When Ocean Park launched its Halloween celebrations in 2001, pumpkins, witches and vampires helped turn a visit to the theme park into a seasonal fright night. Twenty-five years later, haunted houses drawing on Hong Kong ghost stories share this year’s programme with family activities, live performances and a dark-fantasy collaboration with a pop star. The history of Halloween at Ocean Park is not simply a timeline of increasingly bigger productions and more elaborate effects. It is also a story...

White Flower Oil is a familiar scent in many Chinese homes – you may even have had a whiff of it on public transport. The sharp, pungent fragrance of eucalyptus and mint is unmistakable and memory-evoking, and has traditionally been used to treat ailments such as headaches, nausea and bug bites. The origins of White Flower Oil, also known as Hoe Hin Pak Fah Yeow, can be traced to 1927 Penang, then part of Malaya, where founder Gan Geok Eng developed a medicated oil initially intended for private...

On the first night of his “After Hours Til Dawn Tour” at Kai Tak Stadium on October 24, Abel Tesfaye, professionally known as The Weeknd, debuted a brand new track titled “Hong Kong”. The track heavily sampled pop diva Faye Wong’s original Cantonese vocals from the song “Seasonal Wind” (also known as “Monsoon”), seamlessly blending her melody with his signature R&B style. The surprise debut was met with thunderous applause and set social media ablaze. But what is the deeper social significance...