Results tagged “culture”

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Continue reading "Beijing's 'civilisation index' shoots to all-time high in the year of the Olympics"

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.

A museum designed to help Chinese people learn about all things African has opened up in Shanghai, says Xinhua:

The Museum for An Experience of African Lifestyle, which is now in open to the public, is Located on Xianggang Road near the Bund.

Continue reading "Africa in Shanghai"

A group of kimono-clad geishas entertain passersby on the Nanjing Lu pedestrian street as part of a pile of fringe events in the ongoing Shanghai Tourism Festival.

Ramadan, Islam's holiest season has just begun, and as Muslims around the world begin a month-long period of prayer and fasting, manufacturers across the Middle East have little reason to smile as they find themselves edged out with increasing numbers of Chinese producers flooding their markets with products that are cheaper and better than their own. Adding salt to injury is the fact that many of these products are symbols of their own cultural and history. Gulf News reports that made-in-China Ramadan lanterns are all the rage now, much to the chagrin of traditional Egyptian craftsmen:

Since walking into the vocation of lantern-making more than 30 years ago, Ahmad Abdul Gafour has been attached to Ramadan.

Continue reading "Chinese manufacturers kill producers of Ramadan lanterns and keffiyeh's in the Mid East"

NBC's US$1 billion deal to become America's official Olympic media for the Beijing 2008 Games was part of a record breaking $2.3 billion deal that included the the 2004 Summer Olympics ($793m) and the 2006 Winter Games ($613m). In what they've called the single most ambitious media project in history, NBC has sent the largest media contingent of about 3,000 to produce a whopping 3,600 hours of coverage. While we were in Beijing last week, we were fortunate enough to catch sight of Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira and Al Roker of The Today Show which broadcasts live from their open air studio on the Olympic Green. This marks the sixth Olympics that the show has travelled to and every evening here at 7pm, the studio attracts an enthusiastic crowd of (mostly) Americans waving flags and banners hoping to say hi to friends and family just waking up back home.

Peter Kirby of Daedalum Films explores the tulou, the earthen roundhouses in Fujian Province which have just made it to the UNESCO World Heritage list and meets some of the people who live in them.

If you were born in the Year of the Rat, then this year is your ben ming nian (本命年) — the year when lots of inauspicious things will happen to you. Watch this episode of Sexy Beijing to learn what you must do to ward off all the bad luck and evil spirits.

After a grueling day at work, head to the new Bulldog for Mojito Tuesdays — free flow mojitos for ladies all night, no cover. Judging from the success of its grand opening on Friday, Bulldog draws a crowd you don't want to miss. 1 Wulumuqi Nan Lu (across the street from the American Consulate)

It might not be an Olympic sport yet, but Parkour, the urban pastime that originated in the suburbs of Paris, has arrived in Beijing. The "art of displacement" or "art of moving," Parkour is an activity which involves getting from one point to another as efficiently as possible using only the human body. Students at the Beijing Film Academy have started a 12-strong Parkour club led by 22-year-old student Du Yize. Du says his club has incorporated a distinctly Chinese element into their version of Parkour, combining traditional Chinese kung fu with the trendy sport. "Anyone who wants to learn Parkour in our club needs to learn some basic skills of kung fu first," Du tells Reuters Blogs. Watch this video of a Beijing Parkour clan above, or click here to see photos of Du and his friends practicing their moves.

Think you're hot enough to be a model? Find out Thursday night at Club G Plus, where Adidas Originals is hosting a fashion model search. Have a professional photographer take your picture at the main entrance, then head in for the party with no cover, free selected cocktails and music mixed by DJ Samir. The drink specials are enough to make you forget all about modeling, until Adidas calls you back for its fashion show in August... 5f, Block 7 of Xintiandi, Xinye Lu, near Madang Lu

We already knew that Chinese blogs were some of the main free speech forums in the country, but another form of electronic communication is getting recognized as an opportunity for uncensored commentary: text messaging. A recent NPR piece says texting is popular in China not only because it is relatively inexpensive, but also because it is out of the range of government censorship, at least for now. In a culture that is traditionally emotionally reserved, texting can also be an easier way to express intimate feelings without all the awkwardness of live personal interaction. Whereas courtship-via-text might be frowned upon in Europe or the U.S., it's all part of the dating ritual here in China, from the earliest flirtations to the eventual heartbreak. Alvin Graylin, the CEO of mInfo (which owns Guanxi), a Shanghai-based phone accessory company, explains:

"Chinese are a little more indirect. They don't like to always say what they really mean," says Graylin. "It's easier to sometimes communicate through a short message, a small communication of what you're looking for, than to call somebody and have to explain everything."

When Wong Lei's boyfriend broke up with her, he did it via text message.

Continue reading "From personal commentary to political criticism — the art of the Chinese text message"

With recent reports of China suspending fireworks factories' shipments stateside, American expats in the mood to celebrate July 4 with fireworks will be glad they're in Shanghai. This and four other reasons why it's good to be in this city.

If you haven’t been yet, check out Curry Wednesday at O’Malley’s. Nothing like stuffing your face with Indian deliciousness to get you over the hump, we always say. 2 Taojiang Lu, Changning near Hengshan Lu, 桃江路42号 近衡山路, 地铁1号线衡山路站

The last installment of Al Jazeera's series on China in the program People and Power investigates the Lhasa Express, the 4000 km train line linking Beijing with Lhasa. Exclusive interviews with members of the Tibetan government in exile and recently escaped Tibetan prisoners echo the familiar refrain that the Chinese government is encouraging a massive influx of Han Chinese to Tibet, but zero coverage of the flip side.

This self-orientalizing piece of crap has a few good moments. Since they are few and far between, we'll just tell you what they are.

We saw this movie in the theater, in Paris, which it seems is one of the only places where this movie could be seen on the big screen other than at film festivals. The film is actually from a few years back, but was never shown in China, and while we think there are probably DVDs floating around, we can't say that we've seen any of them.