Death

[Big read] China’s ‘fur kids’ fuel a billion-dollar pet boom

China’s growing love for pets has created a billion-dollar industry, with smart devices, AI services and full life-cycle care. Local governments are also backing the trend to boost domestic consumption. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Zeng Shi speaks to industry players to find out more about the shift in social attitudes and policies that have led to this growth.

Zeng Shi

30 Mar 2026

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

13 Mar 2026

Taiwanese art historian: My Aquarian friend Hualing who embraced everyone [Part 2]

Taiwanese art historian Chiang Hsun continues reminiscing about his time in Iowa, US, with Hualing Nieh Engle, as well as other prominent literary figures such as Wang Zengqi and Ah Cheng. Through ups and downs, Nieh’s Aquarian character shines through, strong and resilient.

Chiang Hsun

02 Jan 2026

Why is death in Hong Kong stuck in a one-month queue?

Hong Kong’s severe shortage of funeral and cremation facilities forces families to wait weeks to say goodbye — yet public hospital mortuaries are set to start charging for the very delays they can’t fix. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Tai Hing Shing tells us more.

Tai Hing Shing

19 Nov 2025

Breaking Hell’s Gate: The vanishing rituals of Taoist funeral priests

Cantonese Taoist funeral priests, or nam mou sifu, were known for their physical feats such as walking over hot coals, plunging their hands into boiling oil and climbing knife ladders. While today’s priests may no longer do all this, it is still a demanding job that not everybody can do. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei speaks to one of the last nam mou sifu in Singapore.

Tang Ai Wei

12 Sep 2025

Offerings for the hungry ghosts: From ancient rituals to instant noodles

Chinese food offerings evolved from ancient sacrifices of cattle and sheep to everyday snacks like boba tea and potato chips. Rooted in practicality rather than taste, these rituals blend purity for spirits with what people can afford, reflecting the essence of Chinese popular religion. History professor Poo Mu-chou shares his research and thoughts.

Poo Mu-chou

05 Sep 2025

Teochew rice drawings: Capturing the divine in grains of rice

During religious rituals at Teochew charitable halls, intricate images of religious figures and symbols are created, not with ink, but with rice grains. Crafting these rice drawings requires skill, attention to detail, dexterity and artistic talent. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei speaks with several rice drawing artists and discusses the traditional art form.

Tang Ai Wei

29 Aug 2025

[Video] I was 11 when the earth shook: A child’s memory of Wenchuan [Eye on Sichuan series]

The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake is a tragedy etched into China’s collective memory, especially for those from Sichuan. ThinkChina’s Yi Jina was only 11 years old when she experienced this major event, and was too young to grasp the scale of what had happened. It took years before she understood what she had survived — and what so many others hadn’t. Even now, old footage and stories from those days still move her to tears.

Yi Jina

30 May 2025

Tech tragedies: The mysterious deaths of top tech talents

The sudden death of Chinese drone expert Zhang Daibing on 3 January has shocked many netizens, who have questioned the circumstances surrounding his demise. Zhang’s passing is but the latest in a series of mysterious high-profile deaths in the Chinese tech industry. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk discusses the issue.

China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao

15 Jan 2025

High-scoring Chinese youths break taboos by joining the funeral industry

A few young graduates pursuing careers in the funeral industry are attempting to change the often negative views that people may have of the industry. Will their efforts be enough? China Desk looks at the issue.

China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao

09 Jan 2025

Taiwan art historian: My brother, my Scorpio hero [Part 2]

Taiwan art historian Chiang Hsun reflects on his older brother’s later years, from a military man to a Peking opera performer, and as a man who cared for his family until the end.

Chiang Hsun

26 Jul 2024

The Chinese are storing loved ones’ ashes in residential areas

Most of us would be familiar with the idea of cemeteries and columbariums, but what about a residential unit to store the ashes of the departed? Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk looks into how rising prices of burial plots has led to a somewhat unconventional solution in China.

China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao

29 Apr 2024