Life

A person at prayer inside the pagoda at Wat Paknam: The pagoda, featuring an emerald-green glass stupa and planetarium-like ceiling, has become a must see since 2012.  (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Life

Popular Thai temple falls victim to 'overtourism'

Hordes of unruly visitors descend on place of worship unmindful of local customs

5 October 2019
When the Somdet Theater opened in 1981 it had to be powered by a gas generator because that area of northeastern Thailand had yet to be linked to the electricity grid. (Courtesy of Philip Jablon)
Life

Southeast Asia's independent movie theaters show face of bygone era

'Cinema detective' documents scores of closures -- and a few survivors

4 October 2019
Hints of globalization do not distract Tibetan pilgrims from their circumnavigations around the Jokhang, Tibet's holiest shrine. (Photo by Kit Yeng Chan)
Life

Tibetans look to tourism to end isolation

Globalization is shaping a new future for Tibetan Autonomous Region

2 October 2019
A screenshot of a video by the city of Kochi's immigration and settlement promotion office, depicting the challenges of adjusting to country living.
Life

Tokyoites find dream life in rural Japan can be alienating

City of Kochi offers two-step immigration to ease culture shock

2 October 2019
Staff at lifestyle shop Ref.
Life

Home sweet Hiroshima: fertile ground for Japanese entrepreneurs

Compact and with nature on its doorstep, this city offers big business potential and quality of life

30 September 2019
Fiji and Uruguay battle it out at the Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium on September 25.
Rugby World Cup

Japanese city torn by 2011 disaster now rocks Rugby World Cup

Hosting games a 'dream come true' for Kamaishi after horrors of past tsunami

29 September 2019
Dating back to 1782, Bangkok's Chinatown has evolved along with the city's growth and remains a bustling commercial center.
Life

Bangkok's Chinatown seeks to preserve its soul

New transit links are a mixed blessing that could to alter the character of a historic district

27 September 2019
Souvenir shops line the area around the cave in Thailand where a boys soccer team was trapped for 18 days last year. The T-shirts depict a diver who died in the resuce. (Photo by Marimi Kishimoto)
Life

A year on, Thai cave rescue sparks tourism boom in sleepy province

1 million visitors drawn by cavern where boys soccer team was trapped

26 September 2019
Touring in the hill tribe areas of far northern Vietnam on a BMW adventure motorcycle. (Courtesy of MotoTours Asia)
Life

Easy riding motorbike tours boom in Southeast Asia

Adventure motorcycles get Western professionals on the road again

25 September 2019
Jia Pingwa is a popular and critically acclaimed Chinese author, but are his days of literary freedom numbered? (Courtesy of Nicky Harman)
Tea Leaves

Censorship and apathy strip China's branches bare

Jia Pingwa's 'Broken Wings' delivers a harsh take on rural realities

25 September 2019
Team Japan line up before the match against Russia in the Rugby World Cup 2019 at Tokyo Stadium on Sept. 20. The squad includes 15 foreign-born players, almost half the full roster's 31 players. (Photo by Toshiki Sasazu)
Rugby World Cup

Why rugby spirit matters to Japan companies

Domestic team owners Toyota, Canon and Panasonic leverage values of game to embrace diversity

21 September 2019
Socially conscious, well-informed and quick to organize behind a cause: By 2030, Asia's Generation Z will be 960 million people strong.
The Big Story

Purpose over profit: How Generation Z is redefining business

Asia's young consumers are demanding that companies reflect their values on equality and the environment

18 September 2019
In China, luxury consumers are both becoming younger and less brand-loyal, says Mia Kong, Shanghai-based style director for magazine Dazed China. (Photo courtesy of Mia Kong)
The Big Story

Asia's Gen Z: Three young pacesetters to watch

Keep an eye on these names to understand the next wave of consumers

18 September 2019
Paing Soe San, 24, models a Burmese traditional male longyi. He says he is proud to identify as a trans man. (Courtesy of VK Photography Burma)
Life

Myanmar's 'tomboys' stride out of the shadows

In a once-closed society, pioneers embrace their gender identities

18 September 2019
The three teenage rockers that make up Voice of Baceprot are influenced by Western bands like Rage Against The Machine and Muse. (Courtesy of Voice of Baceprot)
Tea Leaves

Muslim girls rock, but not about religion

Indonesian band Voice of Baceprot has a different story to tell

18 September 2019
Dafen is said to have become an "oil painting village" after a Hong Kong trader dealing in replica artworks relocated to the village in the 1980s. (Photo by Yusuke Hinata)
Life

Chinese village produces 60% of world's replica oil paintings

Replicated Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' is made in 4 hours, goes for under $8

15 September 2019
Chinese political cartoonist Badiucao waves his "Lennon Wall" flag, which he created as a symbol of Hong Kong's freedom, at a conference in Melbourne on Sept. 4.
Arts

Satirical cartoonist Badiucao feels Beijing's ire in Australia

Hong Kong protesters embrace artist's graphic commentary on city standoff

13 September 2019
Vaidas Gecevicius, a creative technologies expert, launched pet adoption app GetPet earlier this year. (Courtesy of Vaidas Gecevicius) 
Life

Technology tackles Asia's homeless pet crisis

App developers seek to match adopters with millions of stray cats and dogs

11 September 2019
Protesters hold hands to form a human chain during a rally at Mongkok, in Hong Kong, on Aug. 23.
Tea Leaves

For diaspora, there is more than one China

Hong Kong turmoil presses a sensitive button for overseas Chinese

11 September 2019
Members attend service at a Protestant church in Anhui Province. The small church dates back about 100 years, when a U.S. clergyman arrived to spread Christianity. (Photo by Tsukasa Hadano)
Politics

China's Christians keep the faith, rattling the country's leaders

Growing ranks of churchgoers outnumber Communist Party members

10 September 2019
Mandarin-speaking Tom Brady, quarterback of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, has proven an apt ambassador to China both for his team and the National Football League. (Courtesy of NFL China)
Life

NFL scrambles for attention from Chinese sports fans

League hopes rookie Taylor Rapp can be American football's Yao Ming

8 September 2019
A Theyyam Muthappan performance at Parassinikadavu, a riverside temple between Payyanur and Kannur in North Kerala (Photo by Kit Yeng Chan)
Life

Kerala leaves the 'hippy days' to move upmarket

Innovative startups surprise holidaymakers in south India's most-visited state

6 September 2019
Tokyo's Shiba Park, Japan's oldest park, is home to cherry trees, camphor trees and dogwoods. 
Food & Beverage

Urban honey offers the sweet taste of central Tokyo

Bees raised by locals feast on pollen from the metropolis' oldest public park

5 September 2019
Stefan Wagstyl and his wife, Anna, join the crowds on the Omotesando shopping street. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Life

Sayonara, Tokyo: Still amazing after all these years

Stefan Wagstyl bids a fond farewell to Asia's greatest city

4 September 2019
Cable TV, telephone and internet wiring all strung from the same concrete poles. (Photo by Ken Barrett)
Tea Leaves

Bangkok grapples with 'sky spaghetti' in modernization push

Bill Gates' earlier criticism prompts government to bury the city's overhead cables

4 September 2019