城市城事2026城市与人:
记忆、想象与重构

City Insights 2026Cities and People:
Recollection, Reimagination
and Reconstruction

Born in Malaysia, Chong Keat Aun is a multifaceted filmmaker, screenwriter, composer, radio broadcaster, and a Topolect Researcher dedicated to heritage accents archaeology and community art.

In 2020, his directorial debut The Story of Southern Islet garnered international acclaim, winning Best New Director at the 57th Golden Horse Awards, the NETPAC Award, the FIPRESCI Prize, and the Asian Film Observer's Group Award. His second feature, Snow in Midsummer (2023), was selected for the 80th Venice International Film Festival (Giornate degli Autori), where it received a Special Mention from the Cinema of the Arts. It also served as the opening film of the 60th Golden Horse Awards with nine nominations and won Best Film at both the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival (Firebird Award) and the 23rd New York Asian Film Festival.

His 2024 film, Pavane for an Infant, represented Malaysia in the race for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards. His latest work, Mother Bhumi (2025), was selected for the Main Competition at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival and received eight nominations at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards, winning Best Leading Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Film Song.

A writer and museum professional fascinated by the history, heritage and culture of port cities in Asia, Kennie Ting is the former director of the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) and Peranakan Museum in Singapore. Over his eight-year tenure (2016 – 2024) as Museum Director, he is credited for making the ACM more relevant to Singapore’s heritage and context by transforming it from an ethnographically- and geographically-themed museum to one with a cross-cultural and global outlook centred on the port cities narrative. Books he has written include The Romance of the Grand Tour: 100 Years of Travel in South East Asia (2015), Singapore Chronicles: Heritage (2015) and Singapore 1819: A Living Legacy (2019).

His most recent book, The Great Port Cities of Asia: In History (2024), is a sweeping, 2000-year history of a globalised Asia, told from the perspective of the sea. It takes the reader on an epic journey across maritime Asia and the Indian Ocean, stopping at 60 port cities, including Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Nagasaki, Aden, Jeddah, Dubai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Colombo, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, and many others.

Drawing upon art, architecture, literature, natural history, food and dress, Ting paints a vivid picture of the cosmopolitan, cross-cultural communities inhabiting this vast expanse, and spotlights timeless issues related to trade and conquest, cultural encounter and economic development.

Kris Yao is the founder of KRIS YAO | ARTECH. With a diverse and extensive portfolio, his work has gained international acclaim in many architectural journals and exhibitions. Yao has received numerous honors, including the National Award for Arts in Taiwan and an AIA Honorary Fellowship. Furthermore, his firm has been recognized with the AIA International Firm Award, among other prestigious accolades.

His diverse portfolio includes acclaimed projects include Lanyang Museum, Palace Museum Southern Branch, Water-Moon Monastery, New Taipei City Art Museum, as well as Foxconn Headquarters Shanghai, TSMC Nanjing Campus, Wuzhen Theater. Yao’s architecture seamlessly integrates function with culture and history, celebrating the "spirit of locality."

The AIA praises his poetic approach, which blends Eastern aesthetics and spirituality with natural light and innovative forms. His work reflects a deep humanity, staying true to cultural contexts and human emotions through a sophisticated interplay of surfaces and scale.

Shen Jialu is a member of the Chinese Writers Association, council member of the Shanghai Writers Association and director of the Shanghai Writers Association’s Novel Creation Committee. He was previously editor-in-chief and senior journalist of Xinmin Weekly under the Shanghai United Media Group.

In the early 1980s, he began writing novels, as well as reportage and essays, and film and television works, with over 30 novels, novellas and essays published. His works have won many literary awards, including the Shanghai Literature, Meng Ya and Fiction World awards.