Shanghaiist

Representing Singapore at the Expo: DURIAN STAR

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-27T19:30:00+08:00

When the Expo people first revealed Haibao, we were less than pleased. Then the Australian mascot came along and we thought to ourselves, well at least we're not that obvious. Then the Taiwanese mascot made its appearance and we were thankful that at least Shanghai wasn't being represented by something that looked like crap. Literally. But this new Singaporean mascot? It actually makes us happy that Haibao's ours.

Say hello to the “Durian Star” (榴莲小星), who'll be representing our friendly little island to the South in Shanghai from May to October in 2010. According to the Singaporean Expo organizers:

Drawing inspiration from our iconic Merlion and The King of Fruits, the Durian, Singapore Tourism Board developed LIU LIAN XIAO XING - a lovable and easily recognisable character.

LIU LIAN XIAO XING is a five-year-old Singaporean boy who travels around the world with his parents, who are well respected musicians.

He is nuts about durians but they are not readily available in some of the places they travel to. He loves them so much that he enjoys sketching pictures of the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay because they resemble the durian! The poor boy thinks about durians all day, so his Mum made a delightful little costume for him that looks just like one. (Now everywhere he travels, the little King of fruits makes the other children green with envy!)

He wears red overalls emblazoned with a picture of the Merlion in homage to his favourite toy - a Merlion beanie he cuddles to sleep every night. His cap, shaped just like a durian was inspired by his love of the fruit and his sketches of the Esplanade!

Oh Singapore.

Source: Kennethism

Hotelist: Park Hyatt Shanghai

Ben Pollok — 2009-11-27T17:45:00+08:00

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In Shanghaiist's monthly Hotelist feature, we take a sneak peek at the various hotels around town that have caught our fancy. This week, China's tallest hotel: Park Hyatt Shanghai at the SWFC.

Park Hyatt Shanghai
Where: 100 Century Avenue, Pudong New Area 200120 世纪大道100号邮政编码 200120
Opening Date: September 1st, 2008
Number of Rooms: 174, including 14 suites
Rate per Night: 1,750 to 88,200RMB
Park Hyatt Shanghai.

High above the blaring car horns and the smell of stinky tofu, somewhere around the point where the city’s smog meets the clouds, the Park Hyatt Shanghai keeps a watchful eye over the Huangpu River. The hotel, which is located near the top of Shanghai’s World Financial Center, has been the subject of great deal of talk since it opened last year, not only for its guestrooms but also for the restaurant, bar, and lounge that reside on its top floors.

Upon first entering the Park Hyatt, one thing becomes perfectly clear- this hotel does not feel the need to oversell itself from the outside. Rather than proving its decadence through gaudy chandeliers and animal skins, the Park Hyatt takes a sparse, modern approach. The entrance itself feels more like the World Financial Center’s side door than a hotel at all - if it weren’t for the doorman and concierge, it would be impossible to discern it from the rest of the building. Once inside, however, the hotel shows the first of many spectacles to come with a set of sliding glass doors, giving guests the feeling that they may be on the set of Star Trek rather than an actual hotel.

The lobby, located on the 87th floor, is set in front of a lounge area in which food and drinks are served. The prices for refreshments are high, but so is the view - not only in the lobby, but indeed in the entire hotel. The building in which the hotel is located, the Shanghai World Financial Center, is the highest in Shanghai, and stands as one of the tallest in the world. The views from the Park Hyatt, located on some of the topmost floors of the building, are consequently some of the most breathtaking in China, affording an ideal view of the Pearl Tower, Bund, and greater Puxi.

In that sense, the Park Hyatt Shanghai seems to be based on some twisted desire to earn as many superlatives as possible. Not only is it the highest hotel on Earth, but it also holds the record for highest restaurant, highest lounge area and... the longest laundry chute. The good news is that hotel guests benefit greatly from this need to be the tallest, most modern, and most helpful.

One of the Park Hyatt’s primary draws is in the services offered outside the room. The hotel’s 85th floor is host to a swimming pool, Wellness Studio (spa), library and gym, all of which are brushed with the modern flair that permeates the entire hotel. One floor above, the hotel offers meeting spaces and small to medium-sized conference rooms - after all, it was originally geared to affluent businesspeople looking for plush accommodations close to all the [financial] action.

The restaurant, named 100 Century Avenue (after their address), is located at the very top and boasts the same spectacular views if not quite that spectacular food. The accompanying bar regularly offers live music nights as well as a ladies night for both hotel guests and Shanghairen, but don’t get any ideas of a true party - it's clear that the Park Hyatt is above all a peaceful environment for its guests.

Though we found one or two small nuisances with the hotel itself - such as having extremely dim lighting and a server-to-guest ratio that would make anyone blush from all the attention - the Park Hyatt manages to do what almost no other Shanghai hotel can; it makes obvious just how luxurious the hotel is without coming across as being pretentious or uncomfortable. Through balanced simplicity and meticulous design, the hotel knows how to appeal Eastern and Western guests, milking its ideal views from the top of the city for all they’re worth.

Knowing that the price is steep but the rewards are many, Shanghaiist recommends the Park Hyatt for chic and memorable lodging that, for everything it offers, is a destination in and of itself. And if you can put it on an expense card, all the better.

Man, today was a crappy, "foggy" day

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-27T17:00:00+08:00

According to Shanghai Daily, the "fog" alert was elevated to level red today, the highest of the three levels available for "fog" alerts. It was so bad it caused major traffic disruptions, particularly at Pudong International Airport, where 3,500 passengers were stranded until visibility rose above 50 meters. By 7:16am, the "fog" had started to clear, but that didn't stop Shanghai from still looking dreary and gross for the rest of the day.

And while most of this "fog" is supposed to dissipate enough for you to see your neighboring buildings tomorrow, so too will the spate of warm weather. Temperatures are expected to drop to a range of between 8 and 13 degrees, with rain and cloudy skies.

Photo by JennWong

Weekendist: Unleashed college students, free alcohol, and a 'cutie bootie'

Ben Pollok — 2009-11-27T16:20:24+08:00

Just in case nothing mentioned in Shanghaiist's music preview struck your fancy for this weekend, we took a little time to outline some of this weekend's most promising parties, exhibitions, and performances. And believe us when we say there's a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend...

FRIDAY

Student Night comes to Not Me once again- head over with student ID in hand for an 80RMB open bar night. The event lasts from 9pm-1am, and all music genres will make an appearance on the night’s playlist, from indie to pop and disco. No student card? You can still go…sans open bar.
21 Dongping Lu, near Hengshan Lu 请带我去东平路21号 (近衡山路)

An exhibition entitled A Woman’s Thoughts comes to ART in capitals this weekend through December 5th. The artist, Mar Arnau, combines her Western heritage with traditional Eastern influences in her ink portraits, drawing from her breadth of experience in Chinese ink painting. Arnau’s art embodies the adage “the eyes are a mirror to the soul” through her images of females faces with deep, probing eyes. Perhaps discomforting to some and intriguing to others, Arnau’s pieces convey emotions in their rawest form- through the facial expressions of those who experience them.
2C, 20 Donghu Lu ,Changning near Huaihai Zhong Lu 东湖路20号2C近淮海中路

Singapore’s ZookOut party has settled on a location for their pre-party this year, and it happens to be none other than Shanghai’s own Sin. The party will bring DJ Hong to Sin’s top tower, mixing some of today’s most popular songs from 10:30 until late. All entry free before 10:30, 100RMB cover for gentlemen after 10:30pm, ladies free all night.
23/F, Want Want Bldg, No. 211 Shimen Yi Lu,Jing An near Weihai Lu 石门一路211号, 旺旺大厦23楼近威海路

Daniel Roy Connelly’s M. Butterfly ends its run in Shanghai this weekend with two final performances. The play, based on the story of a French diplomat’s (Bernard Boursicout) relationship with a male Peking opera singer (Shi Pei Pu), has enjoyed significant recognition from the Shanghai theater community. More information listed on Shanghaiist’s calendar. 170RMB pre-sale or 200RMB at the door.
613 Kaixuan Lu,Changningnear Wuyi Lu凯旋路613号近武夷路

