https://www.scmp.com/rss/517317/feed Lily is an Intern for the Culture Desk. She is interested in gender, health and education issues. She holds degrees from the University of Hong Kong and Macau University of Science and Technology. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Chinese New Year celebrations are not complete without a good Hong Kong comedy. These films, often with auspicious-sounding Chinese titles, typically feature a star-studded cast and a few surprising cameos. Here are five classics that earned critical acclaim and commercial success at the box office. Security Unlimited (1981) One of the earlier Hong Kong comedies released for Chinese New Year and written by brothers Michael Hui Koon-man and Sam Hui Koon-kit – who also wrote the soundtrack –... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3248010/5-best-hong-kong-lunar-new-year-movies-get-you-mood-holiday-fat-choi-spirit-king-comedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3248010/5-best-hong-kong-lunar-new-year-movies-get-you-mood-holiday-fat-choi-spirit-king-comedy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jan 2024 10:15:12 +0000 With a little over a month to go before the Year of the Dragon arrives, it’s the time of the year when festive Lunar New Year songs are played in supermarkets and shopping malls – in a loop. These classic tunes are as much a tradition as fireworks and nian gao (New Year cake) and, who knows, some may actually grow on you. Here are five of the all-time favourites. 1. Wishing You Happiness and Prosperity (1945） This familiar tune was written by Chinese songwriter Chen Gexin in 1945 to celebrate... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3247880/5-favourite-lunar-new-year-songs-chinas-answer-all-i-want-christmas-you-andy-lau-sam-huis-tune-about?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3247880/5-favourite-lunar-new-year-songs-chinas-answer-all-i-want-christmas-you-andy-lau-sam-huis-tune-about?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jan 2024 11:15:13 +0000 The Year of the Dragon – the next one begins on February 10, 2024 – is thought to be a very favourable year in which to have children. The dragon is the only mythical beast in the Chinese zodiac and is a symbol of power and greatness. There are more births recorded in Hong Kong and China in the Year of the Dragon than in any other year in the 12-year Chinese calendrical cycle. In 2000, a dragon year, the birth rate in Hong Kong increased by over five per cent. Mainland China saw a rise in births... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3246645/are-babies-born-year-dragon-luckier-others-why-chinese-parents-want-dragon-children-and-why-can-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3246645/are-babies-born-year-dragon-luckier-others-why-chinese-parents-want-dragon-children-and-why-can-be?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Dec 2023 08:15:15 +0000 News of the death of Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, best known for his role in the Oscar-winning film Parasite, in an apparent suicide has sent shock waves across the global entertainment industry. The award-winning 48-year-old, who was at the peak of his acting career, had been under police investigation for alleged use of illegal drugs. We look back at five of Lee’s most memorable screen roles. 1. The White Tower (2007) The White Tower is adapted from Japanese novelist Toyoko Yamasaki’s novel... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/news/article/3246374/parasite-actor-lee-sun-kyuns-leading-roles-recalled-movie-hard-day-drama-my-mister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/news/article/3246374/parasite-actor-lee-sun-kyuns-leading-roles-recalled-movie-hard-day-drama-my-mister?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Dec 2023 07:18:19 +0000 Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-wai’s first television series, Blossoms Shanghai, will begin airing on December 27. The 30-episode period drama – which has been six years in the making – is adapted from a 2012 novel of the same name by Jin Yucheng, which won the 9th Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2015 and is written in Shanghainese. Set in Shanghai in the 1990s, the romantic drama revolves around a young man, Abao (played by Hu Ge), who rises from humble beginnings to become a successful... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3245843/wong-kar-wais-blossoms-shanghai-tv-show-what-expect-how-true-it-stays-novel-its-based-and-how-fans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3245843/wong-kar-wais-blossoms-shanghai-tv-show-what-expect-how-true-it-stays-novel-its-based-and-how-fans?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Dec 2023 23:45:16 +0000 After a four-year suspension thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the AIA Carnival is making its big return to the Central Harbourfront on Hong Kong Island on December 21 – and not just with rides and game booths this time, but also a 1,052-seat marquee. The AIA Carnival has been an open-air entertainment fixture in the city during winter since 2014, and this year’s edition will feature more live performances than ever before. Although the carnival has previously featured circus artists, this... