The idea is simple: get five internationally reknowned directors to make short, impressionistic films about Beijing, showing the people of Beijing in their everyday lives and as they prepare for the Olympics—and in the kindest light possible. The five filmmakers were: Patrice Leconte (France), Andrew Lau (Hong Kong/China), Majid Majidi (Iran), Giuseppe Tornatore (Italy), and Daryl Goodrich (UK). You can find a rundown of each film's style and content as well as a link to......

A new airport will be built in Beijing and scheduled to open by 2015. Even with a third terminal opening at Capital International Airport opening next month, Beijing will need a new airport to meet the rising demand for air travel as no further large-scale developments are being planned for Capital.Meanwhile, across China, a grand total of 97 new airports will be built by 2020.About 3,250 flights in all have been cancelled due to the......

Photo from Yansi Gordon Brown's China trip The Independent: Brown invites China's 'big red chequebook' to Britain Reuters: Brown hails environmental work with China Xinhua: British PM visits Shanghai The China Eastern saga Bloomberg: China Eastern `Doubts Sincerity' of Air China Bid Forbes: Air China parent formally proposes China Eastern tieup, to reveal details Jan 22 Trading Markets: China Eastern Airlines suspended from trading in Hong Kong China's land rush WSJ: Buying Into China's Land......

77% of China Eastern shareholders have voted against Singapore Airline's proposed HK$7 billion bid for a 24% stake in it. Disappointed by the results of the vote, China Eastern chairman Li Fenghua has vowed not to ally with Air China:"We will never consider Air China as a strategic investor. The most important thing is not the price. The most important thing is to improve China Eastern Airlines' brand and management." "There's not much difference between......

Looks like the much talked-about HK$7 billion bid by Singapore Airlines and its parent Temasek Holdings for a 24% stake in Shanghai's loss-making and debt-laden China Eastern Airlines may not happen just yet. Blocking the bid is its arch-rival and shareholder, Air China, as well as its parent China National Aviation Corp. (CNAC), which has now upped the ante by saying it would bid no less than HK$5 per share if shareholders vote against Singapore......

China confirms presence of toxic substance in bead toys [Economic Times] China's quality control watch dog has confirmed that the bead toys which the US and Australia have recalled in millions over safety fears contain toxic substance. US sees no rapid shift in China's currency reserves [AFP] Amid a plunging US dollar, China has again threatened to diversify its mountain of dollar foreign reserves but US officials are unperturbed while experts do not see a......

Shanghaiist is somewhat of a frequent flyer to Beijing, and because he isn't employed by some big multinational but rather runs his own little business, he can only afford to put himself on cattle class and often has to scour the internet for the cheapest available deals. We especially love this nifty little function on eLong.com which shows you the cheapest available flight within a week of your selected departure date. That has worked to......

Five Chinese carriers have committed to buying 57 of the new fuel-efficient, long-haul Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and three Chinese companies are producing parts and components for the new plane. Air China and China Eastern Airlines have each ordered 15 of the new planes. China Southern Airlines has ordered 10, Shanghai Airlines nine and Hainan Airlines eight. Boeing has won 677 orders for the Dreamliner, which means it will be sold out all the way......

Even while Shanghaiist is waiting with bated breath for direct flights to the east coast, China Eastern Airlines is set to sell a 25 percent stake to Singapore Airlines, the world's largest carrier by market capitalisation, for HK$7.9 billion (US$1 billion) worth of new shares. In the meanwhile, Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore's state-owned investment arm with $85 billion of assets, may join Singapore Airlines in its bid for a stake. China Eastern suffered a net......

In light of this week's national holiday, here are some transportation stories for your enjoyment: Shanghai to host 4.4 million tourists during the May Day holidays: That is five percent more than last year. Yay. Avoid People's Square and other hot spots these week.China May Day spells nightmare: This AP story claims that the Chinese government is looking to develop "a new system of staggered holidays" to ease the burden on the nation's transportation systems.......

A China Eastern Airlines jetliner emblazoned with flashy colors and the not-so-flashy "Better City, Better Life" slogan of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai made its maiden voyage yesterday. Here are some photos of it arriving in Tokyo. We have a confession to make: Before moving to Shanghai, we had no idea that World Expos (also known as World Fairs) still took place[1]. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that we are......

Non-stop flights from Shanghai to New York are now available. China Eastern Airlines will fly the route four times a week starting today. Photo from Howard W. French. Shanghaiist features a "Photo of the Day", daily pictures of life around the city. We want you to share how you see Shanghai. Simply post your photos on Flickr, tag them with "shanghaiist", and we'll select one favorite image per day. Or you can simply email your......

There was a fire on the maglev train. The train was evacuated but no one was hurt.Google's blog service, Blogger, is now accessible within China without a proxy server. We tried it -- it works.If 2010 gets any better, Jesus won't have to come back -- in addition to Disneyland, the Expo, and 5,000 subway lines, we're going to be home to Asia's largest railway station, to be located somewhere in the Hongqiao area.A pilot......

At approximately 4:22 pm Beijing time today, North Korea test launched yet another missile amidst a sea of international furor and condemnation after six fired earlier in the day. Shanghaiist doesn’t pretend to be CNN, BBC, NBC or even our local New Jersey News Channel 13. But given our regional bias, we are very curious how exactly China is going to handle this sudden bout of international crisis dropped in its lap. Of course, no......

Shanghaiist traveled to Xiamen this past weekend. On our more-pleasant-than-usual China Eastern Airlines flight, we noticed an extra special article in the "The Shanghai Tale" section of the in-flight magazine. This article chronicles the life of Lu Songgao (卢嵩高, 1875-1961), a master of the wushu discipline of martial arts. Master Lu, a Hunan native of the Hui minority, began practising wushu as a teenager and, after rising to prominence as an armed escort, moved to......