China’s trade war with the US dominates the most read economy stories of the year along with the Hong Kong dollar peg to the US dollar, China's social credit system and Huawei.

Meanwhile, rare oarfish sightings in Japan heralded disaster and DNA dating took off.

Asia’s revered monarchies have a lasting cultural impact, while the political ramifications from their decisions are real. Here is a look at an eventful year for royal families across the continent.

How well do you remember the sports stories of 2019? Take the SCMP Sport quiz of the year to put your knowledge to the test.

Wing chun masters vs MMA fighters, Nate Diaz rematch trouble, Sage Northcutt blasting Dana White ... these are SCMP Sport’s most popular MMA stories of the year.

It has been a year of highs and lows and here are the most viewed stories of the last 12 months.

Singapore’s fake news law, denuclearisation in North Korea, South China Sea friction: here are the stories that shook the continent this year, with aftershocks that will be felt long into 2020.

A disengaged Washington and an increasingly combative Beijing are ending 2019 with a lack of trust on both sides.

From Huawei to the Hong Kong protests, via toxic masculinity in K-pop and the continued mistreatment of domestic workers, here are the most-read stories of the year.

Movement which began by giving voice to victims of sexual harassment has encouraged a public discussion of traditionally taboo women’s issues.

China’s consumers know what they want, and luxury brands like Chanel are willing to give it to them. Rimowa is already huge in China and still growing, and heritage jewellery line Fred is planning on expanding in Asia.

Domestic workers are in dire need of protection as cases of exploitation are rampant, with thousands losing money and children every year.

Over the course of 2019, we have run a smorgasbord of stories from across the continent. Here are some of our favourites from the year – we hope you enjoy them as much as we have.

Pyongyang and Washington both seem likely to retreat to hardened positions more in line with 2017 as talks falter, analysts say, while China should grow into a larger role, with North Korea increasingly reliant on it as an economic ally.

Star Wars, Stormland and Ghost Giant – 2019 was a great year for virtual-reality gaming as developers finally began realising the medium’s promise.

History, democracy, and creativity – or rather, the lack of it in contemporary Hong Kong – our most read stories of 2019 covered some big topics. None are bigger than love, the subject of Xinran Xue’s latest book about China.

Louis Koo’s films were woeful, witty, worthy, and almost wonderful, Fruit Chan was preposterous and political, and young directors showed promise. Meanwhile, Donnie Yen delivered, and Sammi Cheng soared.

The anti-government demonstrations have been felt by Chinese communities everywhere from New Zealand to Canada. And protesters in Indonesia and India also said they learned lessons from Hong Kong demonstrators.

Fashion has been slow to react to the climate crisis and global pollution woes, but from the catwalks of Paris and Milan to Chinese brands going green, 2019 was the year the industry showed it wants to mitigate climate change.

Megan Rapinoe is a boss, Liverpool commentators are crazy happy, and LeBron James somehow fits his giant foot in his mouth

K-pop was big in 2019, often for the wrong reasons – the deaths of singers Goo Hara and Sulli and the Burning Sun nightclub sex scandal. Away from K-pop, Post readers were most interested in Asian music festivals and DJ Tenashar’s decline and fall.

It was a bad year for China, which was (falsely) blamed for fixing Indonesia’s election and fanning the post-vote violence. But Singapore led a fake news fightback.

As with any crisis, there have been winners and losers in fashion and luxury from the street protests in Hong Kong. From China’s ban on black clothing exports to a brand backlash, these reports tell the story of a turbulent six months.

From Conor McGregor to Maradona via Oscar-winners like Free Solo and the arrival of online streaming, the 2010s was a vintage decade for sports documentaries.

‘In 2019, emotions seemed to matter more than fundamentals … markets jumped based upon whether [Chinese Vice-Premier] Liu He smiled when exiting a trade meeting,’ said Brock Silvers, managing director at Adamas Asset Management.