All Australians are invited to mark Lunar New Year celebrations with a distinctive content line-up across the SBS network
SBS is expanding its Chinese-language offering with the launch of SBS中文 (SBS Chinese), a new digital service for Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking Australians, going live as Lunar New Year begins next month.
SBS中文 (SBS.com.au/Chinese) will be a mobile-first digital offering, providing Chinese-Australians with independent, trusted Australian news, information, and entertainment, and keeping them connected with news from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and around the world. Content will be published in Traditional and Simplified Chinese text with audio available in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Featuring short-form video, articles and audio content, SBS中文 will be the comprehensive go-to service for all Chinese-Australians, providing more breaking news and current affairs in their language, along with innovative coverage of topics ranging from health and education to food and finance, and more. An extension of SBS’s unique multilingual offering for Australia’s multicultural communities, it will build on SBS Radio’s Chinese-language radio and podcast services, and a growing Simplified Chinese subtitled content collection on SBS On Demand.
SBS Director of Audio and Language Content, David Hua, said,
“We are thrilled to be celebrating the beginning of the Lunar New Year with the launch of our new service, SBS中文, at the heart of our offering across the network.
“SBS中文 will cement SBS as a trusted source of news for Chinese speakers in Australia, offering even more up-to-date, independent news and information important to the lives of Chinese-Australians, and telling their stories.
“Not only does SBS provide a trusted voice for these communities, as a network, we are uniquely positioned to help all Australians understand the issues behind the headlines about China. It’s a story that impacts all of us, making SBS’s role even more critical in contributing to understanding in the wider community.
“SBS中文 goes to the very heart of the SBS Charter, not only informing communities but also reflecting our multicultural society and promoting greater understanding across cultures, and evolving to meet the needs of our diverse audiences.”
In addition to the launch of SBS中文, SBS is helping all Australians to celebrate Lunar New Year with a collection of curated content across the network.
David Hua added:
“Lunar New Year is celebrated by many cultures around the world and marked in many ways by communities here in Australia. While we can’t come together in ways we’re used to, all Australians can come to SBS to experience, learn, reflect and celebrate with content across our channels and platforms, and coverage from communities across SBS Radio.”
SBS’s curated Lunar New Year content will include the Australian television premiere of Be Water, the 2020 film about the life and legacy of trailblazer and martial arts legend Bruce Lee as well as Secrets of China’s Forbidden City, aspecial access documentary about Beijing’s Imperial Palace.
SBS VICELAND will showcase a range of shows including Kingdom of the Little People, a documentary about China’s controversial theme park. SBS Food will mark the occasion with a weekend of Lunar New Year-inspired travel food shows as well as sharing dedicated recipes and articles online.
SBS On Demand and SBS World Movies will celebrate with a curated collection of films and across SBS Radio there will be a range of interviews and discussions about Lunar New Year activities happening across Australia, and how communities are marking the occasion.
Program information:
Television
SBS
Where Are You Really From? S1 E1, 3 Feb, 2pm
Playful but moving, the series explores the complex issues of cultural heritage and identity, and the way our assumptions around what ‘an Australian’ looks like impacts our understanding of what it means to be Australian. Where Are You Really From? connects wider Australia to a history and to communities many people would not be aware of.
Be Water, 7 Feb, 9.30pm
In 1971, after being rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to his parents’ homeland of Hong Kong to complete four iconic films. Charting his journey as a pioneer in his field, this portrait explores questions of identity and representation through the use of rare archival, interviews with loved ones and Lee’s own writings.
Destination Flavour China S1 E1-10, 8-19 Feb, 2pm
Adam Liaw discovers the vast and ancient country of China, exploring its history through its food whilst at the same time exploring his own family history.
The Great Wall of China: The Hidden Story, 11 Feb, 2.30pm
This documentary explores the origins, functions and significance – both as a political border, a statement of power and a military defence line – of The Great Wall of China.
China From Above S1 E1&2, 12 Feb, 2.40pm
An incredible bird’s-eye view of how China’s billion-plus population lives, travels and builds its cities.
Secrets of China’s Forbidden City, 12 Feb, 7.30pm
Beijing’s vast Imperial Palace, known as the Forbidden City, is one of mankind’s greatest and historic icons, and the world’s biggest residential building. It’s a bewildering maze of hidden secrets and unexpected legends, closed for hundreds of years to the outside world – until now. This special access documentary reveals the secrets about how and why the city was built, and what extraordinary events went on inside its walls.
Luke Nguyen’s Railway Vietnam S1 E1-5, 5-19 Feb, 2.30pm
Acclaimed Sydney chef, Luke Nguyen, returns to the country of his heritage to take a culinary journey through the southern regions of Vietnam.
David Baddiel On The Silk Road S1 E1-4, 16-19 Feb, 3pm
Comedian and writer David Baddiel sets off on an adventure of a lifetime along the Silk Road, travelling from Xi’an, China to Istanbul, Turkey to uncover a series of remarkable locations, mysteries and hidden gems, many unknown to the western world.
Luke Nguyen’s Railway Vietnam S1 E6-10, 22-26 Feb, 2pm
Acclaimed Sydney chef, Luke Nguyen, returns to the country of his heritage to take a culinary journey through the southern regions of Vietnam.
SBS VICELAND
Longest Day In Chang’an, 11 Feb, 11.30pm
A former detective turned convicted criminal becomes China’s last hope to thwart mysterious invaders who threaten the empire’s capital city on the day before the Lantern Festival.
Kingdom of the Little People, 12 Feb, 2pm
Annette Lamothe-Ramos visits the controversial theme park in China – Kingdom of the Little People. In mushroom-shaped homes and old dormitories, a community of dwarfs sing and dance for tourists.
Huang’s World S1 E7, 12 Feb, 2.50pm
Eddie Huang travels to China with his parents to explore his heritage as a Taiwanese-Chinese-American, and to discover the most important dish of his life: Red Cooked Pork.
Golden Job, 13 Feb, 12.35am
Former mercenaries reunite to plan an epic heist, boosting a truckload of medicine held by a foreign intelligence agency.
Detective Dee and The Four Heavenly Kings, 14 Feb, 12.20am
Accused of wrongdoing by Empress Wu, Detective Dee faces a formidable foe while investigating a crime wave that’s marked by strange and seemingly supernatural occurrences.
SBS Food – 12-14 February, 10.30am-1.30pm
Luke Nguyen’s Street Food Asia S1 E1-2 & E5-8
In this series, chef Luke Nguyen takes to the streets of Asia to embark on a culinary exploration of its food and culture.
Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown S11 E7
Hong Kong, a city that’s always in transition and unapologetically modern has another side…a beautiful one that’s in danger of disappearing entirely. Bourdain experiences this city through the eyes and lens of legendary cinematographer and long-time Hong Kong resident Christopher Doyle (Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love, The White Girl).
Donal’s Asian Baking Adventure S1 E3
Food writer, cook and social media host Donal Skehan explores the growing popularity of baking and flour-based foods in Asia. On his travels, Donal meets celebrity chefs, family bakers and food entrepreneurs who are all inspired by the growing trend for Asian baking.
Chilli Hunter S1 E3, 6 & 7
The series follows ‘Chilli Hunter’ Tyson Mayr as he travels across Asia in search of the region’s most devilishly spicy dishes.
A Cook Abroad S1 E6
Cook and food writer, Rachel Khoo, heads to Malaysia, home of her extended family, to explore on of the most exciting cuisines on the planet. From the tropical shores or a remote fishing village, to a foraged feast deep in the jungle, Rachel travels across this multi-cultural country to find out whether good food can unite a nation.
Instant Noodles Diary S1 E6
Instant Noodles Diary is an off-the-beaten path culinary road trip across Asia and its diverse instant noodles foodscape. It explores how a single food product introduced half a century ago grew into a unique Asian dietary culture and a multi-billion-dollar industry.
