Last month the Fashion & Style section of The New York Times published Riding the It Factor, putting forward the Dutch bicycle as the new fashionable "It object" on the New York streets in these times of "Great Downturn."
It objects: Shanghai bike style vs. New York bike style
Shandong carpenter creates 100% wooden bike
The 55-year-old from Nanzhuang village, near Qingdao, took three months to build the two-wheeler. It has no metal parts whatsoever - the joints were fixed with small wooden bungs and the chain mechanism was replaced by a rod-crank system that rotates the wheel.
Photo of the Day: Bikes in Alleys
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).
Dates to watch out for: Mid-Autumn Festival, Special Olympics and the Shanghaiist Halloween Party!
Ever thought of what you're doing to offset your carbon footprint? This Saturday, instead of driving your car or taking a taxi, why don't you try taking public transport, cycling or walking instead? Residents will be asked to avoid driving private cars within the Inner Ring Road, and while compliance is not mandatory, driving will be banned outright in some areas.
Lock breakers to the rescue
Shanghaiist has had a string of bad luck in recent months when it comes to locks. Say, for example, the lock on our door which swung closed behind us one Saturday night at 3am and left us stranded outside our apartment with only a towel to cover our modesty (long story).
Today's Links: St. Lucia, mistresses and p0rn
For more del.icio.us links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.
Photo by jules_shanghai found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.
Today's Links: Canada, chocolate and burning puppies
For more del.icio.us links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.
Photo by shanghaistreets found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.
More about Wujiang Lu
Shanghaiist contributor Micah has posted some information about the present and future of Wujiang Lu in the comments section of our post from yesterday. We thought they were worth highlighting.
No police negotiator? Bring out the fire hose
The lead character in the drama you see unfolding in the photos above is a man suspected of killing his 71-year-old mother-in-law and his 13-year-old nephew on March 30 in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. For good measure, he allegedly also killed a "bicycle caretaker" yesterday, the same day police cornered him in a room on the eighth floor of a hospital. His wife somehow tipped police off regarding his whereabouts (we don't know why he was in the hospital).
CCTV's Magic Cellphone (魔幻手机): Another good reason to buy a satellite dish
Imagine Superman, Monkey King, time travel, martial arts and state-of-the-art technology all rolled into one. Sorry for that mental image, but this is what Mohuan Shouji (魔幻手机 or "Magic Cellphone") promises when it hits the small screen in November. This "modern" fantasy television drama series brings up a concept that human beings can actually be transported through SMS (we have heard rumors that Shanghai officials and mobile phone service providers are actually planning on launching this functionality ... by 2010, the magical year when all of our dreams will come true).
Today's Links: Stocks, migrants and dancing gangs
For more del.icio.us links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.
Photo by Shanghai Sky found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.
Transport: More Maglev ... less Bund Tourist Tunnel?
Lots of juicy transportation news today:
Extra! Extra! Bishops, prostitutes and desensitized genitals
Photo by kumo36 taken from 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.
Extra! Extra! Alzheimer's, porn kings and lesbian hotlines
Photo by Peijin Chen taken from 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.
A subway car built for two
Yesterday's Metro Express reports on a vote by 2470 internet users of real-estate website Sofun.com to decide which Shanghai metro station has the most romantic potential, ie where you would be most likely to meet your one true commuting love.
'Pudgy' boys and bad journalism
A few weeks ago, Shanghaiist spoke out against a nitwit AP writer who penned a story about absolutely nothing (and not in the Seinfeld "good nothing" kind of way). Well, our friend at the AP seems to have resurfaced, this time in Shanghai, writing for our city’s finest English language newspaper, Shanghai Daily, under the assumed name “Yuan Qi”. Alright, we admit, this sounds a bit far-fetched. But, we did spot a story that reeked of his style.
Extra! Extra! Tour de Tibet, trannies and tight bras
Photo by captainvideo taken from the Shanghaiist photos page. To see your photos on our photos 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.
Have you seen this bike? Or how not to become a victim
It finally happened. Sometime between the early evening last night and this afternoon, Shanghaiist's bicycle was stolen. Yes, it was locked. Twice. And no, we did not bring it into our apartment, to the collective shock and incredulity of our landlord and the retired woman that minds the front entrance of our apartment block. Shanghaiist had naively believed that the four flights of stairs we schlepped the thing every time we used it (almost daily) would be enough to deter what few opportunists found their way into our building in a “safe” part of town. But ultimately, one of the immutable truths of Shanghai life prevailed. Your bike WILL get stolen.
This week in -ist: What's happening around the Gothamist Network
DCist helps us make more sense of the world this week. Posts like this concert review are the reason for Scott Stapp. DCist also enumerates the reasons for playing ultimate frisbee, Condi's tight buns, their love of a local convenience store, and their jealousy of a person in Seattle calling the city.
Road Trip: Hangzhou, Suzhou, Zhouzhuang and more
If you choose to undergo the necessary procedures for hiring a car, or even easier, borrowing a friends, then where to go?
Why in the world would Chinese cities ban electric bikes?
We have no idea, but it's happening, according the subscription-only South China Morning Post (via the World Business Council for Sustainable Development):
Pedal pushers in the city
A little more than five years ago, Shanghai police arrested Chen Genrong, the mastermind behind the underground production of fake Phoenix-brand bicycles. Shanghai Star reported then that daily around 1,500 bicycles used to be shipped from his secret warehouse on Gong Qing Tuan Lu in order to be sold nationwide.
Shanghai does it doggie-style
With its "E-mail From Shanghai: Return of the Bourgeois Dogs," TIME magazine points out one of thousands of examples that China today is nothing like it was 30 or 40 years ago -- many people own pet dogs, animals that were outlawed and slaughtered by Chairman Mao's Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. The fact that many Shanghainese own dogs (if that's what you choose to call these tiny creatures) is nothing new, and thanks to Taco Bell, Paris Hilton and -- we'd like to think, at least -- Triumph, little yippy pooches are all the rage the world over now. Hell, even future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens has one -- although he's not entirely sure why. "I guess it's trendy to have little dogs like this," Clemens said earlier this month at baseball's All-Star game.
Skater to jump the Great Wall (no, not lengthways)
Most people climb the Great Wall. Some run up it. A few strange souls ride their unicycles on it. And 1000 saxophonists are planning to gather on it to play their instruments in unison (if you've scheduled an outing to Badaling that day, we strongly suggest a stroll around the Summer Palace instead).
Shop Talk: Speed Cat Bicycle on Xiangyang Lu
Bikes get stolen in Shanghai. Sure, they go missing in New York, or Seattle, but Shanghai seems to have less respect for the lock than most metropoli. When our cute orange folding bike turned up missing last week, Shanghaiist went a bit crazy. While many bike theft victims purchase progressively cheaper bikes, following the theory that "this one's so garbage no one could possibly want it," we went the opposite direction. Walking past Speed Cat Bicycle (site in Chinese) every day might have been the reason. In a tiny little shop that would be comfortable in any US college town, Speed Cat is instantly recognizable by the pile of half-assembled frames outside.

