Singapore firms gamify ageing well, 500 illustrations of toast: 7 Lifestyle highlights
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The Busan International Film Festival in South Korea celebrates its 30th anniversary in September with an expanded and revamped programme.
Singaporeans are embracing insurance companies' health programmes that combine incentives, challenges and support for healthier lives.
The bouchon gratiné is a favourite snack on Réunion Island, made with a baguette, chilli sauce, siu mai and melted cheese. Photo: X/ LudovicShooter
While going over his business ledgers, Daniel Chan, the fourth-generation owner of Hong Kong's Koon Chun sauce factory, made an interesting discovery. One of his biggest groups of clients came from Réunion Island, a French department in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, with a population just shy of 900,000.
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RTHK
7 hours ago
- RTHK
HK panda cubs Jia Jia and De De turn one
HK panda cubs Jia Jia and De De turn one Jia Jia and De De have grown rapidly and now weigh approximately 30 kilogrammes. Photo: RTHK Ocean Park hosted jubilant fans on Friday to mark the first birthday of Hong Kong's very own giant panda twins, Jia Jia and De De. Born to resident pandas Ying Ying and Le Le, the city's first panda cubs born locally are thriving, according to the park, with elder sister Jia Jia and younger brother De De now weighing approximately 30 kilogrammes. Park caregivers are gradually introducing them to solid food, including chopped bamboo shoots and carrots. More than 300 people joined the festivities, including more than 10 children who were all born on August 15, 2024. "The most exciting part is definitely seeing the pandas themselves because we haven't seen it before," said Ash Chan, who brought along his birthday boy son. Avid panda enthusiast Joanna Ng, an annual pass holder and member of the cubs' fan club, has followed their journey closely both in person and online. "The cubs are particularly cute. I love all pandas but cubs are really cute," she said. "[I'm really excited] to celebrate their birthday and to see Jia Jia and De De in real time and hopefully they are playful." Paulo Pong, chairman of the board at Ocean Park Corporation, said the cubs' public debut has increased revenue. "After we opened the exhibit to the public, the first seven months have been very successful for the park in terms of income as well as attendance," he said. "We've seen [an increase of] over 20 percent of attendance as well as a very high percentage of generation of income. "Thanks to all the new merchandises that we have, thanks to all the different SKUs [stock keeping units] that we have, we managed to also increase the sales of the merchandise multiple times." Pong said the park has been meticulously documenting the cubs' growth and that the footage will be compiled into a film to be shared with the public next year. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said in her opening speech that the birth of the twins not only highlights the close cooperation between Hong Kong and the nation in research, conservation and education but also enhances public understanding of national conservation efforts. She noted that a series of promotional activities had already begun in July to celebrate the twin's birthday. "You may have noticed the panda-themed street signs, decorations in various MTR stations and photo spots at the Peak Road Garden, all of which have been unveiled," she said. "The panda-themed Star Ferry has also officially set sail in Victoria Harbour. Additionally, Ocean Park launched the Labubu x Panda Twins lucky draw, which has been well received by citizens and tourists."
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
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Korean-American chef Edward Lee is a difficult man to pin down. His recent work schedule sees him repeatedly travel to South Korea and back home again to the US to oversee his five restaurants and non-profit initiatives. He recently guest-cooked at the Kentucky Derby, the annual horse race that 25 years ago helped spark his love for all things American South and diverted his life from New York to Louisville, in the US state of Kentucky. He also fit in a visit to Hong Kong, where he cooked at Club Batard for the Art Basel art fair, and fulfilled a busy roster of other commitments expected of international celebrity chefs today. Lee has long been a well-known culinary figure in the US, appearing in television shows like The Mind of a Chef, Iron Chef America and Top Chef. He has also won two James Beard awards: for his book Buttermilk Graffiti in 2019, and for his LEE Initiative – which is dedicated to diversity and equality in the restaurant industry – in 2024. Edward Lee (centre) as a guest chef at the White House in 2023, with White House executive chef Cris Comerford (right) and White House executive pastry chef Susie Morrison. Photo: The Washington Post via Getty Images
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Programme inspires Hong Kong and Beijing youth to reimagine cities' cultural hubs
Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District hosts grand museums, performance venues and open spaces – but 18-year-old Emma Yao Yimo has found there is more work to be done in attracting visitors. As part of the annual Bi-city Youth Cultural Leadership Programme, Yao interviewed locals about their perception of West Kowloon. 'Some said they wouldn't visit West Kowloon because they didn't feel 'cultured enough'. That's something we should overcome – culture shouldn't feel exclusive or require a lot of prior education to enjoy,' said Yao, an architecture student at the University of Hong Kong. Over the past two months, Yao and 15 other university students from Hong Kong and Beijing joined an eight-week programme – launched by the Hong Kong Palace Museum with support from Beijing's Palace Museum – to cultivate future cultural leaders and strengthen ties between the two cities. The exchange also took students to Beijing and Shanghai, where they explored how landmarks like the Palace Museum engage younger audiences through storytelling, creative merchandising and digital technologies. Participants also interned at cultural institutions such as the Hong Kong Palace Museum and M+. Louis Ng, director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum, described the programme as a key initiative for cultural exchange and arts education since its launch in 2022. 'It is dedicated to providing a platform for young people in Beijing and Hong Kong to connect and share ideas, promoting Chinese culture on a global stage and exploring its international impact,' he said. For Yao, the experience gave her fresh insights into how cultural hubs like West Kowloon can better connect with younger audiences. 'It's about staying relevant to youth, developing further and not getting stuck in the past. From what I've seen, Hong Kong is heading in the right direction,' she said. M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum are part of the West Kowloon Cultural District. Photo: Eugene Lee A visit during the programme to Nantou Ancient Town in Shenzhen showed Yao an example of how to integrate heritage, retail and community life. 'They brought the whole community together – from shops to food and beverage – to create a vibrant atmosphere,' she said. 'It's something West Kowloon is still working hard to achieve.' Yao believes better policies for community vendors could help bring more visitors to the cultural hub. 'For example, the government has too many restrictions on food trucks and similar operations, which limit customer numbers. Adjusting these policies could attract more locals and tourists,' the student said. She added that another way forward could be to boost its visibility online. 'You need to stay on top of the conversation – for example, on social media,' she explained. 'West Kowloon and M+ aren't the most prominent online, so there's room to step into young people's daily lives.' The highlight of the programme for Yao was exploring how cultural expression has evolved in today's world. 'We barely touched on this in school, so I'm glad the programme gave me a deeper understanding of how culture works now, and how people are trying to develop and present it,' she said. While Yao said she found this industry to be interesting, she was still 'on the fence' about whether to make this her career path. 'It's already challenging to come up with new ideas – I imagine it's even harder for those actually working here to push them forward,' she said. Emma Yao Yimo (left) and Wu Xiaoya say this experience has given them insight into how cities develop culture. Photo: Handout For Wu Xiaoya, an economics and finance student at Tsinghua University in Beijing, the programme was a step toward her goal of launching culture-related entrepreneurship projects. 'This programme showed me how vital it is for culture to interact with its surrounding community,' said the 21-year-old, whose first visit to Hong Kong was through this initiative. Wu pointed to a community project by One Bite Design Studio, which invited elderly residents to take part in its activities, and noted that West Kowloon could benefit from similar community engagement. From her perspective, Hong Kong's cultural sector 'has not fully realised its potential'. 'It is not profitable yet, but many opportunities are waiting to be explored by young people,' Wu said. In the four weeks she spent interning at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Wu noticed room for improvement in its merchandise. 'Most of their products, like postcards or booklets, are very generic,' she said. 'In the mainland, there are many creative designs that capture your interest. Hong Kong museums aren't doing enough of that.' She also encouraged the industry to be more daring: 'The cultural sector should be a place for brave ideas – you shouldn't be afraid to make mistakes or launch bold projects.'