Azul takes a…unique…party theme this Friday with their Cutie Bootie party, an event dedicated to cute boots and the people who wear them. Come check out Azul’s new renovations in your best pair, with the best boots winning a prize from LELO and complimentary and discounted cocktails. No cover.
18 Dongping Lu, near Hengshan Lu 请带我去东平路18号, 近衡山路

SATURDAY

Leo Gallery hosts a new exhibition this weekend, Small Is Beautiful, which proposes the idea that all large cities (see Shanghai) is in fact just composed of smaller pieces, and that in general everything seemingly large may be broken down into divisible pieces. Participating artists, all of whom hail from different parts of the world, will submit smaller-scale versions of their artwork, combining to form a consistent whole. More information available on Shanghaiist calendar. No cover.
Red House 2, Ferguson Lane, 376 Wukang Lu, French Concession near Tai'an Lu武康路376号红房子2楼近湖南路

If the art scene doesn’t interest you, then you might be curious about the prospect of free booze? From 9-11pm Windows Scoreboard celebrates its 4th anniversary party by offering free alcohol to, well, anyone who shows up! For those people dedicated enough to stick around, Scoreboard then moves into Happy hour from 1-2am, with buy-one, get-one specials.
3F, 681 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Sinan Lu 请带我去淮海中路681号3楼，近四南路

SUNDAY

The House of Blues and Jazz says goodbye to long-time resident band Mike Null Blues Band and makes way for the Greg Luttrell Band. Both bands will be performing Sunday night, so if you’ve managed to go this long without hearing either one, now is a good chance to get a taste of both at one time. No cover.
60 Fuzhou Lu, The Bund near Sichuan Lu 福州路60号近四川路

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Electrolist: Underground/overground clash again

Shanghai Ultra — 2009-11-27T15:30:00+08:00

Electrolist, by Shanghai Ultra of the VOID crew, gives the lowdown on the Shanghai electronic music scene each week, with picks, tips, news, and other rumors.

Electrolist doesn't normally want to get into the underground/overground debate, but its just too hard to ignore this weekend. On one side, you've got two huge international names from the so-called Top-100 DJ list in town. Meanwhile, Electrolist's own crew VOID, will continue their spirited rebellion against hype and fakery with their "Spectrum" party on Saturday night at Shelter.

Obviously Electrolist has strong opinions about marketing gimmicks like the "Top-100 DJ list." To cut a long story short, it's a list which is calculated only by readers of DJ magazine, who make up a tiny fraction of all electronic music fans worldwide. It measures how good DJs are at marketing themselves to the mainstream, it has little relation to technical ability or musical talent. As a barometer of the lowest common denominator in electronic music, and given how easily technology allows anyone with a computer to copy formulaic beats, that denominator can get pretty low. As DJ Bone told Shanghaiist on his first trip to the city "Popular does not equal good." Words straight from the D which you can't ignore.

So enough of that, what's actually happening this weekend? Well, as alluded to above, Benny Benassi is at Bar Rogue tonight. Electrolist thinks his tunes are cheesy and contrived, electronic music at its most banal and souless, but we are not so crass as to ignore the fact he is in town. If you like that sort of Euro-pop music, go ahead and fill your boots. A party is a party at the end of the day.

On Saturday, the choice really becomes yours.

If you like to get busy on the dance floor, but prefer your dance music a bit less predictable than Armin Van Buuren's saccharin-sweet trance tunes, then VOID's "Spectrum" party at Shelter is the place to go. As you can see, the VOID propaganda department has been working round the clock with this indoctrination video - all the shots were filmed entirely by accident and were found lying around on the crew members' hard drives.

If you look closely you can even see sped-up footage of July's eclipse in Shanghai. Nat Alexander, Shanghai Ultra, and MHP bring you their inimitable Shanghai Sound and continue their contribution to making Shanghai the No.1 city in China for electronic music. It's a mere 30RMB to get in tomorrow night.

To each their own though, Armin Van Buuren is playing at M2 if you really want to go. Tickets are 500 RMB tickets on the door - ouch. Presale tickets at 300 RMB if you have a look online you may find where to buy them. He doesn't really do much DJing though, he just stands about waving to the crowd, who are mostly taking pictures of him rather than getting into his grooves. Is anyone actually there for the music? If you are lucky, they might even take some tables off the dancefloor. Don't forget your glowsticks.

Elsewhere in the scene, local electronic artist B6 is currently in Berlin on tour, and co-incidentally just bought a load of Basic Channel vinyl at the famous Hardwax record store from DJ Pete, who just played VOID a month ago. Small world.

Cha Cha of Reggae and Dub crew Uprooted Sunshine could be looking at fame in a while, she's just finished doing vocals over a unreleased 1982 version of the classic Clive Chin track "Rico's Special", originally recorded in the 60s. Check out this clip of it being played during Clive's appearance at Shelter a couple of week's back.

Finally, just to punish live music fans, almost all of whom will not have made it this far into the post, if they even read it all, Electrolist happens to know that negotiations to bring Sex Pistol Glen Matlock to perform a solo accoustic set, in support of Manchester band Puressence are underway, subject to official approval. They'd be appearing at Mao Livehouse in late April. Electrolist is all-seeing - you heard it here first.

TONIGHT: Benny Benassi @ Bar Rogue, 7/F, Bund 18, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Nanjing Dong Lu, 请带我去中山东一路18号7楼, 近南京东路, Pre-sale tickets 200RMB, 300RMB at the door
SATURDAY: Void presents SPECTRUM @ The Shelter, No. 5 Yongfu Lu, near Fuxing Xi Lu 永福路5号，近复兴西路. 30 RMB on the door.
SATURDAY: Armin Van Buuren @ M2, 请带我去南京西路1266号恒隆广场5楼，近陕西北路. Tickets 300 RMB pre-sale, 500 RMB on the door.

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Edison Chen opening new fashion store in Shanghai

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-27T15:00:00+08:00

Not only is Edison Chen breaking the silence on his sex scandal, promoting his pre-sex scandal movies, and starring again in post-sex scandal films, the boy-you-can't-keep-down-no-matter-how-many-scandalous-pictures-get-released-onto-the-net is also adding to his fashion empire. Earlier this year, he returned to Hong Kong to find sponsors for his clothing empire, managing to land a "wealthy female tycoon" who'll be helping him open his 5th franchise store in Shanghai. No word on where the store will be, but according to reports, it'll open in December and it's gonna be big.

Made in China ad campaign has its faults

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-27T14:00:00+08:00

As reported over the last week, China's Ministry of Commerce and ad giant DDB have released their previously delayed public relations campaign touting products made in China. The ad, which you can watch here, shows a bunch of consumer goods with the tag line "Made in China with [insert expertise from the rest of the world here]." Paraphrased.

As Malcolm Moore of the Telegraph points out, it's strange that the ad heads in the direction of China being the world's manufacturing center rather than the burgeoning creative and innovative hub Beijing would rather promote:

Does it make you feel better about Chinese quality? Not really. The idea behind it seems to be that while things are made in China, they are designed elsewhere (a fact that Apple makes very clear on the back of its iPods).

So you shouldn’t worry about your shoes, fridges and clothes. Just because they are made in China doesn’t mean they are Chinese - they are still reassuringly foreign.

Couple that with the whole reason the ad campaign, which was originally supposed to air in 2008, was delayed in the first place: The melamine scandal, which sickened thousands of babies and also instigated a worldwide scare when the poison began to show up everywhere. For some reason, the higher-ups felt that telling everybody that everything they owned was made in China at that point seemed untimely.

But even though the food scare's behind us (and heads are rolling for it), what are the chances that a commercial like this would boost consumer confidence overseas? Wouldn't it have been better if they had touted the millions of things being devised and made in China? Like... say, solar panels, or electric cars, or even the beginnings of their home-grown fashion industry? With all the actual success stories coming out of this country, why would DDB decide to highlight products attached to sweatshops, suicidal factory workers, and problems with counterfeiting?

