From the Gray Lady comes this amusing feature about the surge in Chinese undergrads at American colleges - 26,000 of them at last count. It seems that enough disposable income and desperation to find an edge in the cutthroat world of post-college jobs has led more and more parents to send their kids abroad, even before graduate school. There, in U.S. colleges both famous (Ha-fu) and less, Chinese 18-to-22-year-olds are practicing English and learning to think critically... as well as eat pepperoni pizzas, go to frat parties and "dress American." more ›

Well, I suppose it's not AS unlikely when you take into account the crappy job market. The Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau has revealed that of the 3,500-plus people involved in pyramid sales cases in the last three years, college students outnumbered everyone else. They usually join by either being bullied into it (as what happened with four local students) or by being tricked into thinking it's an NGO, only realizing it's a pyramid scheme when they're forced to recruit lower-level participants. more ›

• Well, hello! Steven Millward of Sinobytes talks to our own Kenneth Tan about Gays.com, the online gay social networking site started right here in Shanghai. [CNET]
• Two gangsters have been sentenced to death after being caught in the massive Chongqing corruption crackdown. [Washington Post]
• Does China need to start letting ordinary citizens take part in the political process in order to maintain a stable growth? At least one place thinks so. [Foreign Affairs]

• A blog has some beautiful portraits of the various ethnic groups that make their home in China. Above, the Va group, which are mostly found in Yunnan Province. [Wenxuecity]
• James Fallows rounds up reactions and experiences with the alleged age ban for foreign teachers (no people over 60 allowed!) [The Atlantic]
• Has Super Girl winner Li Yuchun really become a god? It seems like at least one university's students are in fact burning incense to her to try to raise their luck. [Go Chengdoo]

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: more ›

Well gee, we guess this city is prohibitively expensive. Shanghai college students looking for romance can't catch a break - not from snooping Anti-PDA patrols and definitely not from their meager moneybags. According to Enovate, most college students get some allowance from their parents every month, but it's a pittance if you actually want to get romantic... more ›