Wallis Wang

Hong Kong malls were the target of "Christmas shopping" protests on Sunday.  After more than 6 months of demonstrations, the city had seen a relatively calm period, but on this day riot police once again entered shopping malls after businesses were vandalized. Multiple arrests were made and there was a heavy police presence on the streets. Rallies from both sides of the divide took place near each other in the early afternoon. Thousands attended a pro-police rally and hundreds of social workers called for their colleagues to go on strike in support of the protest movement.

Hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers took to the streets on December 8, 2019, the day before the six-month anniversary of the anti-government protests. For the first time since August, the Civil Human Rights Front, the organizer of the march, received a letter of no objection from the police.

Training with swords and machetes, these nuns from Druk Amitabha Mountain Nunnery in Nepal are challenging gender stereotypes with martial arts. Watch the video, above, to see them in action.

Thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Hong Kong over the weekend. Many wearing masks, they defied a new anti-mask law introduced by the city’s leader, who invoked emergency powers as demonstrations grew increasingly violent.

For the first time in 12 weekends of anti-government protests in Hong Kong, a police officer fired a warning shot during clashes with demonstrators on Sunday. Earlier in the day, police also deployed water cannons for the first time, threatening to use them in order to disperse hundreds of protesters who had occupied a road following a march.

Residents in China’s southwestern city of Chongqing were filmed eating spicy hotpot in an manmade ice cavern during a heatwave last month. People in their winter coats sat around the tables and enjoyed the ‘coolest’ summer.    

Chinese snuff bottles are called "bottles painted by ghosts."  This is because the delicate designs are carefully painted on the inside of the small bottles. Snuff bottles have been used to hold smokeless tobacco since the 17th century, but this niche craft is in danger of disappearing. Artists are trying to revive it by using popular culture, including children’s cartoon character Peppa Pig.  

A runaway ostrich recently startled rush-hour commuters as it sprinted through busy roads in Shiping County in China’s southwestern province of Yunnan.  The 6ft 7in tall ostrich ran wild for about half an hour on August 2, 2019, before its owner managed to recapture the pet bird.

A Chinese paper-cutting master, Yang Caixia, has made nine gowns out of red paper. All the dresses are decorated with traditional lucky patterns, and have their own matching headpieces. Paper-cutting is one of the oldest traditional Chinese artforms, and declared by the United Nations as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

There were plenty of smiles and cake at a birthday party for 18 panda cubs in southwest China on July 25, 2019. The event was held to celebrate the pandas’ first year of life. It also showcased the success of conservation work done at the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan province.