The western half of metro line 4 will be closed from January 22 to 28 due to repair work taking place. Instead of the usual ring, the line will run in a C shape from Linping Rd Station to Yishan Rd Station. But don't panic commuters, Line 3 will still be running its usual route, which means the entire ring will in effect still be functional. That means there will be a big gaping hole in the loop from Linping to Baoshan station. more ›

DaVinci, the furniture chain that was accused of labelling its locally sourced products as being "Made in Italy" and which later ran one nightmare of a press conference, has closed all four of its outlets in Shanghai. more ›

The city's Public Security Bureau has sought to reassure the Shanghai expatriate population through the Shanghai Daily that there will be no mass closures and no mass raids of clubs and bars during the Expo. But they want you to carry your identity card or passport with you wherever you go -- even when you're busy getting sloshed. But says a police spokesman because "[w]e are not going to check everyone... We only check people we find acting suspiciously," Uh, okay. Another interesting tidbit in the article is what Gary Wang, owner of the soon-to-be-closed Shelter, told the paper. "We were told to close over safety concerns," said Gary, and that "we should be cooperative" during the Expo. Hmm. more ›

A reader forwarded us this email supposedly sent out by the Red Beat Bar on Tongren Lu:

The local authorities have request, that due to the Olympics, that from August1st to August 5th Tong Ren Lu is essentially closed. However, bars may be able to operate between 1 am to 8 am. more ›

Even just a few short years ago, the art district down on Moganshan Lu consisted of a handful of independent and quirkily ramshackle galleries quietly plying their trade. Today, the area has not only been considerably spruced up, but has also grown to include a number of upmarket cafes and shops. This development has inevitably created winners and losers, with numerous galleries falling by the wayside. more ›