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3245748/aia-carnival-2023-hong-kong-what-look-forward-proper-circus-live-music-lots-cuddly-ducks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3245748/aia-carnival-2023-hong-kong-what-look-forward-proper-circus-live-music-lots-cuddly-ducks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Dec 2023 08:45:07 +0000 The dragon is the ultimate symbol of power, fortune and prosperity in Chinese culture. That’s why the Year of the Dragon, which will begin on February 10, 2024, is seen by many as special and auspicious. But Chinese culture is not alone in revering dragons. Several others have a strong affiliation with the mythical beasts, whether in their folklore, traditional art or cultural practices. The Chinese dragon The Chinese nation calls itself the descendant of the dragon. According to one ancient... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3245239/chinese-eager-2024s-year-dragon-4-other-cultures-celebrate-mythical-beast?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3245239/chinese-eager-2024s-year-dragon-4-other-cultures-celebrate-mythical-beast?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Dec 2023 10:15:08 +0000 The next Lunar New Year starts on February 10, 2024. Enter the Year of the Dragon. Or, to be more precise, the Year of the Wood Dragon. In Chinese astrology, the 12 zodiac animals are each affiliated with an element – metal, wood, water, fire, earth – as they move around the zodiac cycle, and when an animal reappears after 12 years its elemental affiliation will shift. For example, 2012 was the Year of the Water Dragon and 2036 will be the Year of the Fire Dragon. People born under each... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3245039/year-dragon-2024-predictions-personalities-and-wood-elements-meaning-next-lunar-new-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3245039/year-dragon-2024-predictions-personalities-and-wood-elements-meaning-next-lunar-new-year?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:15:08 +0000 Actress Kathy Chow Hoi-mei, who died in a Beijing hospital aged 57 from an unknown illness on December 11, was best known for her many roles in TV drama series produced not only in Hong Kong but also Taiwan and mainland China. A descendant of the Guwalgiya, a prominent Manchu clan, Chow was born and raised in Hong Kong. She was an unsuccessful contestant in the 1985 Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant before joining local broadcaster TVB as a trainee actress the same year and appearing in her first... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3244907/5-hong-kong-actress-kathy-chows-most-beloved-screen-roles-after-tv-and-film-star-dies-aged-57?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3244907/5-hong-kong-actress-kathy-chows-most-beloved-screen-roles-after-tv-and-film-star-dies-aged-57?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Dec 2023 05:52:02 +0000 Lip-synching during live concerts is not only frowned upon in mainland China, it is actually illegal – something that has landed Taiwanese rock band Mayday in the centre of a controversy. The five-member, all-male group are currently under investigation for suspected miming to pre-recorded songs during their November 16 performance at the Shanghai Stadium. A Chinese blogger posted a video on the YouTube-like video platform Bilibili on November 30, claiming he made the “shocking” discovery after... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3244765/shocking-taiwanese-band-mayday-lip-synching-controversy-after-china-performance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3244765/shocking-taiwanese-band-mayday-lip-synching-controversy-after-china-performance?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Dec 2023 04:45:16 +0000 Jet Li Lianjie looks physically strong in the films Dragon Fight and The Master – both shot in the United States at the end of the 1980s – but his health was actually at its weakest, the Chinese martial arts actor reveals in his autobiography, Beyond Life and Death: Jet Li Looking for Jet Li. In the new book, the action star reflects on how the expectation that he look muscular and fit meant taking on a dieting regime that targeted substantial fat loss over a short period of time. “During that... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3244016/jet-lis-crash-diet-left-him-very-weak-physically-he-even-fainted-how-restricted-eating-exercise-left?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3244016/jet-lis-crash-diet-left-him-very-weak-physically-he-even-fainted-how-restricted-eating-exercise-left?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Dec 2023 11:15:08 +0000 Charmaine Sheh Sze-man, one of Hong Kong’s most popular TV actresses, is back making show business headlines for her performance in new TVB drama The Queen of News, which has been garnering rave reviews, locally and in mainland China. The drama, which focuses on the independence and enterprising working spirit of women in the news industry, has scored 8.1 (out of 10) on Douban, the Chinese review aggregator website. Shen plays senior TV news anchor Man Wai-sum, who is capable and ambitious, and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3244053/5-hong-kong-star-charmaine-shehs-most-memorable-performances-line-walker-war-and-beauty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3244053/5-hong-kong-star-charmaine-shehs-most-memorable-performances-line-walker-war-and-beauty?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Dec 2023 10:15:13 +0000