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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. What is China’s luxury Silk Road Express train like? We ride its new route
A resplendent train cuts a fine figure at platform two of Chengdu West Railway Station. Its elegant exterior, unlike the other austere carriages trackside, features striking hues of celadon blue and red, and hand-painted gilded lettering. This is the Silk Road Express, one of China’s first world-class luxury tourist trains, and I am about to board it for its new three-day return route to Yunnan.
2. No membership required: Hong Kong parks are this coach’s gym of choice

Ash Ayonote left office life behind after spending years behind a desk in Hong Kong. Now, as a fitness coach, he is showing that the city’s parks make great gyms by leading outdoor training sessions that prioritise community as much as cardio.
3. Best things to do in China’s Nanjing, from food and architecture to history

Nanjing, a bustling metropolis in eastern China that serves as the capital of Jiangsu province, has embraced eclectic influences across its long history, from foundations laid during the Six Dynasties (220-589) to the intellectual cosmopolitanism of China’s Republic era (1912-1949).
4. She swapped fish for veg in her omakase – and Vancouver ate it up

At Vancouver’s Cofu Chinatown restaurant, Japanese chef Akiko Gulkison and her sous chef prepare delectable dishes: miso-glazed aubergine with snow fungus wrapped with nori and rice, radicchio cured in between sheets of kombu, and steamed soy milk custard seasoned with reduced sake and Japanese plum.
5. Photographer’s snaps of 1970s Hong Kong given life by grandson 5 decades on

Jack Smith’s “Streets of Neon” collection features five “extremely personal” photos his grandad took of a Hong Kong that no longer exists.
6. How The King’s Warden sold 16 million tickets and saved the Korean box office

With more than 16 million tickets sold, The King’s Warden has almost single-handedly resurrected a sluggish South Korean film industry. In telling the story of the young king Yi Hong-wi, deposed by his uncle and sent into exile, the film has struck a chord with audiences of all ages.
7. This fit former bodybuilder thought pole would be easy. He was wrong
Hong Kong-born LA resident Ray Kayan found that gym strength means little on the fitness pole, an activity he finds “empowering”.


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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

Fitness coach Ash Ayonote leads a group session at the Wai Man Road Playground in Sai Kung, in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Photo: Edmond So

A meal is served aboard the Silk Road Express, a luxury tourist train in China that recently started operating a new route straddling Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Photo: Courtesy of Train of Glamour

Jiming Temple rises above surrounding buildings in Nanjing. The ancient city, which has served as China’s capital at various points in history, is a feast for the senses. Here’s how to spend a weekend there. Photo: Shutterstock

An array of dishes served in Cofu Chinatown’s omakase. Photo: Cofu

A photo taken by Herbert Smith during his 1979 trip to Hong Kong titled “Painting in Neon (1979)”.  Photo: Herbert Smith

Park Ji-hoon in a still from The King’s Warden.

Exhibition on gardens of China, Europe; art director’s top spots: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Eileen Gu found herself the subject of much media attention at this year’s Winter Olympics. Photo: Xinhua

Chris Hemsworth famously carries a pair of APOE4 gene alleles, which makes his risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease significantly greater than non-carriers. A doctor who also carries two APOE4s explains how lifestyle changes can significantly affect the development of the condition. Photo: Instagram/chrishemsworth

Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs in a still from The Devil Wears Prada 2 (category IIA), directed by David Frankel. Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt co-star. Photo: Macall Polay/20th Century Studios

The Water Theatre (c. 1700) by anonymous is one of the artworks on loan from the Palace of Versailles in “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Photo: Collection of the Palace of Versailles

Sushi at Tokio Joe in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Philippine pageant debate, Chinese stealth jets in Pakistan: 7 Asia highlights

Bea Millan-Windorski will represent the Philippines at the Miss Universe pageant in November. Photo: Facebook/Miss Universe Philippines

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during the general election in May last year. Photo: Reuters

A Japanese government survey estimated that 1.46 million people were living as shut-ins as of 2023. Photo: Shutterstock

South Koreans protest in Seoul last month against an earlier request by US President Donald Trump to dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: AFP

Chinese brands eye Europe; Geely joins Chery and BYD in profit slide: 7 EV reads

A humanoid robot poses at a BYD booth beside an electric vehicle at the Beijing auto show. Photo: Kyodo

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim touches the first locally made electric vehicle, Proton’s e.MAS 7, at its launch in Kuala Lumpur on December 16, 2024. Photo: AFP

 Illustration: Henry Wong

Lifestyle

From a Hong Kong coach turning parks into gyms to vegetarian omakase in Vancouver, here are five stories from SCMP’s recent reporting


From a Hong Kong coach turning parks into gyms to vegetarian omakase in Vancouver, here are five stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.


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

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From a Hong Kong coach turning parks into gyms to vegetarian omakase in Vancouver, here are five stories from SCMP’s recent reporting

1. What is China’s luxury Silk Road Express train like? We ride its new route

2. No membership required: Hong Kong parks are this coach’s gym of choice

From a Hong Kong coach turning parks into gyms to vegetarian omakase in Vancouver, here are five stories from SCMP’s recent reporting