Interview: Tucker plays his Electone to the Shelter

Michael Sutich — 2009-11-27T13:00:00+08:00

Born and raised in Tokyo, Tucker is a DJ/musician well known for his use of a wide range of instruments, including an electone.

He started off in the 1990s performing in the underground Tokyo music scene. From there he joined the Natural Calamities Tour and performed across the United States. Since then he has wowed audiences across the world with his humorous, lively, entertaining, and thumping beats, as well as taking the time to produce two original albums.

This Friday he comes to rock the Shelter with his unique sound and signature theatrics. We were able to talk to Tucker to hear about what inspires him, his influences, and some of the crazy experiences he's had around the world.

Tucker from Tokyo is playing at The Shelter. Check out his music here
Where: 5 Yongfu Lu, near Fuxing Lu, 永福路5号近复兴路
Starts:Friday, November 27th at 10pm
Cover: 50 RMB
For more local events, visit the Shanghaiist Calendar.

Where do you draw a lot of your inspiration from?

It's all from my everyday life, the environment I'm living, jobs and thinking. Everything from my regular single day of my life.

What were some of your musical influences growing up?

When I was in 20's, I had worked at a lot different vinyl stores, so i got a lot influences from all different kind music, also Tokyo is a culture city, I went to a jazz show after I checked out a metal live show. Japan is a very open society, you can listen to all different kinds music even if you don't know the background of the music. Well in a good way and bad way.

In addition to your impressive skills as a DJ, you're also a talented musician who can play many instruments. How often do you use different instruments as part of your show?

To me, most of the time, I like to play all different kind of instruments. I usually don't decide which instrument I will play or not play, so I always have different instruments in my show.

You are particularly well known for playing the electone, when did you start playing? How has this instrument influenced your work as a DJ?

To me the electone is not a cool instrument. But when I played around with the electone my mom used to play, it turned out really interesting sounds. The electone is definitely not a popular instrument with the Japanese youth, it's just an accessory for those stupid rich families. The one I'm using was really expensive 30 years ago, but it's no any value like garbage. I feel it is kind of unique because no one is using it now, I want to put a new value into this sad, rich people's instrument.

Your music has been defined as a "neo-Tokyo Vaudeville show", what do you think this means?

I'm not really sure what people call my life, but I just do what I want to do in my live show.

Were you always striving for that kind of atmosphere, or did this style develop recently?

I played in a normal way when i started to playing at a cafe. I have a lot punk friends and they asked me to play at their show, so I started to play like a punk musician, all my friends are really open mind to all new things, so we were even doing pogo dance just with organ and rhythm box, it was so fun! We laughed our asses off when we saw ourselves dance with the old family organ sound. So it changed my performance style, it's kind funny when you imagine a family kind sound and hard core action together.

In 2005 the world saw the release of your second album, "Electoon Wizard", which won awards from audiences and critics. Can we expect another album coming from you in the future?

I have got many jobs for TV advertising and stage recently, I have no time to do my own music. I felt really empty if I keep doing this, I tried to work hard, but I'm bored. I remember my mom told me never make your hobby into a work, it's really hard to do something you like in life. I want to find the best environment for myself making my own music. I will do some work with an artist called Magazine King who is from Korea.

You've had quite a storied career performing around the world, are there any special moments that truly stick in your mind?

Once I got a gig without any information in Shibuya, I found out it was a disco party for girls and guys who work for night club. But the show went unbelievable well, everyone went crazy, some people even got naked and danced their ass off. I only know about the underground scene in Tokyo, I never knew that those people who are working at the office also could be so crazy.

What do you think of the Shanghai music scene?

I can't really talk about the scene in Shanghai, I'm really looking forward this event in Shanghai. It's like when I went Korea a couple of months ago, I was totally shocked. I need to feel it by myself.

We're pretty excited for the show this Friday, is there anything in particular we should expect to see?

I will always have fun at my shows, I hope everyone at the show will have fun too, let's get retarded

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Chinese netizens' list of 2009 internet memes

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-27T12:30:00+08:00

Chinasmack is currently working on translating some of the most popular Chinese internet memes from 2009, and they want your help to think of good ones the netizens of Netease may have missed. We've already seen some of our favorites: "What brother is eating is not noodles, but loneliness," "Believe in Brother Chun for everlasting life and "Jia Junpeng, your mom is calling you home for dinner"; but we were surprised by the omission of one of the best memes of the year, the infamous Grass Mud Horse.

Around Shanghai: A more sustainable Expo, Shanghai Sharks drama, and books about chefs

Batul Abbas — 2009-11-27T11:30:00+08:00

Speak2Me, an online English language learning community, has made an agreement to create a language training program for the 80,000 plus Expo volunteers and guides that will be working this May. It would be ~~scary~~ interesting to have loads of volunteers running around speaking like the Speak2Me virtual teacher. [CNNMoney]
All Roads Lead to China has some ideas about making the People's Square Station less of a hell for commuters. For instance: more maps. [All Roads Lead to China]
Shanghai's Disneyland has been downsized from 400 hectares to 116 hectares, the smallest Disney park in the world. We've all been a bit schizophrenic reporting Shanghai's Disneyland: plans seem to change faster than you can say mǐ lǎo shǔ (yup, that's Mickey Mouse in Chinese). [ChinaDaily]
Need something to read? Next time before you plough down to Garden Books check out Urbanatomy's web exclusives featuring authors. The feature is a great insight into the minds of contemporary writers writing about Chinese culture. Their latest is features Nicole Mones, author of The Last Chinese Chef. [Urbanatomy]
The floundering Shanghai Sharks almost lost their team captain (again). Liu Wei, a good friend and former teammate of Yao Ming's, was about to leave due to salary disputes for the next season. We wonder, did Yao swoop in to the rescue? [ChinaDaily]
A structural component designed by Tongji University students to protect structures from earthquakes is being used in the construction of the Hongqiao Integrated Transport Hub at the Expo site. The component makes Expo construction more sustainable; similar devices were previously being imported. [ShanghaiDaily]

Pho26: Battle on Wujiang Lu

Eric Hu — 2009-11-27T10:00:00+08:00

Looks like Shanghai’s Year of Pho will soon have its first cage match. Yes, our pleas for decent pho through the years have been thoroughly drowned out by the sound of so many pho restaurants popping up left and right, front and back. But something intriguing is happening on Wujiang Lu, where Pho Sizzlin’ has, up until now, laid claim to its pho-main with is colorful personality but decidedly average noodle offerings. A challenger has set up shop on the same street, and Pho26 is no glass-jawed pretender.

As with most pho joints, the prices vary depending on how many ingredients you choose (one of the few establishments on this planet besides Fox News where on has to actually pay more for the privilege of being served tripe). Pho26 steps it up a notch by offering a bowl served with A4 grade kobe beef, which clocks in at 100 RMB, though we were too humble try anything other than their combo bowl. Our skepticism at having a side dish with only peppers and a lime wedge (the bean sprouts and basil are already in the bowl when served) slowly dissolved as we dug into the very deep and ample bowl. The thin noodles were of the soft and fragile variety, but being overcooked added much appreciated flavor to them. Beef slices were rare and tender and delicious; the broth was a fragrant consommé that surprisingly refused to take on a sheen of oil on its surface. Note: our friend who shuns all things beef tried the pork neck rice and said it was really dry, so until we delve further into the matter stay with the pho.

The owners of Pho26 cut their teeth on having successfully run the first four shops in this chain in fickle Hong Kong, and they ostensibly have enough confidence in their product to park themselves but a few meters away from one of the most popular pho servicers in town. While it may lack the warmth of service and cheerful disposition of Pho Sizzling (they scored points with us long ago with their semi-campy instructional videos on how to eat their dishes), Sizzling should take notice: the new guys serves a very good bowl of pho.

