Remember that video of the five young North Korean accordionists' rendition of A-ha's Take On Me? It's totally gone viral since we showed it to you last Friday (watch it if you haven't!). Evan Ramstad, the Wall Street Journal's Seoul correspondent, caught up with Morten Traavik, the artist behind the performance that will soon open at Barents Spektakel, an international arts fest in Norway. He writes of Traavik's long labour of love in making the project happen: more ›

Bangkok celebrates the Year of the Black Water Dragon with a special underwater dragon dance. more ›

Lots on for this weekend! Big hiphop parties at Shelter and Zeal, including one of France's most renowned hiphop DJs, Cut Killer. There are also plenty of opportunities to enrich your cultural side: check out two ballets, participate in some CNY activities, or try a tour through old Shanghai. And if that's still not enough, head over to our calendar for more! more ›

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Okay, probably not everything you need to know, but this video certainly makes the best attempt we've seen so far. They cover everything from economics and regional development to eating habits and even how the concepts of face and guanxi can influence corruption. Despite a few weird mistakes made by the narrator (like China's "five million year history") the entire film is very well made with lots of aesthetically pleasing infographics. Seems like the perfect primer for anybody looking to absorb China 101 over their lunch break. more ›

Thousands of people are celebrating the seven-day Shoton festival (also known as the Yoghurt Festival or Banquet), one of the most important festivals in the Tibetan calendar that has been celebrated since the 11th century. more ›

This is just plain hilaaaarious: Cops in NYC have arrested a worker at a funeral supplies shop in Chinatown that sells joss paper and other papier-mâché items that Chinese people the world over like to burn for their deceased family members. more ›

Ah, another weekend of relaxation, filled with so much to do! In case you were still in the woods, The Zebra Music Festival is back on! If by some miracle the weather clears, consider it an excuse to drag yourself to the beach, wear flip flops and soak in the sun. But if the beach isn't your thing, we've got multiple parties (among other indoor ongoings) to fill your time! Most importantly, of course, this weekend we've got a little something we are calling Shanghaiist Sexy Saturday! It's a party, it's more or less sexy and, well, it's on Saturday. And if that's still not enough, head over to our calendar for more! more ›

We were aware that Shanghai's ladies know how to enjoy themselves better than most, but a report from Women of China that analyzes 2010 census results confirms it: Shanghainese are putting off marriage at higher than expected ages, with the average age for marriage registrations standing at 29.77 years-old for women, and 32.45 years-old for men (though this state of affairs might be different if more costumed proposals took place). more ›

Well, well, you learn something new everyday. Apparently, the Vietnamese calendar has "borrowed" only 10 of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs -- replacing the rabbit with the cat and the ox with the buffalo. more ›

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New Xinjiang blog Autonomous Region tells us of fast food chain KFC's latest localisation tactics in China's westernmost province: more ›

If you´ve missed the first four films of The German Consulate´s month-long Fatih Akin Retrospective there are still two more flicks to go, this coming Friday, and the next. One musical documentary and one thought-provoking culture crossing drama. Fatih Akin is a Turkish-German director with a series of successful and award winning movies behind him, such as Im Juli (In July, 2000) the Golden Bear-awarded Gegen die Wand (Head-On, 2004) as well as last year´s New York, I Love You. more ›

We have no idea how authentically Tibetan this is but it sure looks very colourful. more ›

It's been a long year filled with trivial fun, the best of which involves the antics of celebrities, musicians, writers, and generally anyone involved in the creation of China's vibrant culture. From poetry to death hoaxes, we've garnered a lot of enjoyment from covering the diaspora of China's creative zeitgeist. And in honor of the multitudinous wonderful, scandalous and noteworthy things we've watched, experienced and digested over the past year, here's a short breakdown of our favorite gems of cultural news. more ›

As foreigners in Shanghai, we understand the difficulties with assimilation: if you're not from Shanghai you are different, no matter where you're from. In all honesty, though, it may be easier to be a foreigner in Shanghai than it is to be an waidiren, an outsider from another part of China. more ›

Zachary Mexico's first book, China Underground, just came out this month. It's an edgy look at margins of modern China—and it's a real page-turner. Mexico mixes it up with the masses, returning with sixteen tales of unique individuals "trying to figure out what's going on, trying to carve a place out for themselves in the new China." more ›

Let's make this as short and sweet as possible. You've had three weeks to pony your lazy arse to Lit Fest, so if you miss it, don't blame us for not keeping you blissfully well-informed. And if you miss out, you really ARE missing out--if not just for the fabulous view out the window of Glamour Bar in broad daylight. more ›

When we first arrived in Shanghai a long, long time ago, all there was to do on weekends was vogue at Bar Rouge---balancing champagne glasses and tottering around on stilettos while trying to not catch our hair on fire. Well, things have changed. Champagne is no longer as popular and now there is a Barbie shop to vogue around at, plus this weekend our Pearl of the East has oystered out an arts scene involving more than the usual bomb shelters, beer and beavers. more ›

People who looked at this cover and thought that it would be an insightful and sexy look into being a foreigner touring through a China just newly opened to the world will ultimately be disappointed. more ›

Via City Weekend we learn that the documentary film about last year's Converse-sponsored (and Split Works organized) Love Noise rock music tour of China is now viewable at a DVD player near you. Love Noise put Beijing bands PK14 and Queen Sea Big Shark on a converted bus and sent them on a two-week, six-city tour during the height of Olympics craziness last August. The trailer to the Love Noise film is embedded in this post, and after the jump you'll find a slew of related clips, uploaded to YouTube six days ago. The director's first name is Hammer, so it's got to be good. more ›

With just 500 days to the Shanghai World Expo left, the infrastructural mainframe of the expo grounds has been completed and the China pavilion is also taking shape. more ›

From Adam Schokora's new blog 56minus1:

this video short was filmed on the campus of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Also available on Youku* and Tudou for perhaps faster loading in China. Music by B6, a song called “Take You with a Sigh” from his new album Post Haze.

ChinaSmack points us to this silly dance item performed by the employees of the Tianjin Hebei Post Office at the company's annual staff cultural night. more ›

Is it a martial art or is it a dance? Apparently, it's a bit of both. This episode of Sexy Beijing talks to two expats who have made it their mission to introduce the Brazilian sport to the Chinese public. more ›

If you are twiddling your thumbs this weekend and bored out of your maple tree, head down to Yandang Lu for the Hello Allo Canada street festival and mingle with the three lively mascots: the beaver (ummm, you have got to be kidding!!!), the moose and the goose. more ›

Reuters informs us:

CHINESE researchers who spent 3,000 hours observing the public in Beijing say their behaviour shot to a new high of 82.68 on the 'civilization index' this year following a campaign to improve habits for the Olympics, the Beijing Morning Post reported on Tuesday. more ›

File this under "Only in China". This report by Melissa Chan of Al-Jazeera has intrigued us with how Chinese buyers are now banding together to shop for apartments so as to bargain for better prices with developers. The practise, known as tuan gou (团购) or 'group purchases', has long been used to buy anything from apparel to household items, but this really is the first time we've heard of apartment buyers using the same tactic. And apparently, the practise is growing. more ›