fashion-retailers-introduce-charge?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Aug 2022 11:15:16 +0000 The glow of lanterns, savoury and sweet mooncakes, and a beaming full moon will mark celebrations for the second biggest Chinese holiday of the year, Mid-Autumn Festival, on September 10. Across many cultures, celebrating the harvest is of great importance, but no harvest festival comes with such a history and collection of tales as the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. It is celebrated on the night when the moon is at its fullest and brightest – on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3189186/mid-autumn-festival-hong-kong-mooncakes-and-lanterns-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3189186/mid-autumn-festival-hong-kong-mooncakes-and-lanterns-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Aug 2022 08:15:16 +0000 Ambling along the waterfront in Sai Kung in Hong Kong’s New Territories, one of the makeshift counters from which various junk boat services are sold catches our eye. It piques our interest despite bearing just a phone number, a scrawled price – HK$200 (US$25) – and washed-out photos of squid in a bucket and an aged vessel. The ticket seller beckons us over with his only arm. After we hand over our money he tells us to be back by 6.45pm to make a 7pm sailing, and hands us each a Sang Kee Boat... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3187873/squid-fishing-hong-kong-techniques-bright-lights-fun?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3187873/squid-fishing-hong-kong-techniques-bright-lights-fun?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Aug 2022 23:15:09 +0000 The true character of Omega is being revealed through its new women’s campaign, which includes big names such as model and actress Kaia Gerber, model Kiko Mizuhara and Olympic runner Allyson Felix. The renowned Swiss watchmaker is showcasing its female ambassadors and their unique personalities in this intimate campaign, titled My Choice. It is the latest example of Omega’s historic bond with women, and sees each woman wear a watch of her choice. For more than 100 years, the company has... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/fashion/article/3188117/post-edit-omega-my-choice-watch-campaign-celebrates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/fashion/article/3188117/post-edit-omega-my-choice-watch-campaign-celebrates?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Aug 2022 20:15:15 +0000 Synaesthesia is a brain condition that allows a person to see musical notes – but even without it, the eyes and the ears can work together to produce a deeper appreciation of music. On August 6 and 7, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta will present “Seeing Beyond the Sound & Notes”, a concert programme in which the audience will be shown artwork designed to bring out new ways of understanding music. The concerts are part of the orchestra’s long-running “Short-cut to Classical Music” series aimed at... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3187550/how-enjoy-classical-music-add-art-concert-explores-new-ways?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3187550/how-enjoy-classical-music-add-art-concert-explores-new-ways?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Aug 2022 09:15:17 +0000 The Banyan Tree Group, a Singapore-based hospitality company with Hong Kong roots, is moving into the Japanese market in style. The company – named after a restaurant in Yung Shue Wan village on Lamma Island, where founder Ho Kwon-ping once lived, he told the South China Morning Post in 2005 – is in the process of opening five properties in Japan, three of them in tourist magnet Kyoto. The first two do not bear the Banyan Tree name and both opened on June 17. Dhawa Yura Kyoto, a collaboration... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3186849/5-new-hotels-japan-kyoto-niseko-and-hakone-being-opened?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3186849/5-new-hotels-japan-kyoto-niseko-and-hakone-being-opened?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Jul 2022 09:15:16 +0000 Visitors to “Hunters, Warriors, Spirits: Nomadic Art of North China” are greeted by stunning images of a verdant plain, a snowy white forest and an arid desert. All were captured by Hong Kong-based photographer Marc Progin during visits to the Mongolian steppes. Hing Chao, the curator of the exhibition and executive chairman of family-owned shipping group Wah Kwong Transport Holdings, says Progin’s contemporary photographs transport viewers to the region’s unique landscapes. “This exhibition is... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3186600/so-much-chinese-culture-came-outside-nomads-silk-road-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3186600/so-much-chinese-culture-came-outside-nomads-silk-road-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Jul 2022 10:15:14 +0000 Intense, stirring and bitingly relevant, Stephanie Lake’s contemporary dance show Colossus has been making waves since its 2018 Melbourne debut, not least because the Australian choreographer has managed to remotely direct performances by dance students around the world, while not being able to travel. After a Covid-19 postponement earlier this year, dates are set in August for performances by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts’ School of Dance for the 50th Hong Kong Arts... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3186093/international-arts-collaboration-zoom-new-model?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3186093/international-arts-collaboration-zoom-new-model?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Jul 2022 09:15:16 +0000 Vibrant, dramatic and gripping, Baroque paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries have gone on show in the Hong Kong Museum of Art’s “The Road to the Baroque” exhibition. The 40 paintings loaned from the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte – a nearly 300-year-old museum in Naples, Italy, that owns one of the largest art collections in Europe – include magnificent examples by some of Western art’s greatest names. Like the Hermitage art museum in St Petersburg, Russia, and the Louvre in Paris, the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3185625/baroque-paintings-music-and-animation-take-art-lovers-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3185625/baroque-paintings-music-and-animation-take-art-lovers-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Jul 2022 08:15:19 +0000 Hauser & Wirth gallery has brought to Hong Kong 13 new works by in-demand Swiss artist Nicolas Party, who creates surreal landscapes, still lifes and portraits exclusively in pastels, an unusual medium of choice. The 42-year-old’s first solo exhibition in the city is called “Red Forest” and begins with an informative video that explains why he works with dry pastel sticks, how they are made and the process by which he blends colours to create the vivid hues that make his works stand out. The... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3184825/pastel-artist-nicolas-partys-vivid-landscapes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3184825/pastel-artist-nicolas-partys-vivid-landscapes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jul 2022 09:15:09 +0000 Many Hong Kong travellers are raring to go, according to a recent survey by online travel agency Expedia, with 79 per cent of respondents in the city planning to venture overseas before the end of September. Fifty-one per cent of respondents said they had already made a booking. The survey, conducted in June, canvassed 1,000 Hongkongers aged between 18 and 45 who had travelled abroad for leisure at least once in the past three years – an admittedly very select group, given Covid-19 restrictions... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3184402/nearly-80pc-recent-hong-kong-travellers-planning-trips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3184402/nearly-80pc-recent-hong-kong-travellers-planning-trips?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Jul 2022 04:45:24 +0000 Colourful flags flutter from its mast as the ferry pulls away from the pier. Hong Kong Island’s Ferris wheel, skyscrapers and mountain peaks to the port side contrast with the weathered Tsim Sha Tsui dock to starboard, the breeze a welcome balm from the hot, humid air of “Asia’s World City”. Pre-pandemic, the Star Ferry was a “must-do” for many tourists visiting the city. However, this Hong Kong icon – best known for its short, regular sailings between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon – is... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3183809/star-ferry-sunset-tour-hong-kongs-victoria-harbour-aboard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3183809/star-ferry-sunset-tour-hong-kongs-victoria-harbour-aboard?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Jul 2022 09:15:23 +0000 People in Hong Kong are spoiled for choice when it comes to outdoor activities: scenic hikes; beaches; sports on water or land. However, when rain, humidity and the odd approaching, still-distant typhoon play havoc with your plans, it’s sometimes difficult to know what to do indoors beyond browsing the shops at your nearest shopping centre. Nevertheless, we’ve come up with a few suggestions: 1. DB Ice Rink, Discovery Bay One of the largest ice skating rinks in the city has a new offering – Hong... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3183746/7-rainy-day-activities-hong-kong-bowling-skating-visiting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3183746/7-rainy-day-activities-hong-kong-bowling-skating-visiting?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Jul 2022 03:15:26 +0000 During rehearsal for The Wind of Empty, a group of around 20 dancers wearing earth-toned, loose-fitting garments are seen spinning and swaying as if being buffeted by a strong gale. The “wind” is the storm of life, according to choreographer Kelvin Mak Cheuk-hung, and it has been blowing particularly hard in Hong Kong in recent years. As the music swells, the dancers glide forward as one. Then, the group falls away to leave two male dancers centre stage. There is a sense of contest between them... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3183313/hong-kong-dance-performance-draws-sense-helplessness-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3183313/hong-kong-dance-performance-draws-sense-helplessness-over?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jun 2022 09:15:22 +0000 The Hong Kong Maritime Museum has just unveiled an exhibition about how the city developed as an international port after the Japanese occupation, during the second world war, ended in August 1945. Called “Hong Kong’s Maritime Miracle: The Story of Our City since 1945”, it shows how the development of the city’s maritime industry was crucial to the rebuilding and the rebirth of Hong Kong after the war (1939-1945), says Libby Chan Lai-pik, chief curator of the museum. The exhibition uses... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3182887/how-hong-kong-developed-world-leading-port-ashes-war-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3182887/how-hong-kong-developed-world-leading-port-ashes-war-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jun 2022 03:49:40 +0000 If you’re looking for a reason to visit Hong Kong’s M+ museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District for reasons besides the art itself, then look no further. The museum of visual culture and collaborators including the athletic apparel store Lululemon will provide health- and wellness-focused experiences this summer, under the themes “Good Health”, “Good Food”, “Good Mind” and “Good Neighbour”. M+ director Suhanya Raffel says that the “M+ You. Care for Good” programme “aims at promoting... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3181946/yoga-meditation-lululemon-hong-kongs-m-museum-summer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3181946/yoga-meditation-lululemon-hong-kongs-m-museum-summer?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jun 2022 03:15:21 +0000 Rain, lightning and thunder were not enough to dampen spirits as Hong Kong Disneyland premiered its new fireworks show, “Momentous”, to invited guests this week. The show is scheduled to debut to the public on Saturday, June 18 after nearly 4½ years of anticipation following the suspension of the previous fireworks display ahead of an almost HK$11 billion (US$1.4 billion) renovation. The new show mixes pyrotechnics with lasers, water fountains and projections beamed onto the Castle of Magical... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3181797/hong-kong-disneyland-launches-new-fireworks-show-featuring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3181797/hong-kong-disneyland-launches-new-fireworks-show-featuring?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jun 2022 09:46:52 +0000