Pho26 - 2/F No. 178 Wujiang Lu, near Shimen Lu (越旺餐厅 - 吴江路178号二楼. Tel: 5228-6597. Price: 28-35 RMB per bowl of pho

Eric Hu is Shanghaiist's Food Editor. Email tips, recommendations, and news and gossip about Shanghai's food scene to food at shanghaiist.com.

Photo of the Day: Geometric shapes

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-27T09:00:00+08:00

Photo by Old Shanghailander

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here).

Extra! Extra! Nasty slogans, comparisons to Russians, and unhealthy bureaucrats

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-26T22:30:00+08:00

A car in Shuijing was pasted with the slogan "The head of the Public Security Bureau is my father, I can commit murder and arson without fear!" in an attempt to attract attention to a murder case in the driver's hometown. [ChinaSmack]
One columnist discusses the differences between Russia and China in terms of business and corporate governance... and China comes out on top. That makes us feel bad for Russia. [The Moscow Times]
Speaking of regulatory policy, here's a couple of signs of things to come... kind of, since it's really hard to figure out what's to come even when you're listening to everything the government's saying. [WSJ]
A student leader of the 1989 protests at Tiananmen Square has been put on trial after being handed over by authorities in Hong Kong. [Times Online]
Former tennis star Michael Chang points out why there are no male tennis greats in Asia, despite there being quite a few awesome female tennis players. [CNNGo]
Poor Chinese bureaucrats. They are "unhealthy, bloated, irritated and basically substandard"... health-wise. [WSJ]
Woah! A State-run magazine actually challenged black jailes - the system of secret detention centers in Beijing where Chinese protesters are held to stop them from complaining to the central government. [AP]

Chinese ladies mooning over Twilight

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-26T17:30:31+08:00

While legions of screaming girls are going crazy for New Moon abroad, which opened to record box office numbers in the United States, here in China, we're only just getting the chance to see Twilight on the big screen.

The movie about a girl and her shiny vampires is "both a late and surprise entry" at the Chinese box office, which has shunned supernatural content and violence - and interspecies romance? - for years, according to Hollywood Reporter. Perhaps the amazing book sales (the Top 30 list for China has had at least one of the four Twilight books on it for the past 10 months) helped convince censors that there was money to be made. Despite a lack of vampires in Chinese literary tradition (Chinese vampires, or 僵尸 jiangshi, are more like zombies), the series has somehow struck a chord with women here.

According to Christian Science Monitor, Chinese girls - teenagers, middle schoolers, office ladies - just can't resist the siren call (or semi-constipated look) of Edward Cullen:

On Douban, a popular website for comments on books and movies, 67,949 fans have left messages about "Twilight."

"Twilight" is a complete and idealistic portrayal of the most beautiful kind of love that can exist in a woman's heart" wrote one, signing her post "Arwen."

"I would say over 60 percent of the readers are middle school and high school girls" says Mr. Chang. "Edward [Cullen] is a vampire, he is dangerous. Girls love to fall in love with this kind of dangerous boyfriend."

Gag. There's only one way we'll be watching this movie... and that's with Rifftracks.

China's most valuable asset of the year?

Cary Hooper — 2009-11-26T16:30:00+08:00

What's the best investment you could possibly have made with your money this year? We'll give you some hints: you probably like your broccoli sauteed in it, vampires can't stand it, and you should avoid eating it before a first date. Of course, we're talking about...garlic! Yep, the plant of the year in China has seen its value increase exponentially: one kilo of garlic is now worth over 6 yuan wholesale, up 286 percent since March.

The thing is, you would have to hoard a whole LOT of it to make money: according to the Washington Post (via China Digital Times), that's exactly what a bunch of "garlic speculators" have been doing.

From the Washington Post:

Jerry Lou, a Morgan Stanley China strategist who has researched the opaque market here, said speculators — fueled by the abundant liquidity sloshing around China — have moved into the small market and strategically driven up prices.
“You need a warehouse, a lot of cash and a few trucks. That’s how it works,” Lou said, describing garlic speculators’ tools of the trade. “Basically, what you do is try to arrest as much supply as possible, then you bid up the price. Moving garlic from one warehouse to the other, you make millions of dollars.”

Lou said garlic wholesalers told him that gangs that had amassed cash and credit from dealing property and stocks in other parts of the country had chosen the garlic market as their latest ruse.

Besides the blatant influence of speculators on the market, it seems garlic prices have had other reasons for soaring. China is the world's largest exporter of garlic (the plant originated in Yunnan province), but last year cut its production in half. In addition, the clove is purportedly helpful in fending off the Swine Flu (can we please start calling it the Vampire Flu?). In any case, we're going to start hoarding our own: we'll be cashing in on it at the local market just before the garlic bubble pops.

Photo from Alibaba

Threesday: How globalized Shanghai remains Chinese

Jessica Lau — 2009-11-26T15:30:00+08:00

In our ongoing Threesday feature, Shanghaiist takes the time to count out three of....well, whatever catches our fancy that week. And this week it's our three favorite things that have remained iconic Chinese, even as Shanghai gradually accrues the skyline of the globalized city that the World Expo expects it to become.

1. Haidilao:
Even though our very own Eric Hu will be evaluating a series of hot pot restaurants for the winter season, we need to give the restaurant chain, Haidilao (海底捞火锅), a shout out for having captured the Chinese entrepreneurship in restaurant service form (even if veers very far from our Western/foregin standards of what is considered “appropriate"). If the patron has not made a reservation, Haidilao offers a variety of free services in their waiting rooms; aside from the comfortable sofas and chairs, diners may partake in shoe polishing, manicures, Wi-Fi, and even watch repair. There is a playground for kids, as well as chessboards, cards, and newspapers. And that's before actual dining has even occurred. After viewing the elaborate display of available sauces, we knew we were sold.

2. The Marriage Market:
Each Saturday in People's Square, every elderly citizen that is not hellbent on killing you on a transport vehicle in this city is located inside this park instead. A swarm of parents (of every age, really) with children of marrying age engage in "modern" match-making activities such as pinning a cardboard information pinned onto a piece of shrubbery or a standing plastic bag. This resumé includes their offspring's best attributes: height, age, hometown, occupation, monthly salary, whether they own a house or not, perhaps an occasional photo. Aside from hovering family members, other points of interest include strings of personals wrapped around trees, matchmakers that will work for a fee, as well as rosters of every applicant in the market. It's like the parent-controlled version of Match.com.

3. The People:
It's a cop-out answer, but there is something to be said about the vibrancy of the people of this amazing city that want to make Shanghai into a global metropolis. And yes, we relish in its Chineseness, as well as all of the discrepancies of it being entirely unlike New York, London, or any other world city. We are all about the plethora of milk tea chains that decorate each road (the best being CoCo, with the highest rating on dianping.com), the almost-legendary avocado lady that offers her namesake and other imported produce at wonderfully low prices (¥10 an avocado, without bargaining? Only at 274 Wulumuqi Zhong Lu, 乌鲁木齐中路274号), the ironically endearing and utterly filthy dive bars that we tiredly emerge from as daylight breaks (such as long-time favorite C's on 685 Dingxi Lu 定西路685号), and the aggressive shopping in floors upon floors and malls upon malls of miscellaneous items that verge onto what we would term "crap" (everything cheap at 168 Qipu Lu, 七浦路168号). These are the things we think of fondly and endearingly of each time we leave; these will be the things we come back for.

China's 3G internet is full of pornography

Cary Hooper — 2009-11-26T15:00:00+08:00

Since China unveiled its new 3G system earlier this year, it seems a number of perverted entrepreneurs have been utilizing the system to revolutionize the Chinese mobile internet: that's right, we're talking about mobile porn. Since it's easier for them to evade the authorities by changing IP addresses and domain names because of a lack of efficiency in monitoring the new technology, the highly illegal pornography industry in China has increasingly shifted their focus to mobile phones. The authorities are looking into ways to crack down on the porn sites, but as we all know, Chinese netizens are a pretty tough group to control.

