ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOUND wooden business cards 18 centuries old, it was revealed this week. Searching in ruins and abandoned wells in Chenzhou, Hunan province, they located nearly 10,000 thin wooden strips.
These would have been ordinary throwaway documents at the time they were written—but today provide a priceless window into how people lived 1,800 years ago,…
MADAM SOONG CHING LING, the wife of modern China’s founder Dr Sun Yat Sen, was a woman of charisma who served the underprivileged women and children of the country.
Her life spanned many momentous events in modern China’s development. As the daughter of a missionary Charlie Soong, Madam Soong was in the first batch of…
It started with a death in the river, the legend says. But no one could predict the scale of the repercussions - which are marked today, more than 22 centuries later, with international sports events. The original festival has deep mainland Chinese roots, but was popularized worldwide by the people of Hong Kong. The…
OVER SEVERAL THOUSAND years of history, China never occupied, colonized or invaded other countries, top Hong Kong historian Lau Chi-pang said in a recent talk.
The country is focused on its own affairs and dislike of war is deeply set in its culture, said Professor Lau, a Lingnan University academic, and a member of Hong…
Many people think of shadow puppetry as a southeast Asian tradition, but historians say it started in China more than 2,000 years ago. In 2011, this ancient art was added to the official list of items of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage. Emily Zhou reports
MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND years ago during the Han Dynasty, Emperor…
MOST PEOPLE AROUND the world likely assume that China’s main carbohydrates are rice and noodles, with bread being seen as a relatively recent import from the west.
But the truth is that there are a number of different breads in the country, and the consumption of wheat can be traced back to some 4,500 years…
THE YELLOW RIVER (黃河) is hailed as the great mother of China. It rushes out from the high plateau in the west to flow to the east with its silty water, and on the way, it feeds hundreds of millions of people, and also provides hydro-electricity to the north parts of the country. The river…
ZHAO KUANGYIN (趙匡胤) was not having a good day. He was a high ranking soldier who felt he was destined to one day become leader of the country. But he had many battles ahead of him. On this particular day, he was a tired and hungry man, wandering through the city of Chang’an. This incident…
Housing in Hong Kong is inexpensive or rent-free! Seriously? Well, a lot of it is - the homes for almost a third of the population. The city has a huge government housing program, and an ambitious new administration is going to make it grow faster than ever. Andrew Lam reports.
HONG KONG’S NEW GOVERNMENT is…
CHINESE EXPLORER ZHENG HE would sail from China with his boats laden with gifts. He took treasures from his country to give as presents or to use in trade with people he met around the world. He once came home with a giraffe.
On the way back to China, the ships would be too light…