appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

SCMP

We have selected seven Lifestyle stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. Agarwood can sell for US$25,000 a kilo. But this ‘black gold’ has a dark side
Agarwood, sometimes called “black gold”, is highly sought-after for its use in traditional medicine, religious ceremonies, incense and perfumery. However, as one of the world’s most expensive natural resources, there is a dark side to the agarwood trade: its high value has created a multibillion-dollar illegal market that fuels the poaching of wild trees, pushing many species towards extinction.
2. A rare disease left him stumbling. Now yoga helps him stay balanced

When David Lee first stumbled on the street in Hong Kong seven years ago, unable to walk in a straight line, he had no idea it was an early sign of a rare neurological disorder that would change his life forever.
3. How Chan Koon-tai, Bruce Lee’s counterpart, wowed with his kung fu skills

Hong Kong actor Chan Koon-tai may not have been the best-looking of Chang Cheh’s “second wave” of martial arts heroes in the early 1970s, but unlike his colleagues, he had studied martial arts before embarking on his film career. Read about two films that put his martial arts prowess to good use.
4. How having a strong sense of purpose can reduce dementia risk
Two separate studies have found that having meaning in your life can lower dementia risk by 19 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively.
5. The story of A Great Wall – the first American film shot in China

Peter Wang’s 1986 comedy-drama A Great Wall, which was filmed in San Francisco and Beijing, was better received in the US than in China.
6. Hong Kong bakers show ‘immense creativity’ at city’s first French Bakery Cup
The winners, including Frances Lam and Cathy Ip of Batter Twins, one of the winning bakeries at Hong Kong’s inaugural French Bakery Cup, spoke about their passion for baking after the event established “a clear standard of excellence” for Hong Kong patisseries.
7. Canadian duo’s canned ode to a Hong Kong cocktail woos Dragons’ Den judges

If there is one cocktail synonymous with the karaoke craze that swept Hong Kong from the 1980s to the 2010s, it is whisky and green tea. On the other side of the world, in Vancouver, Canada, two entrepreneurs have revived the usually self-mixed cocktail, putting their own spin on it in a can and calling it Triple X.O.G.


Xi-Trump summit: all you need to know from the final day of the meeting in Beijing

China hosts Trump at Temple of Heaven; Hong Kong sushi parasite video: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Xi-Trump summit day 1: everything you need to know from the meeting in Beijing

China’s Silk Road Express, best things to do in Nanjing: 7 Lifestyle highlights

SCMP Highlights

The dark side of agarwood; a canned Hong Kong cocktail: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Joss sticks are burned at a Buddha Bathing Ceremony to commemorate the birth of the Buddha at the Po Lin Monastery in Lantau, Hong Kong, on May 5. Photo: May Tse

Hong Kong mutual fund executive David Lee uses props to do an Iyengar yoga pose. Photo: IYCHK

Chan Koon-tai (centre) in a still from Man of Iron. Photo: courtesy of Shaw Brothers

(From left) Xiu Jian, Li Qinqin and Kelvin Han Yee in a still from A Great Wall (1986), the first American film to be shot and co-produced in China. Photo: Nanhai

Triple X.O.G. pays homage to the whisky and green tea cocktail synonymous with Hong Kong’s karaoke craze in the 1980s to the 2000s. Photo: Triple X.O.G.

China’s prosperous Tang dynasty, what to eat in Putian: 7 Lifestyle highlights

A photo shot by Enoch Ho, included as one of the pieces in his collection for the exhibition. Photo: Enoch Ho

Hongkonger Kaylie Lau stands outside Kalan Mosque in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Photo: Kaylie Lau

Wrestlers practise a move at a Hong Kong Wrestling Federation Pro Wrestling training session. A leader of the group talks about an upcoming event and why he wants people “to enjoy the experience”. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A local twist on pho at Putian restaurant Fen Tang Qiang Vietnamese Rice Noodles. The Chinese city’s food mixes centuries-old tradition and innovation. We share where to find it at its best. Photo: Putien Restaurant Group

Chow Yun-fat’s journey to stardom, Qin dynasty’s legacy: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Khao chae at Pribpri restaurant at the Devasom Hua Hin Resort in Thailand. A Thai palace cuisine dish, it includes cool, perfumed rice with iced, jasmine-scented water and side dishes such as shrimp paste balls, sweet fried fish, stuffed green peppers wrapped in egg, pork floss and stir-fried preserved radish in coconut milk. Photo: Devasom Hua Hin

Chow Yun-fat at an interview with the Post in 2003. The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star can still be found taking the bus in Hong Kong or buying food at his local market, despite his global success. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

An illustration shows the burning of Confucian letters opposing the Legalism of the Qin dynasty under the rule of Qin Shi Huang. The emperor also ordered the execution of hundreds of Confucian scholars by burying them alive. Photo: Bridgeman via Getty Images

“Belle” hands a lunchbox to an elderly woman in Sham Shui Po. The Hong Kong student gives out free meals to underprivileged elderly people and in the city and documents it on Instagram. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Cecilia Choi and Terrance Lau pose for a wedding photo in Japan. The Hong Kong actor couple have been together for five years. Photo: MOM Production

Alcohol ‘increases dementia risk’, Cantonese lessons from a kid: 7 Lifestyle highlights

A chef shows the folding technique for xiaolongbao at A.Wong. Photo: James Gillies


Any amount of alcohol may increase the risk of dementia, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford. Photo: Shutterstock


These Cantonese barbecue dishes were the result of a collaboration between Chinese restaurant Wangs and roast meat specialist Lap Fai-lee for a one-off pop-up in August 2025 to raise funds for Wangs’ Cantonese barbecue oven. Photo: Instagram/@oishinboy

Eight-year-old Aiden Tsang is charming people on Instagram with his Cantonese lessons. Photo: Aiden Tsang

People look at work on display at the contemporary art fair Art & Bali. Photo: Handout

(From left) Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung and Vivian Wu in a still from The Soong Sisters (1997), a Chinese historical epic from Hong Kong director Mabel Cheung. Photo: Handout

Lifestyle

From an ode to a Hong Kong drink to how a sense of purpose can reduce dementia risk, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting


From an ode to a Hong Kong drink to how a sense of purpose can reduce dementia risk, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.


The dark side of agarwood; a canned Hong Kong cocktail: 7 Lifestyle highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From an ode to a Hong Kong drink to how a sense of purpose can reduce dementia risk, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting

1. Agarwood can sell for US$25,000 a kilo. But this ‘black gold’ has a dark side

From an ode to a Hong Kong drink to how a sense of purpose can reduce dementia risk, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting