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. She quit her corporate job to walk 5,700km alone across America
Jessica Guo became the first woman to hike a continuous route linking the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) in the United States with the Great Divide Trail (GDT) in Canada, following the spine of the Rockies from the Mexican border to remote Kakwa Lake in British Columbia. Quitting her six-figure consultancy job, she spent 152 days hiking solo, often covering almost 50km a day in extreme conditions.
2. Listening to music can lower dementia risk by nearly 40%, new study says
Recently, researchers from the school of public health and preventive medicine at Monash University in Australia published a study that found people who had a habit of always listening to music had a 39 per cent lower risk of developing dementia.
3. Must-try Christmas and New Year’s meals in Hong Kong to check out

There is something to be said about spending time with loved ones, and while preparing a meal might be furthest from people’s minds, our city’s restaurants are always there for us. Here are places across the city to check out for their festive meals over Christmas and New Year.
4. 3 female action stars who ruled Hong Kong cinema alongside Michelle Yeoh

Hong Kong cinema had many martial arts heroines beyond Michelle Yeoh, and some were bigger stars locally. Here, we look at some lesser-seen films featuring three of the city’s top female fighters.
5. Coffee isn’t just a drink. How to use the beans as a seasoning
Coffee is consumed most often as a drink, but it also makes for a distinctive seasoning. The seeds of the coffee fruit (called “cherries”, because that is what they resemble) are picked when the fruit ripens to a deep red colour.
6. What to eat on Peng Chau, food-filled Hong Kong island great for day trips

Hongkonger Alex Hung arranges dim-sum-loaded bamboo baskets with the speed of an orchestra conductor. “The weekend is peak time,” he says as he places a selection of staples – siu mai, har gow and pan-fried turnip cake – on the table.
7. How does humming help you reduce stress? Expert tips on yogic breathing
Gunjan Trivedi, the co-founder of Wellness Space, a mental health and therapy centre in the city of Ahmedabad in India’s Gujarat state, believes humming is the simplest form of chanting, which involves repeating a mantra – a sound or phrase.


Chinese coal mine accident, Cathay Pacific flight turbulence: 5 weekend reads you missed

Selfies and symbolism: behind the scenes from Xi’s summit with Trump and Putin

Leaders Xi, Putin meet over tea; rare earth find in northeast China: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Shenzhen’s 24-hour spa, a glimpse of 1970s Hong Kong: 7 Lifestyle highlights

SCMP Highlights

A solo hike across America, must-try Christmas meals in Hong Kong: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Until December 31, The Astor at the Eaton HK hotel transforms into a Christmas market, with its buffet taking centre stage. Photo: The Astor

Jessica Guo quit her job to hike across America. Her trek ended on September 19, at the northern terminus of the Great Divide Trail, at the Kakwa Lake terminus marker for the 54th parallel in Kakwa Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. Photo: Jessica Guo

Cynthia Rothrock in a still from Righting Wrongs (1986), a Hong Kong action film directed by Corey Yuen Kwai that draws inspiration from violent US works like the vigilante movie Death Wish. Photo: Handout

Alex Hung prepares dim sum at Hoi King Seafood, one of Peng Chau’s many popular restaurants. Head to the island at weekends to find delicious treats from Thai food to Hong Kong pineapple buns filled with ice cream. Photo: Kylie Knott

Year of the Horse 2026: 5 famous works of equine art through the centuries

A scene from War Horse, performed at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2019. The award-winning British play is one of many artworks made over the centuries with a strong equine focus. Photo: Winson Wong

One Hundred Horses, by Giuseppe Castiglione. Photo: Taiwan National Palace Museum

The cover of a modern edition of Anna Sewell’s 1887 novel. Photo: Amazon

A visitor takes a photo of Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse’s Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard (1807), modelled after Jacques-Louis David’s original from his Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801-1805) series, at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, in May 2025. Photo: Jelly Tse

The British play War Horse won recognition for the life-size horse puppets it featured that were operated by three puppeteers working in tandem. Photo: Winson Wong

Hong Kong actor and singer Hins Cheung (right) performs in a scene from Equus. Peter Shaffer’s 1973 play about a troubled teenager with an erotic fixation on horses is one of the darker pieces of equine art. Photo: Dionysus Contemporary Theatre

Where to eat in Hangzhou, China’s rising fine-dining hub where regional flavours coalesce

Wenzhou marinated raw swimmer crab at Golden Silk. The restaurant is one of a number of recent additions to Hangzhou’s fine-dining scene, which has taken off since the Michelin Guide arrived in the city in 2023. Photo: Golden Silk

Song’s head chef Zeng Donghai worked under esteemed Hangzhou chef Wang Yong for 14 years. Photo: Evelyn Chen

For Zeng’s Eighteen Cuts, a secret sauce is poured over slices of raw East Sea crab. Photo: Evelyn Chen

Zeng’s signature Da Hong Pao crispy pigeon leg at Song. Photo: Evelyn Chen

Yu Zhi Lan’s Songsao fish noodle dish uses full yellow croakers from China’s Fujian province. Photo: Yu Zhi Lan

Yu Lan Chuan’s Bai Su Zhen features porcini, matsutake, lion’s mane and black fungus slow-cooked together with yacon and fresh nuts. Photo: Yu Lan Chuan

Braised Wenzhou beef shank, beef brisket, beef tripe and beef tendons at Golden Silk. Photo: Evelyn Chen

An array of seasonal vegetables at Pairedd. Photo: Evelyn Chen

Year of the Horse forecasts, Hong Kong bar scene’s trying time: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Alan Tam at an interview with the Post in 1986. Photo: SCMP

Singer Madonna and Armenian-American film director and writer Alek Keshishian are pictured at Davé. Photo: Tai “Davé” Cheung

Leslie Cheung (left) and Tam, then the hottest male pop singers in Hong Kong, are pictured together in 1986. Photo: SCMP

The Daily Tot’s Peel Street Spirit. David Sit, head of the bar’s parent company, says the decision to close it was “purely economic”. Photo: The Daily Tot

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Health & Wellness

Travel & Leisure

From Hong Kong cinema’s female action stars to must-try festive meals in Hong Kong, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting


From Hong Kong cinema’s female action stars to must-try festive meals in Hong Kong, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.


A solo hike across America, must-try Christmas meals in Hong Kong: 7 Lifestyle highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From Hong Kong cinema’s female action stars to must-try festive meals in Hong Kong, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting

1. She quit her corporate job to walk 5,700km alone across America

From Hong Kong cinema’s female action stars to must-try festive meals in Hong Kong, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting