Long Reads
Like a school trip for grown-ups: Hong Kong Philharmonic tours Europe
Named orchestra of the year in 2019, HK Phil planned a tour to capitalise on the accolade, but the Covid-19 pandemic delayed it. Five years later it finally set off. Post Magazine went along for the ride.
Afghan Girl photographer’s book shows ‘the best of the human spirit’
Steve McCurry, the award-winning photographer behind ‘Afghan Girl’, talks about celebrating selfless dedication beyond religion in his new book, Devotion, and blending into sacred situations.
‘I want a Michelin star’: Germany-based Vietnamese chef The Duc Ngo
Having fled to Hong Kong from Vietnam in the 1970s, Berlin-based chef The Duc Ngo has gone on to redefine Asian fusion cuisine in restaurants in Berlin and Frankfurt, Germany.
Boris Johnson’s youngest brother on Hong Kong, Covid, China film
Max Johnson, half-brother of former British prime minister Boris Johnson, talks about his UK childhood, Covid-19 frustrations, being a banker in Hong Kong, and a special trip through mainland China.
Hong Kong martial arts film icon Sammo Hung on his stellar career
Martial arts film icon and the 2024 Hong Kong Film Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Sammo Hung talks about his movies, stars like Donnie Yen, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan – and eating.
How seed of Olympic ambition was sown in Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong athlete
Swimming sensation Siobhan Haughey takes the Post through the process that led to her becoming the most accomplished Hong Kong competitor of all time in the pool.
From white kneed in Singapore to head of UK armed forces, David Richards
The former head of UK armed forces tells Kate Whitehead about his rise through the ranks and why Colin Firth wanted to play him in a film about fighting rebels in Sierra Leone.
She escaped bound feet, was the first Chinese divorcee. Who was this woman?
A writer and filmmaker recounts her Chinese great-grandmother’s remarkable journey, from rejecting having her feet bound as a toddler in Shanghai to being matriarch of a far-flung and adoring family.
Nazi concentration camp survivor who faced death on seeing the world at last
Ukraine-born Andrei Iwanowitsch is among the last survivors of the Nazi Buchenwald concentration camp. After forced labour, a death march, and a ‘narrow’ life in Soviet Belarus, at 98 he’s seeing the world .
China’s last empress and the American tutor who became her friend
China’s final imperial ruler had his British tutor, Reginald Johnston, but less known are the lives of Puyi’s wife Wanrong and her American tutor, Isabel Ingram. Paul French explores their friendship.
Top Asian chefs unite on Japanese forest retreat to cook a unique feast
Deep in the forests of Japan’s Nagano prefecture, six of Asia’s best chefs came together. With fresh produce and new ideas, they made a special six-course dinner – and new friendships.
Magazine-shredding artist Movana Chen on using paper to ‘make love’
The Hong Kong artist known for using shredded magazine paper to knit clothes tells Kate Whitehead how her unusual medium has helped her make a world of friends, and why she still writes love letters.
‘We bring culture to your city’: gallerist on Hong Kong woes, unusual costume
French gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin explains how helping artists realise their dreams once saw him dress up as male genitalia and why Hong Kong should make more effort to accommodate foreign galleries.
‘Great art films can be shot in Hong Kong’: Chinese artist on M+ movie
Chinese filmmaker and painter Yang Fudong explains the premise of his latest film, showing on the giant M+ facade, and why ‘abundant’ Hong Kong makes it the ideal city in which to shoot artistic movies.
‘Fashion was freedom’: Yoox Net-a-Porter boss on London and her dream job
New Yorker Alison Loehnis, the Yoox Net-a-Porter boss, tells Kate Whitehead about falling in love with fashion, being trained to within an inch of her life at Ralph Lauren and landing her dream job in London.
Raped at 14, she was haunted for years – now her dream has come true
Fresh from her talk at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, newly minted author Sonia Leung tells Kate Whitehead about life in a Diamond Hill slum, a devastating rape and how she finally followed her dream.
How European maps helped paint a picture of China in the age of exploration
A new book containing reproductions of 127 printed European maps of Ming and Qing China from 1584 to 1735 reveals how they helped paint a reasonably accurate picture of the Middle Kingdom for the first time.
Taiwan’s forgotten disco era and how it changed the course of Mandopop
As Taiwan’s young generation dust off disco records from the 1970s and 80s, scholars consider how the island came to embrace a Western music genre at a time when even dancing in public was illegal.
Why German museums are scouring collections for looted Chinese artefacts
German museums have begun to research the provenance of their vast collections of imperial Chinese artefacts in an attempt to identify items that were looted amid the chaos of the Boxer war.
The Disney logo that symbolised China’s fight against Japan during WWII
Japan’s aerial dominance in World War II was ended by volunteer US and British fighter pilots who protected Free China in planes bearing a Flying Tigers logo designed by Disney’s best and brightest.