(Totally Shameless) Thursday Timewaster: We are SWEDISH HEROES

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-26T14:00:00+08:00

Even if we haven't paid our Swedish broadcasting fees, it's nice to get a little recognition every now and then.

First Chinese genetic map unveiled

Cary Hooper — 2009-11-26T13:00:00+08:00

It's a very significant day in science for China: the first genetic map of the Han Chinese has been published by the American Journal of Human Genetics. The study was conducted at the Genome Institue of Singapore, and draws from 8,200 DNA samples from ethnically Han Chinese all over China and in Singapore.

Through genetic variations, the map draws a historical picture of the migration of the Han from north to south. By assessing the 0.3% variations in genetic structure, scientists are able to conclude whether someone is ethnically Han, where their ancestral place of origin is, and can even tell what dialect group of Han they belong to, as genetic variation follows changes in dialect.

More importantly, the genetic map will help scientists to understand and how genes can make people more susceptible to disease, and will help to find medical methods to treat and prevent them. All things considered, a genome map for China is a great step forward for the country. It's also an interesting and novel way of looking at the "Nine Nations of China", but we admit it's not quite as entertaining a map as the ones Chinese people make for themselves.

Photo from James Fallows @ The Atlantic

Chinese jails are shocking, but not in the way you would think

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-26T11:45:00+08:00

Usually when we wax on the topic of Chinese jails, we invariably chat about beatings, places to detain dissidents and "innocent" games of cat & mouse turning into something more sinister. We don't usually think of basketball courts, East-West fusion architecture or greenery.

But if these pictures compiled by Chinasmack are any indication, at least some jails in China aren't terrible places to be. For instance, Jiansu Province Yancheng Prison boasts an Olympics-sized running track, luxury offices, six new outdoors basketball courts and potted plants by every cell door. Meanwhile, Guangdong Province Qingyuan Prison's front door screams modern Chinese glamor and the inside has trees and carefully-trimmed shrubs a plenty.

Interestingly enough, there doesn't seem to be any people in these luxury criminal compounds. And, netizens helpfully point out, when people do fill these spaces (if they ever), the chances of them not being officials and white collar criminals is pretty nonexistent. As one said jokingly (kinda), here's how the prison budget meeting probably went:

“Right now we have some funding. Should we use it to build schools or to improve the conditions in jail?” “Everyone think whether you’re going to spend any more time in school in the future…now we vote.”

Note: Even more interesting, it looks like the original MOP thread on these Chinese jails was deleted, making Chinasmack the only place to go for pictures. Hmmmm...

Obama who? Shanghai's town hall has another star

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-26T10:45:00+08:00

For all of you who actually watched President Obama's town hall last week, did you notice this woman? Because instead of paying attention to questions like "Can you use chopsticks" and Obama's thoughts on why he can't use twitter (his thumbs are too clumsy), a certain cameraman was starstruck by this Chinese beauty taking off her coat.

As is the way with the Chinese internet, as soon as the gif of her taking off her bright red coat to reveal a classically stylish all-black dress suit made it onto the forums, she became an internet sensation, with people calling her the "beauty in black beside Obama" and instigating a human flesh search.

Then, after her personal details were revealed - her name is Wang Zifei (王紫菲) and she's currently studying business at Jiaotong University, came the comments that she was way too calm and collected, the camera angles were way too flattering, and why was there a camera guy focusing on just her anyway (Ed note: because camera people can be pervs too?). Perhaps this random beauty was actually using the Obama town hall to build up hype for herself.

Not so, she insisted in a blogpost (helpfully translated by China Hush) on Monday:

Two days after I attended dialogues town hall meeting with President Obama, my classmate came to my dorm and said to me “You are popular on the internet!” and searched for “woman in black behind Obama” on the internet for me. Once I saw all the news on varies sites then found out about this incident. There were also many talks on the forums, I was upset at some negative comments but I did not reply because I was really busy at the time. But misleading news was increasing by the hours, I felt my individual power could not slow down the speed of rumors spreading on the internet, even if I explain, it would not help, so I took the ignoring approach. Recently there were many text messages and phone calls regarding this, I always tell my friends to “not to reveal anything online, after awhile the rumors will die down.” But my silence let to even more speculations. After talking with Sina staff members, I think it is a good solution to sincerely speak with you through this platform.

1. self-hype?

Some media speculated that it is not possible that I am a student because of to my manners, however I am making an announcement here that I am a current student at Jiao Tong University. I don’t have natural born self-esteem, but I am constantly developing my self-esteem. I could not deny the fact my quality had to do with my family and my well-trained childhood. I first played violent on stage when I was 6, after I acted in plays, hosted shows, was an image ambassador and was interviewed many times, therefore I am not a stranger of cameras and would not feel nervous in front of the cameras… everyone knows the security was very strict during U.S. president’s visit. Except for the reporters, no one could bring cameras in, even students could not bring cameras in, how could I self-hype? Also I did not want to be popular because of this. People who have a brain would know this, entertainment news is like drinking tea, first time is like washing tea leafs, no one really cares. Maybe 2nd or 3rd time it will have the sweet taste, but in the end it gets weaker and weaker. After a few washes, who would remember me? What can I leave behind for people? Before I shoot films just out of my interest and personal favorite, but at the same time I wanted to be rebellious, because generally people have misconceptions about highly educated women. I hope to change people’s view through my actions. But i never wanted to go into entertainment circle, therefore I rejected many TV stations’ offers and contracts. I feel business management is a long term path for me, therefore I study hard, my gaokao (college entrance exam) was the normal exam, not the kind for entertainers.

2. Why did i sit there?

There were nine universities participated in the meeting, each school was assigned to fixed seats. I was sitting at one of the seats for Jiao Tong University without any special arrangements. There were some people had even better views than me, why were they accused of hyping? As for my posture was professional, I knew that this meeting would be broadcasted live worldwide via the internet, I not only represented my own image, but the image of our school and our country, of course I could not relax!

3. Why did I take off my coat?

Because it was an important meeting, I wore a dress to show respect. I chose to wear a black shirt so I don’t stick out, but you know how Shanghai’s weather is like. I remember it was raining and a bit cold in the morning, so I wore a coat. After i entered the meeting room I took off my coat, at that time Obama was not in the room yet. In fact the temperature was not very high in the room, I really wanted to keep wearing my coat, but if I really wore the red coat, people are going to say I want to be famous like crazy?

4. My attitude of comments

Although some individual comments from netizens hurt me, but I can understand. Maybe it was criticisms to certain social phenomena through me, but I became an innocent victim. And some of the influential people on the internet, made comments without any investigation, actually claimed that I was a female official conducting self-hype. How did Chinese Youth became female officials? Did you even read the title? You should know that you are the leaders of public opinion, does such an irresponsible move in the end hurt other people or damage your own credibility?

To destroy a person only takes one sentence, but to develop a person takes more than thousands of words, please have mercy~

Mystery has been solved, we no longer have to bother guessing, my recent study and life have been disturbed and hoping to quickly restore back to normal. I like small animals because they are cute and simple. Hope that after all this I can continue to be simple self. Presenting you with a small kangaroo photo, I wish you happy, all the best~

And as for the gif that launched a hundred thousand speculations? Here it is:

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2000 years later, Mongolian barbarians finally take down Great Wall

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-26T10:00:00+08:00

And no, unfortunately it's not the Great Firewall. Apparently around 300 feet of the actual great wall,, located in a remote part of Inner Mongolia, has been irreparably damaged by Mongolian gold prospectors. The section, an historical artifact built during the Qin Dynasty between 220BC and 206BC, is more like reinforced earth than the formidable stone structure snaking through Beijing, but historians insist that it still carries the same significance. Hohhot Kekao Mining has been blamed for the destruction and can face a penalty of up to ten years in prison or a fine of 500,000RMB.

Photo of the Day: Noodles, noodles, noodles

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-26T09:00:00+08:00

Photo by maurofaraoni

New sex change rules for China

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-25T18:30:06+08:00

Here's some good news for people like Princess Phoenix and all the others in China who've ever felt like they were born the wrong gender, the Ministry of Health has released new guidelines for sex change operations.

As Chen Huanran, a renowned plastic surgeon and gender-realignment specialist, told the Global Times, the regulations are desperately needed:

"China finally has its regulations on sex-change operations. It's very significant since the legislation for transsexuals represents somewhat a nation's development in civilization," he said. "The situation that half of the surgeons currently in the nation are disqualified. The regulations offers more protection to patients."

Some of the new rules mentioned include:

Only upper first-class polyclinic or cosmetic surgery hospitals with approval from the health department can carry out sex change operations.

Surgeons need to have more than 10 years of plastic surgery experience, inlcuding five years with sex change operations and at least 10 independently performed operations on reconstructing reproductive organs.

Patients must be 20 or above with documented psychological reasons for wanting a sex change.

Unfortunately, there was no word in the Global Times article on whether previously proposed regulations - such as needing to be free of a criminal record, needing to have lived publicly as the other gender for over two years, needing to be single and needing police approval - made it into the new ministry guidelines. We've got our fingers crossed that they're not.

But at least they'll make cases like singer Li Ying's - whose botched operation caused a "recession" in his genital area and resulted in years of unsuccessful litigation against the hospital - hopefully more rare.

Midweek Music Preview: November 25 - November 29

Jessica Lau — 2009-11-25T17:15:00+08:00

Shanghaiist lists all the live music performances you might want to check out from now until Sunday this week. For fun things that aren't live music, take a peek at our Pencil This In that's out every Monday!

WEDNESDAY

The Theo Crocker Sextet (headed by Theo Crocker, grandson of Jazz trumpet legend Doc Cheatham) will be playing New Orleans Jazz tonight. Formed in 2006, the group has released three albums to international acclaim since, including "Alive in Shanghai" this year.
The Glamour Bar: 6/F, 5 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Guangdong Lu. 中山东一路5号6楼, 近广东路. No cover. Starts 9:30pm.

THURSDAY

Japanese band Butcher's Shop Band got real big in the late 80's, and you often hear them in Japanese TV shows. Check them at Yuyintang Thanksgiving night.
Yuyintang: 1731 Yan'an Xi Lu, entrance at Kaixuan Lu. 延安西路1731号, 入口在凯旋路.Cover: ¥50. Starts 9pm.

FRIDAY

Italian electro-disc jockey and producer of the famous "Satisfaction" song returns to Shanghai. Don't miss Benny Benassi (13th most popular DJ in the world) on the Bund, as he makes his rounds in the Bund in celebration of Bar Rouge's 5-year anniversary.
Bar Rouge: 7/F, Bund 18,18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Nanjing Dong Lu. 中山东一路18号7楼, 近南京东路. Cover: ¥300 at door, ¥200 pre-sale. Starts 8pm.

ASHURA (formed in 1998) is undoubtedly one of the biggest band in Chengdu, having played in almost all the big music festivals in China.
Yuyintang: 1731 Yan'an Xi Lu, entrance at Kaixuan Lu. 延安西路1731号, 入口在凯旋路.Cover: ¥40. Starts 9pm.

For the first time since forming ten years ago in Tokyo, experimental rock legends MONO will finally be making their way to China. Celebrating both their decade long anniversary and the release of their latest and highly praised studio album (Hymn To The Immortal Wind), MONO will be here to show us what the "post-rock" genre is all about. In support are Sugar Plum Fairy from Taiwan and HuaLun from Wuhan.
Mao Livehouse: 570 Huaihai Xi Lu, near Hongqiao Lu. 淮海西路570号近红桥路. Cover: ¥200 at door, ¥180 in advance. Starts 9:30pm.

Hailing from Tokyo, Tucker is a 5-in-1, managing to play guitar, live drums, jazz bass, keyboards (sometimes setting them on fire while playing) and turntables, all in the course of one live set. Quality Control has secured everything he needs to play live at the Shelter, and with Lab Crew providing a hip-hop backdrop, this is an event you do not want to miss.
The Shelter: 5 Yongfu Lu, near Fuxing Lu. 永福路5号近复兴路, 地铁1号线常熟路站. Cover: ¥50. Starts 10pm.

SATURDAY
The long awaited compilation album from the 0093 collective, Rock Shanghai, drops this Saturday. This album release party will also feature performances from Bangbang Tang, Candy Shop, Pinkberry, Double Control Where, and Topfloor Circus. Tickets include a copy of the album!
Mao Livehouse: 570 Huaihai Xi Lu, near Hongqiao Lu. 淮海西路570号, 近红桥路. Cover: ¥50. Starts 8:30pm.

The Verse is the one and only old school, funk band in China (founded 1999). This year, they expanded their band to 12 people, including orchestral music and vocal. Check them out at Yuyintang.
Yuyintang: 1731 Yan'an Xi Lu, entrance at Kaixuan Lu. 延安西路1731号, 入口在凯旋路.Cover: ¥50. Starts 9pm.

SUNDAY
Sultans of Swing, formed in 2000, is the (probably the most famous) blues-rock cover band in Shanghai. If you haven't heard them play by now, there's no better night to check them out.
Yuyintang: 1731 Yan'an Xi Lu, entrance at Kaixuan Lu. 延安西路1731号, 入口在凯旋路.Cover: ¥50. Starts 9pm.

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Shanghai Disneyland to be more "Minnie" than expected

Cary Hooper — 2009-11-25T15:00:00+08:00

Those grand plans we've heard for Shanghai Disneyland to be a whopping four times bigger than Hong Kong's seem to have gone the way of Bambi's mother. According to the National Development and Reform Commission, the park will initially take up 287 acres of land, which would make it the smallest Disneyland in the world, measuring up to just over half of the size of the flagship park in LA. We're a tad disappointed at the sudden shrinkage (did Mickey take a cold shower before the meeting?), but the park may expand as business grows. Then again, who's really surprised that the plan for Shanghai Disneyland has changed once again?

Shanghaiist Scrabble: We have a winner!

Cary Hooper — 2009-11-25T14:00:00+08:00

Last night's Shanghaiist Scrabble was full of warmhearted, frenetic spelling: players scrambled to push their way to the board to capture coveted double letter and triple word scores as others sat with old friends and new Scrabblemates, drinking and trying to think of words that could possibly combine two F's and a Q. In the end, Liz managed to blow away the competition with "PSEUDONYM," catching the elusive and coveted Quadruple Word Score, a Shanghaiist Scrabble exclusive, for a whopping 76 points. Congrats to Liz on winning a 250 RMB gift certificate to Cotton's, which, of course, you can use at the next Shanghaiist Scrabble night!

How AIDS in China is spreading

Cary Hooper — 2009-11-25T13:00:12+08:00

The World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations HIV/AIDS campaign, or UNAIDS for short (good acronym, right?), was formally released yesterday for the first time in China. Though the report only shows cases reported by medical facilities and could thus be far higher, the dissemination is a major step in understanding and fighting AIDS in the country.

First, the facts from Shanghai Daily:

By October 31, China had reported 319,877 cases of HIV/AIDS, including 102,323 AIDS patients.

The Ministry of Health and UNAIDS estimated that there will be up to 920,000 Chinese people living with HIV by the end of this year.

About 48,000 people were infected with the virus this year in China, according to official estimates.

Between January and September last year, the ministry reported 44,839 new HIV/AIDS cases.

While the report shows that heterosexual transmission accounts for forty perfect of all cases, there is still a tendency towards focusing on traditional conceptions of how the disease is spread, specifically through migrant workers, sex workers, and homosexuals. But the fact that even stable sex partners are now contracting the disease from unprotected sex seems to beg for a reevaluation of the way the disease is viewed in society.

Among the many startling facts of the report include the fact that AIDS has become the top killer among infectious diseases since last year, especially considering that the government announced that sex had become the main cause of transmission last year. The report called for better outreach services, including more access to testing facilities: only one in three people in China with HIV have been diagnosed. Considering the poor state of sex education in China, we worry that the government's battle against AIDS will be a hard won battle for the public's interest until it becomes a serious epidemic.

Around Shanghai: Asia Uncut, pricey road signs, woks, and Chanel

Michael Sutich — 2009-11-25T12:00:20+08:00

Asia Uncut is coming to Shanghai to film its second season. The English-language talk show has featured A-list talent from Asia and abroad. To promote its new season the show is offering free drinks, tickets, and transportation. Free stuff and a chance to see celebrities? Sounds good to us! [Urbanatomy]
Way too wealthy people alert: Tomson Group unveiled it's first model Versace Home house today in Shanghai. The over 100 million RMB home would be the first of many in Asia. [People's Daily]
Standardizing highway signage around Shanghai is costing about 40,000 RMB a piece, which has caused many to wonder where all that money is going to really. [China Smack]
Another piece of Shanghai's cultural past nears its end: one of the city's last handmade wok shops nears iis getting ready to close down. Cen Rong Gen and his family have been constructing woks for decades, but Cen is about to retire. [CNN-GO]
Shanghai Jiao Tong University has launched a new business program in conjunction with the United States Military Academy at West Point and Cambridge University. The program will prepare the new generation of Shanghainese to take over family business. [Xinhua]
French luxury brand Chanel announced it is opening an iconic new store in Shanghai. The store will pay homage to Chinese culture with an exclusive collection featuring Chinese influences and will no doubt be a new source of inspiration for counterfeiters across the city. [ViewOnFashion]

Photo source: Asia Uncut

Beijing denies US spying allegations

Cary Hooper — 2009-11-25T11:00:00+08:00

The findings from last week's annual security report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to congress has gotten China pretty angsty: the report states that China has been increasing cyber espionage attacks on the US in order to gain military information, and cites an increase in government involvement in these attacks. The foreign ministry department strongly denied spying, but as concerns over China's secretive military buildup grow we wonder if Beijing is sweating a little too hard from this extra pressure. Then again, we'd like to know how many of those 230 million hack attempts on China's new military website were conducted by American spies?

Photo of the Day: Let it grow

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-25T09:00:00+08:00

Photo by Sean Hanratty

Extra! Extra! Yang Xianyi, Howard French and Dong Jinyi

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-24T20:00:00+08:00

Photo from Showchina

Renowned Chinese translator Yang Xianyi has died at the age of 94. Yang, with his wife Gladys Taylor, translated such classics as the 18th century "A Dream of Red Mansions." [Associated Press]
According to a poll on the Economist, 88% of people believe that China is showing more leadership than America in fighting climate change. [Economist]
While David Brooks may have been impressed by China's strides into modernity, several New York Times readers were much less pleased. [New York Times]
Here's an advantage to being an old China hand: you could be up next for free inoculation against H1N1. [Global Times]
Columbia Journalism Review has been interviewing Howard French, former Shanghai bureau chief for the New York Times about the media's coverage of Obama's trip to China. Here's the first part, and here's the second. [Columbia Journalism Review]
Melissa Chan reports on how, despite the sweeping crackdown on criminal gangs in Chongqing, for some of the gang's victims, it's too little too late. [Al Jazeera]
GlobalPost interviews Dong Jinyi, the Chinese ambassador to Switzerland, about the Copenhagen Conference on climate change. [Global Post]

Two now executed over melamine milk scandal

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-24T19:30:00+08:00

Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinpin, who were both sentenced to death in January for their roles in the melamine milk scandal, are now executed. Both had tried to appeal their sentences, but had their appeals turned down in March. While the government has been gung-ho about throwing out harsh sentences against various players in the scandal - which sickened scores of infants across the nation and killed at least six - it's been less interested in investigating accusations that news of the tainting had been surpressed for fears of bad publicity during the Beijing Olympics.

Dear Slate, yes there are chocolate bars in China

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-24T18:30:00+08:00

Daniel Gross of Slate has been over here reporting on the controversial Three Gorges Dam project. And while we can't say anything too bad about his coverage of that - which, while it reads more like a disgruntled travel piece than actual hardhitting journalism, is generally close enough to what little facts we know about the dam that it makes it impossible for us to nitpick - we were surprised by one of his pronouncements:

Daniel Gross can't find chocolate bars in China. In fact, he asks WHY he has yet to see a chocolate bar in China.

Hm. Really? Granted, we're not in Wanzhou, which may be provincial enough to contain a Wal-Mart that doesn't sell a single chocolate bar (pretty surprising, but whatever). Even so, should Wanzhou actually be chocolate bar free, Daniel could always keep in mind that China's a large country and maybe head east to Shanghai.

And here, we guarantee, he'll not only find candy bars at every single convenience store in the city, he'll also find gourmet chocolate shops, housefuls of desserts and a frickin' HERSHEYS CHOCOLATE WORLD.

Photo by EnglishGirlAbroad

China's High School Musical actually College Freshman Musical

Elaine Chow — 2009-11-24T16:00:00+08:00

Thanks in part to the immense popularity High School Musical enjoyed whilst it was on the stage in Shanghai, Disney is now working with Shanghai Media Group and Huayi Bro.s on a Chinese-version of the made-for-TV movie - and it's based in our city! But those looking for a direct translation of the show will be pretty disappointed - it's being vastly adjusted to fit Chinese culture and sensibilities:

First of all, the Shanghai HSM will actually take place in college, because Chinese kids in China don't really have fun in high school - they're way to focused on trying to get their potential gaokao (college test) scores up.

As Jason Reed, GM of Walt Disney Studios Internationa Production points out to China Daily, "In China, students in high school are so focused on academics that it wasn't realistic to portray them singing and dancing in the way that American high school students have time for."

Instead, the tale of two kids who find love through singing will take place in the first year of college, where Chinese focus groups say they first felt the freedom to express themselves.

Second, the movie will feature all new songs and choreography, except for "We're all in This Together" from the original film (now in Mandarin). The storyline's also been changed to be about a singing competition rather than a musical production - probably because drama departments in colleges not dedicated specifically to drama is still a pretty rare occurance here. To reflect that it's no longer in "high school" or a "musical," the name has been changed to "歌舞青春 (Gewu Qingchun - Musical Youth)."

There might be a third change: According to China Daily, the guy filling Zac Efron's shoes will no longer be a basketball player. In a bizarre twist, Mr. Popular will be a poet... since Chinese kids are more attracted to "thoughtful, intelligent and studious" than say "team player, athletic and with a body like Adonis"? News to us. But Variety has Reed insisting that basketball will stay, despite attempts to "localize" the sport into kung fu at first. Ha.

All in all though, the movie will still be classic Disney, as Reed states:

"A lot of the themes in the HSM series, such as the sense of self-discovery, communal support, optimism and friendship are universal values that work in all countries," Reed says.

"Also, one of the fundamentals common to our two countries' strengths is people coming together to achieve greatness. That is a great affinity between the two cultures."

The film is expected to come out in Summer 2011.

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China's auto industry booms as fuel demand drops

Cary Hooper — 2009-11-24T15:30:00+08:00

In some of the more baffling news we've heard in a while, it seems that China has enjoyed a large increase in car sales this year while the demand for gas has fallen. How does that work, exactly? Some experts imagine newer, more gas efficient cars are replacing older, less efficient ones, while other question whether the government is buying cars up to pump up the industry. Then again, it seems that national gas consumption statistics only focus on figures from the two major state refiners, which makes the whole situation even more obfuscating. We're wondering: as this trend continues, does this mean there will be more or less traffic jams?

Coming soon to a police checkpoint near you

Naomi Tudhope — 2009-11-24T14:30:00+08:00

Driving home late at night can be a scary experience: as drunk driving is on the rise, we find ourselves wondering: are those erratic cars weaving through traffic all drunk, or just reckless drivers? But fear not: Shanghai Daily informs us of a new invention in the works at Shanghai's Jiao Tong University that will help Shanghai's crackdown on drunk driving.

