Now the warm up New Year is out the way - December 31^st - Macau can start focussing on the real celebration - Chinese New Year. The biggest holiday of the year and an annual excuse to eat too much, argue with family and blow up a factories worth of fireworks offers some great events for visitors.

The blockbuster events are the fireworks display and the Chinese New year parade - this year featuring a 250 metre plus dragon winding through the streets - but there's much more going on that doesn't always make it into the tourist guides. Particularly enjoyable are the night flower markets where families waddle around laden with kumquat trees other 'lucky' flowers and the temples where revellers go to ply dieties with goodies.

Scheduled in for January 23^rd, you can find out about all of these events and more in our Chinese New Year in Macau guide.

Photo: Dragon for Chinese New Year. Copyright Getty

The Peninsula Hong Kong is up against increasingly palatial properties in its bid to stay the city's number 1 luxury hotel. iPod docks rather than trouser presses and cocktail lounges not tearooms seem to be the order of the day. So how does The Peninsula Hong Kong measure up?

Built in 1928 - an absolute lifetime in Hong Kong terms - the Peninsula - or Pen as it's known locally - has been the swankiest hotel in town since men wore frilly moustaches and the Game wasn't a rapper but show of brinkmanship between Russia and England in the Northwest frontier. Cucumber sandwiches and cream teas were the order of the day and the Governor's Ball was the hottest ticket in town.

Thankfully the Peninsula still revels in its colonial charm with marble colonnades and polished wood furnishings. You still need to wear a jacket for dinner and a string quartet accompanies the high tea in the lobby. It's got character and it's got class.

Find out what we thought of the hotel in our full Peninsula Hong Kong Hotel review and share your opinion.

Photo: Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong lit up at night. Copyright: Peninsula Hotel

Ok, so we might not do many movie reviews here at About Hong Kong and Ip Man might have been released in 2008 and but we were so impressed by this film in our first watch we wanted to share the news.

Ip Man was Bruce Lee's master and mentor, one of the most respected masters of Wing Chun - a form of martial arts - and is widely revered in Hong Kong. The film doesn't feature much historical truth about Ip Man's life but it is cracking martial art film and sparkling story to boot.

Watch a superb Donnie Yen as Ip Man mix it up with the Japanese occupiers, bulldoze his way through a gang of robbers and generally look moody showing off his masterful understanding of Wing Chun. There are whispers that this might be one of the greatest martial arts movies ever made and we are certainly considering putting it into our Top 10 Hong Kong Movies List.

Read our full Ip Man movie review and let us know what you think.

Photo: Ip Man movie. Copyright Mandarin Films

The Ritz Carlton Hong Kong is the highest hotel in the world. Fact. It's also the owner of the highest bar, restaurant and swimming pool - and on and on and on -  but is it any good? In a city that revels in its five star luxury hotels newcomers need to pull off something special to truly turn heads.With nearly a year under its belt we went to find out if the Ritz Hong Kong has more than height to boast about.

Eschewing the grand old grace of the original Hong Kong Ritz Carlton, the new design is contemporary, upbeat and hip. Bold colors and smooth curves set the scene while in room gadgets, such as a Nespresso coffee machine and a Telescope to take in the harbour view - confirm that the Ritz is pitching itself as the city's cutting edge property.

Find out what we thought of the hotel in our Ritz Carlton Hong Kong Hotel review and share your opinion.

Photo: Ritz Carlton Hong Kong and the skyline. Copyright the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong