Almost a century old, Beijing's Shuangxing Tang is said to be the oldest bathhouse in the city, and is one of the last remnants of the capital's old-style bathhouses for commoners. Located in the Nanyuan Township of the city's Fengtai District, the bathhouse has been slated for the wrecking ball, unless conservationists and old customers of the bathhouse have their way. The owner of the bathhouse, Xiong Zhizhong (熊志忠), has filed an application for the bathhouse to be recognised as a "Non-material Cultural Relic" in the municipality. more ›

Bath houses, especially those around the Expo grounds, have become a surprisingly popular destination for tourists, according to Shanghai Daily. Because hotels - even budget ones - are so expensive, tourists are choosing to stay overnight in a bath house instead. Getting a private room in the ones around the Expo runs you about 200RMB a night, and you get to soak in a rose bath for as long as you'd like. Not a bad deal! more ›

• That's Shanghai takes a look at Shanghai's best bath houses. There's a lot of recommendations and most of them sound... disturbing. [Urbanatomy]
• Are Shanghainese forgetting to write Chinese? It seems like Shanghai residents performed terribly on the HSK, a test usually given to foreigners to test their Chinese level. [CNNGO]
• The Shanghai Chamber Music Festival, which celebrates the life of Haydn on the 200th anniversary of his death, starts today and runs until Dec. 16th. Go for the chance to watch China's best chamber musicians compete! [China Music Radar]

Public parks, bath houses, news stands—these were some of the venues for gay people to meet in the old days of Shanghai. The second day of Shanghai Pride featured a panel discussion on gay spaces throughout Shanghai history, along with a brief primer on the creation and reception of China´s first university course on homosexuality at Shanghai's Fudan University. Around 150 people gathered at Kathleen's 5 to listen and learn. more ›