Latest news with #SuShi
South China Morning Post
10-07-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Why the ‘Hermès' and ‘Chanel' of Chinese lychees are so sought-after
If there is one good thing about these sticky, sweaty summers in Hong Kong it is the sweet promise of lychee season, with bunches of the ripe fruit stacked high on every market corner and grocery store. Such a sight would probably have pleased the great Chinese poet and gourmet Su Shi, better known under his pen name Su Dongpo, who famously gave his name to the famous pork belly dish he so loved. He was also a lychee fanatic – he declared once that he would not mind being a southerner if he could eat 300 of them a day. Same, Su, same. The only thing stopping me from demolishing dozens of lychees in one sitting is the traditional Chinese medicine principle that sees the fruit as highly yang – warming and drying. The saying 'one lychee equals three torches of fire' is no joke. The belief is that consuming too many lychees can lead to ailments like sore throat, nosebleeds, pimples and ulcers. As someone prone to breakouts and scratchy throat, I will these days have no more than a mere handful before resisting the temptation to eat more. But that was before I came across xian jin feng, a delicate, honeyed variety brought back from China by a friend. Colloquially known as the 'Chanel of lychees' from a ranking created in 2023 on Chinese social media channels, it is as elegant as you would expect, with a crisp, clear sweetness and no tangy aftertaste, its tiny seeds encased by juicy pearlescent flesh.
South China Morning Post
06-07-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Where lychees came from and why in Chinese culture they're an auspicious symbol
'Eating three hundred lychees every day, I would long live in Lingnan.' The sentiment of Song dynasty poet Su Shi towards this popular summer fruit is echoed by many across Asia today. From Hong Kong to Hanoi and Maoming to Muzaffarpur, mounds of dusty-pink lychees can be found in wet markets and on the sides of streets at this time of year. Their thin leathery skin peels easily to reveal luscious translucent-white flesh that covers a shiny seed and has a heady floral flavour. Native to southern China and northern Vietnam, lychees appear in historical records in China as far back as 200BC. Lychee can be found in wet markets and at street-side stalls across Asia in the summer months. A 2022 report published in the scientific journal Nature Genetics used DNA sequencing to theorise that the first lychees appeared tens of thousands of years ago in what is today Yunnan province in southwest China.
The Star
15-06-2025
- The Star
China Focus: China sees surge in culture-driven tourism
BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A large-scale VR immersive experience, "The Recluse Dongpo," premiered at the Hainan Museum in May, attracting eager fans of the iconic Song Dynasty poet Su Shi to embark on a virtual journey through millennia of Chinese history. Wearing VR headsets, participants came face-to-face with a digital rendition of Su Shi (also known as Su Dongpo), who vividly recounted his dramatic life -- from political exile to literary legend -- in an interactive narrative. This fusion of technology and tradition exemplifies China's ongoing reinvention of cultural tourism. Alongside its iconic landscapes, the country is witnessing a surge in heritage-driven travel, where films, live performances, and immersive experiences spawn compelling new destinations. According to a recent China Tourism Academy survey, travelers show growing interest in cultural activities: Nearly 29.2 percent of respondents prioritize cultural experiences in their itineraries, while 78.3 percent express general enthusiasm for such engagements during trips. Cultural spaces can serve as new settings for tourism experiences and consumption, while tourism spaces can also function as new platforms for cultural display and dissemination, said Li Xinjian, executive dean of the Capital Institute of Culture and Tourism Development at Beijing International Studies University. In a major government reshuffle in 2018, China merged two government agencies to form a new ministry -- the Ministry of Culture and Tourism -- "to promote the integrated development of cultural undertakings, cultural industries, and tourism," according to an official document. The development of culture-driven tourism has since picked up speed. A 2023 high-level meeting on cultural development underscored the need to promote the "creative transformation and innovative development of China's fine traditional culture." Government at all levels have been tapping into local cultural resources to enhance tourist appeal and boost the economy. During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday from May 31 to June 2, the city of Beijing held more than 1,700 cultural tourism events, including dragon boat carnivals, intangible cultural heritage markets, and Hanfu (traditional Chinese attire) workshops. The Chinese capital recorded 8.21 million tourist visits during the period, up 5.4 percent year on year. It generated 10.77 billion yuan (about 1.49 billion U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue. Traditional festivals proved to be high seasons for travelers. This year, during the first Spring Festival after it was inscribed on the UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, travelers flocked to temple fairs, dragon dance performances, and intangible cultural heritage experiences to celebrate an authentic Chinese New Year. The 2025 Aranya Theater Festival, which will open in the coastal city of Qinhuangdao in north China's Hebei Province, will stage 29 theatrical productions from 12 countries. During the festival, cultural activities such as art exhibitions and workshops will also be held in the coastal resort of Aranya. The 2024 edition of the festival received about 164,000 visitors, including foreign travelers. With the improvement of people's living standards and increased opportunities for travel, there is a growing demand for cultural experiences during tourism activities, and participation takes diverse forms, said Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy. Museums, historical cities, ancient towns, cultural districts, live-action shows, concerts, and music festivals have become major attractions in numerous tourist destinations, Dai added. A government initiative on boosting cultural and tourism consumption launched earlier this year proposed specific measures, such as encouraging public cultural institutions to actively develop cultural experiences, arts education services, and other offerings, enriching the supply of cultural and entertainment products, and allowing local governments to allocate special bond funds to support cultural and tourism projects. According to Dai, the integrated development of culture and tourism will be a focus for boosting the tourism sector during China's 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). Efforts will be made to promote the integration of cultural industries and tourism supply to create more new cultural experience venues and novel tourism consumption settings for visitors, he added.