The invention is a little cap that can read a driver's brain waves, analyze them, and signal the police whether or not the driver is too drunk or tired to drive. If it works, it will revolutionize breathalyzers, and we're pretty confident it will quickly surpass its low-tech brethren as the ultimate party necessity.

Though it won't be completed for another two years, the police are down with the idea: it looks like it's difficult for them to get drunk drivers to take breathalyzer tests. Traffic cop Yu Dalei says "If drivers are unwilling to exhale in the alcohol breath tests, there's nothing we can do." We thought the police had a bit more power, you know, like at least being able to arrest people who resist them? Then again, a traffic cop is a traffic cop, but it's just silly to leave them powerless against drunk drivers.

There is an even grander idea in the works of installing this device into new cars, which could stop automatically if the driver was too impaired to drive. Hopefully these inventions will help todiscourage drunk driving around Shanghai and China, so we can all breathe a little easier on those late night cab rides, which are already life threatening enough as it is.

Shanghaiist Scrabble: Tonight!

Cary Hooper — 2009-11-24T13:30:00+08:00

Okay, let's get a few things straight. We love happy hours: you love happy hours. We love Cotton's: you love Cotton's. We love Scrabble: you love Scrabble, but probably not as much as we do. If we're off on any of that, you can take it up with us tonight as we spend the evening combining all three at our very own Shanghaiist Scrabble @ Cotton's!

As we've been graced with beautiful weather today, why don't you come on down, share a few drinks with us, and try and beat us at our own game of words? Plus, have we mentioned it enough times that you can win 250RMB of Cotton's vouchers? Better yet, you'll be crowned the king of Shanghaiist Scrabble champions??

In case you needed a rehash of the rules, click the jump. We'll see you there?

What: Shanghaiist Scrabble Happy Hour
Where: Cotton's on Xinhua Lu, 294 Xinhua Lu, near Fanyu Lu (新华路294号, 近番禺路)
When: Tuesday, November 24, 6 to 10 p.m.
Drinks: 2 for 1 on selected drinks
Entry: FREE!

Rules:

* Each Happy Hour drink now gets you five tiles. You can wait until you've got a couple orders under your belt - heck, we're not putting a limit on how many tiles you can come up to the board with - but just know that someone might take that triple word score from you if you wait too long.
* We'll be using the SOWPODS dictionary. If you don't know what that means, don't worry too much about it.
* You can come up to the board as many times as you like between 6pm and 10pm. But you can't make words consecutively, you'll have to wait until at least one other person has tried first.
* Team up if you want. We don't have a limit for how many friends you can beg for scrabble tiles, though that 250RMB voucher gets significantly smaller the more people you rope in.
* The person (or team) with the highest cumulative score at the end of the Happy Hour wins!

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Garbage burning protests: The online life of dissent

Cary Hooper — 2009-11-24T13:00:00+08:00

Yesterday's protest against a plan to build a garbage burning plant in the city of Panyu has sparked a lot of interest all over the internet. A fair amount of people showed up, and it seems like Sina has given a pretty optimistic writeup of the town hall event that sparked the protest. Mostly, though, this whole affair has piqued our interest in how the internet has integrated itself into the protests.

First and most interesting is the viral nature of the protests: we were able to both watch live streaming footage and tap into a deluge of tweets from a vast network of Chinese users all intimately interested in the issue at hand. We watched hundreds of tweets and retweets of protesters, some coming it by the hundreds each minute. It's a testament to the incredible power of the Chinese online community to say the least.

Yesterday's protest is also an interesting example of the government's method of censorship. The various articles we've found on Chinese news sources are pretty frank, though anodyne, about the protest and the reasons behind it. At the same time, the government has blocked a number of Twitter interfaces as a result of yesterday's tumult, which has become the method of choice for circumventing China's Great Firewall.

When you look at it, both sides have used the internet to their advantage in a battle that constantly moves on to different battlegrounds: the government blocks social networking platforms only to force netizens to find new ways around the Great Firewall. The western media has a number of write-ups of how enviornmental protests are emblematic of a middle class that's increasingly aware of the power of its own voice. We agree, but we're more fascinated by watching the massive online community come together and use its collective power to voice its opinion as events unfold.

We've found a youtube playlist of footage from the event (which you can also access through the video above), so you can get an idea of the actual protest, and if you can get on Twitter you can follow the ongoing discussions at the related Twitter feed

Interview: Kerry Ann Lee, culture shock = inspiration

Esther Young — 2009-11-24T11:30:00+08:00

Meet Kerry Ann Lee, Kiwi cultural philosopher and rising artist, who confuses her neighbors with her I-like-Rockabilly style and inability to speak Mandarin Chinese (despite a Chinese ethnic heritage).

She's here in Shanghai for three months as part of the Wellington Asia Residency Exchange (WARE), an initiative developed by Asia New Zealand Foundation and Wellington City Council New Zealand, after solo shows in Dunedin and New York. She just unveiled two new pieces at the island6 Gallery at Moganshan, featuring her preferred theme of cross-cultural identity formation in urban spaces. You can see her art there until December 22.

Kerry Ann's work is featured in Placebo at island6.
Where:island6, 50 Moganshan Road, Building 6, 2F
Starts: November 21st to December 22nd
Cover: FREE
For more local events, visit the Shanghaiist Calendar.

Kerry Ann chats with Shanghaiist about punk rock, communication, and buying the cheapest art materials in Shanghai.

One of your pieces, Electric Warrior, features life-size recreations of familiar Shanghai trademarks and domestic items - brushes, soup dumplings, brushes - made completely out of wire. Explain!

This piece was inspired by my time in Baoshan Villa, which is where I live now, and I wanted to represent transitions - the small actions that people take to make themselves comfortable in a completely foreign environment. They are inspired by familiar domestic items at home, while taking on the traits of their surroundings.

All of these pieces are made out of wire, for example, inspired by all the construction work being done around Shanghai. I was first thinking of doing full body armor, as a form of personal protection in a foreign environment, but then I liked this evolution - doing small, fun, playful domestic objects, making sense of your surroundings.

Did the wire have anything to do with the “warrior” portion of the work title?

No! (laughing) It was like therapy to me! The name actually comes from (British Glam Rock group) T-Rex’s album; I liked it very much.

You just came from New York’s Chinatown, exploring similar themes of cultural identity and integration. How has Shanghai built on that?

New York was just an amazing experience. It had everything that you could find - restaurants, bars, clubs - I found it amazing that you could feel at home immediately, because there was such variety, even if you haven’t been there long at all. You could and couldn’t be considered a local.

New York was also interesting because it was a binary as well - you find pockets of completely foreign elements, congruent cultures existing next to each other. I could hang out with the Chelsea art crowd, but when I was in Chinatown, I lived in this strange balance, where I couldn’t speak the language (Cantonese) and couldn’t necessarily integrate myself in the inner workings of the neighborhood. Shanghai is similar - but increased exponentially!

How so?

Chinatown was just a pocket, but here, I’ve immersed myself completely, giving me an energy that I find extraordinary. Again, I am challenged by the language, and people’s reactions to me, who have, in equal parts, accepted and remained wary of me.

But Shanghai has a unique eclecticism - I find myself meeting a huge range of people, and attending punk rock and heavy metal shows - and being inspired. I’m also integrated enough that now I know how to buy the cheapest wire for my art! Me and the store owner communicate quite well (laughing). I’ve just integrated any challenges into my art, playing with the ideas of home and space, identity and symbols.

What message would you like to deliver, to entice viewers to visit island6 Arts Center?

If you’d like to meet a rare combination of cultures in an artist, displaying her works in Shanghai, who engages in a language of identity, who tries to understand what identity IS, who engages in a little punk rock, who has a little bit of a playful edge…then the exhibit might offer something meaningful to you.

Kerry Ann is featured in Placebo, island6, 50 Moganshan Road, Building 6, 2F(November 21-December 22)

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