Arts

Is Ai Weiwei a figure of the past?

By embodying recognisable themes of political dissent, ideological trauma and cultural memory, early Chinese contemporary artists like Ai Weiwei acted as interfaces that helped the West understand China. But the milieu has changed, requiring new-gen artists to reexamine their identity and their art. Lianhe Zaobao visual journalist Fio Zhang gives her take on the issue.

Fio Zhang

Midas touch of Lin Xiang Xiong: Mining gold with one hand, creating art with the other

From scavenging for food in China to helming a gold mining empire in Malaysia, Lin Xiang Xiong’s life is a masterclass in resilience. The gold miner-cum-artist speaks with Lianhe Zaobao senior correspondent Chew Boon Leong about how his accidental foray into gold mining has fuelled his true calling: a global crusade for peace through art.

Chew Boon Leong

[Video] Living in the moment: Two Singaporean artists finding home in Jingdezhen

In Jingdezhen, China’s porcelain capital, Singaporean ceramists Ken Lu and Nelson Lim have each found their own mecca — a place for Ken to put down roots, and for Nelson to continually return to. Living in the Moment, produced by Lu Lingming and Yi Jina, is ThinkChina’s first documentary film. It explores how the city reshapes Ken and Nelson’s identities as Chinese Singaporeans, while tracing their lifelong pursuit of art and craft.

Lu Lingming

Timeless treasures: How wuxia captured generations on print and screen

From rare, handwritten manuscripts surviving only in Singapore to the multibillion-view world of modern xianxia, wuxia remains a cultural powerhouse. Lianhe Zaobao senior correspondent Lim Fong Wei gives us a glimpse of a special exhibition from this year’s City Reading @ SG festival, tracing how these legendary martial arts tales evolved from newspaper serials into global screen phenomena.

Lim Fong Wei

Lin Tianmiao: Making art through sickness, life and play

Chinese artist Lin Tianmiao’s ​artistic career began later in life, after she became a wife and mother. Her inspiration for artmaking comes from everyday life and objects, her experience as a daughter, wife and mother, and her ability to see the bright side amid major life and death encounters. For her, transforming the mundane into the sublime helps make “play” never end. Curator and writer Tan Hwee Koon takes us through Lin’s recent exhibition “Lin Tianmiao: There’s No Fun in It!” at the Power Station of Art (PSA) Shanghai.

Tan Hwee Koon

[Photos] My serendipitous bond with Japanese photographer Koichi Saito

With the aid of rare photos, historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao reflects on his chance encounter with celebrated Japanese photographer Koichi Saito, against the backdrop of a decades-long personal journey in historical photography and publishing.

Hsu Chung-mao

[Video] Why young Chinese are paying to ‘time-travel’ at dinner

More people in China are buying into the recent trend of immersive dining at themed restaurants, which offer diners an opportunity to experience Chinese history and culture, from dressing up in costumes from various dynasties to being part of familiar classics like Dream of the Red Chamber. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yush Chau dives in.

Yush Chau

[Video] How robots stole the show at China’s Spring Festival Gala

Much of the conversation around this year’s China Spring Festival Gala on 16 February 2026 centred on humanoid robots — from martial arts robots to lifelike bionic robots. While many praised the innovation, others expressed doubts and criticism.

Yi Jina

Not all heroes shout: How The Legend of Hei 2 reimagines Chinese animation

While Ne Zha signals industrial ambition and cultural export, The Legend of Hei reveals a gentler path — hand-drawn, community-made and emotionally grounded in coexistence rather than spectacle. Lianhe Zaobao visual journalist Fio Zhang explains its appeal and understated value.

Fio Zhang

[Big read] The rise and fall of China’s independent bookstores

Built by idealists and sustained by belief, independent bookstores became places to gather and breathe in China. As the tide turns, their owners face the hardest question: how long to keep the lights on. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Zhang Guanghui speaks to academics and those in the industry to find out more.

Zhang Guanghui

A lost masterpiece’s return exposes scandal at a top Chinese museum

​The journey of “Jiangnan Chun”, a valuable Ming dynasty scroll painting — from a celebrated private collection to a premier state museum, then declared worthless and sold for a pittance, only to re-emerge as a multimillion-dollar masterpiece — has exposed a potential rot at the heart of one of China’s most prestigious institutions.

Caixin Global

[Big read] How UOB’s Wee Ee Cheong masters the long game

UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong reflects on family legacy, succession planning and banking strategy. From AI forecasts to nurturing talent at work and home, he shows that calm, steady leadership and patience often win the long game, observes Lianhe Zaobao business editor Shen Yue.

Shen Yue