'The Shanghai high life of quality lady'

That's China Daily's headline for this story, which they copied and pasted from its original source, U.S. News & World Report. The story, originally titled "The Shanghai High Life," is annoying and vapid and tells the story of Lily Wang, a "typical Shanghai yuppie." Or perhaps the author was trying to show that the life of a typical Shanghai yuppie is annoying and vapid?

We learn that Ms. Wang, 28, wears high heels and a coat lined with a fur collar, drinks champagne, attends avante-garde art exhibitions, frequents Three on the Bund, has round eyes, long black hair and friends from all over the world, is from Zhejiang, got her undergrad degree in Beijing and her masters in France, works for a real estate company that provides her a serviced apartment downtown, earns $35,000 a year, used to date an American, is in no hurry to get married, and is "really enjoying" herself!

We also learn that Shanghai has an Armani store, an Evian spa, restaurants from world-famous chefs, Maserati and Ferrari showrooms, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton, neon signs, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, golf resorts, skyscrapers and women who can now afford to buy their own Prada bags (to do this before, they would have had to be "on the arm of a tycoon from Hong Kong or Taiwan").

The story is part of a big U.S. News & World Report package on China, which proves that there was indeed a memo sent to all major American magazines ordering them all to publish issues dedicated to China at virtually the exact same time. An accompanying photo essay is not mandatory, but recommended.

• U.S. News & World Report: The China Challenge (June 20, 2005)
• TIME magazine: China's New Revolution (June 27, 2005)
• Newsweek: China's Century (May 9, 2005)
• The New York Times: Photo essay: The faces of Shanghai (March 20, 2005)
• The New York Times Magazine: The Chinese Century (July 4, 2004)