ASEF Culture360 | Connecting Asia and Europe through arts and culture


Get in-depth perspectives through commissioned articles, interviews and reports on current topics for Asia-Europe cultural relations.


By Bikash K. Bhattacharya

25 Apr 2023

Poets as Keepers of Buddhist Tradition: The Zare Culture of Myanmar, Thailand and Yunnan

Zare Sai Jom Hlaing Han reciting lik long poetry in a Shan funeral, with the family members of the deceased and elderly villagers listening to the recitation and paying homage to the altar of the Buddha in Namkham, Northern Shan State, Myanmar. Photo: Bikash K. Bhattacharya

In Theravada Shan communities of upper Myanmar, northern Thailand, and the Yunnan province of China, a unique poetic tradition is the primary means of transmission of the teachings of Buddhism …

By Magali An Berthon

03 Jul 2017

From rare orchid to rare textile

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Myanmar is the home of more than 800 different species of orchids. A branch of the Kachin tribe uses an endangered species of orchid to produce fiber and create the …