SPAM, that delicious (or disgusting, depending on who you ask) meat product, is soon to be available at a store near you. Previously found only in import stores like City Shop and Pines, the Chinese masses will now get their chance to taste test the original ham in a can. more ›

... at least that is what Shirley Phelps-Roper of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas would have us believe (h/t to Danwei). She recently wrote in to China Daily columnist Raymond Zhou after reading his opinion piece on recent comments by Chinese celebrity Sun Haiying (孙海英) who not too long ago ignited a huge debate with his comments that homosexuality was unequivocally "criminal in nature" ("同性恋就是犯罪“):

Dear Raymond more ›

Shanghaiist loves our dear readers because you never hesitate to let us know when you disagree when it comes to a restaurant recommendation. Well, now's your chance to put a little of your own skin in the game. Famed restaurant guide Zagat is currently collecting survey responses regarding restaurants in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Users who submit the survey by the September 23rd deadline will receive a free copy of the resulting 2008 China's Restaurants and Hotels Guide when it's published. According to Zagat they are covering over 175 restaurants in Shanghai. We signed up (site registration is required in order to take the survey) to take a peek. The restaurants are broken out by district, and glancing at the full list it looks like usual suspects from the listings on City Weekend (which, by the way, appears to have upgraded their website). more ›

Down-side of Chinese in outerspace: Finding out the Great Wall isn't actually visible to extraterrestrials. more ›

Hello Shanghaiists! You may have noticed that we've made a few small changes to our commenting and feedback systems: more ›

We're sure glad we left Southern Barbarian* when we did. We were told that the Maxïmo Park gig would start at 9 pm and that there would be an opening band. So someone brought up on Western rock concert tradition would assume the very earliest Maxïmo Park would take the stage would be 10 pm. But we figured it would be more like 11 pm or midnight — that way the bar sells more drinks. But when we arrived at 4 Live (or Fabrique ... or whatever we are supposed to call it) at around 9:45 pm we were shocked to find the headliners already on the stage and even more shocked when a friend told us they had already been playing for 20 minutes and that the opening act started at 8:15 pm. What kind of a punk (or post-punk) show was this? Oh — that's right — one in Shanghai. more ›

As Shanghaiist recently reported, AIDS in China continues to be a serious, rapidly growing problem. Much of the current epidemic stems from illegal blood selling in Henan Province during the mid 1990s. Dr. Gao Yao Jie , an activist for AIDS patients in Henan Province, estimates that up to1 million people are infected in Henan province alone. In spite of this, HIV/AIDS still has a reputation in China as a disease of “marginal groups” like drug users, prostitutes, and men who have sex with men. This stigma keeps many infected persons from getting tested or informing their families/friends/lovers of their condition. more ›

We've never been to the knockoff DVD shop called Blockbuster ... and now we'll never get a chance to. The real Blockbuster has seen to it that the place -- which apparently is of the overpriced, 10 kuai per DVD, Kade Club ilk -- lose its name. This is from Access Asia's Weekly View on Asia: more ›

Shanghaiist Underground Halloween Party info at Upcoming.org. more ›

Great 80s party last night. Photos and stories coming soon. But first ... this is where we will be this afternoon: more ›

Above, you can take a look at a cheesy party video we threw together. Sound quality of the band clips isn't great -- our fault, not theirs ... Ferris Wheel and Mint both sounded great -- but you get the idea. Also, you can check out a bunch of party photos at Flickr. If you have photos of the party you want to share, either upload them to your Flickr account and tag them "shanghaiist" or email them to photos@shanghaiist.com. more ›

Photo by idogu 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. more ›

Starbucks leftovers at the Pudong airport more ›

Since Shanghaiist kicked off in July this year, we've inflicted opinion after opinion on you, our faithful readership. Here comes a whole bunch more. more ›

On Friday, September 16, Shanghaiist will officially turn 67 days old. Sounds like a reason to celebrate! more ›

According to ChinaTechNews.com, Zhang Baoquan, president of real estate giant the Jindian Group has said his company will invest RMB 3 billion ($362 million) in the "coming years" to open 200,000 digital EVD theaters in China. Shanghai will be the testing grounds with eight to 25 -- kind of a big range -- EVD theaters. The China Film Corporation and Huaxia Film will also be involved, the three-sentence "story" said. Other published reports showed that something called the Polly Culture Group is part of the plan, as well. more ›

Terror threat advisory remains 'elevated' more ›