Melissa Chan of Al Jazeera brings us video of the flood of money and support flowing into Ai Weiwei's studio in Beijing. His 15 days to cough up a RMB 15 million tax bill are slowing ticking away, but within 8 days, contributions stand at a whopping 6.25 million RMB. more ›

Online donations are still pouring in from all corners of China and around the world as supporters of the dissident-artist Ai Weiwei chip in to help him out with the RMB15 million fine for tax evasion that he's been given 15 days to cough up. It's a spontaneous, collective middle finger that they've thrusted at the powers that be for the injustice they see in the 81-day detention that Ai was put through last year as authorities scrambled to prevent the Jasmine Revolution from spreading to China. more ›

On Tuesday, dissident-artist Ai Weiwei (艾未未) who was freed not too long ago from an 81-day detention, was slapped with a RMB15 million fine for tax evasion, a princely sum he has been given 15 days to cough up. The very next day, his mother Ai Ying (高瑛) and brother Ai Dan (艾丹) announced that they were mortgaging the former residence of his father, the poet Ai Qing (艾青). Following calls on Twitter by Shanghai human rights lawyer Li Tiantian (李天天) and feminist scholar Ai Xiaoming (艾晓明, no relation) to send money, his supporters also swung into action, setting up Alipay and Paypal accounts to collect donations. more ›

Yueyue's ashes have been returned to her hometown in Shandong province after her cremation in Guangzhou on October 29. Her father Wang Chichang's phone has been ringing off the hook with calls and texts from strangers, some requesting financial assistance, and others expressing doubts over his arrangement of donations he had received, accusing him of appropriating the money to himself. In a recent interview with state broadcaster CCTV, Wang said the donations he had received put him in a quandary. more ›

The outpouring of sympathy and the flood of donations from around the nation has given Yueyue's parents a major headache even as doctors continue to work overtime to save the life of the toddler caught in the Foshan double hit-and-run that has now made international headlines. more ›

Shanghai's second closet swap is happening this Saturday at The Apartment, and if you want to take part you better get moving! Today is the last day you can take all your unwanted, lightly-used items down to William the Beekeeper and exchange them for tokens. Then on Saturday, head over to The Apartment and start rummaging. Best of all, it's all for a good cause! more ›

Closet Swap is back once again to help you cleanse your wardrobe of all those lightly-used discards cluttering up the closet space. Just choose the items you want to swap, take them over the William the Beekeeper boutique by October 19 and recieve tokens. Then bring those tokens to the swap on October 22 at the Apartment. more ›

A man from Liaoning has issued a desperate plea for Rh-negative AB blood carriers to come forward and donate to help his 23-year-old wife who need to undergo surgery at a Shanghai hospital. This is the second time such a call has been put forth this year, and they hope that foreigners will come forward and donate. Less than 1% of the Chinese population have Rh-negative blood (and even fewer have Rh-negative AB blood) whereas about 15% of Caucasians have it. And it could potentially be a life-saving move for donors as well, as "Any volunteer who has donated for others is given priority in the future, should he or she ever need the deed returned." While Global Times doesn't say where you should go to donate, the Shanghai Blood Center is probably a good place to start. more ›

The devastating tsunami in Japan has claimed 10,000 lives and has certain prefectures on the cusp of a nuclear meltdown. We've already rounded up some of the news last night... though things seem to just be getting worse (with a new three-meter high tsunami heading their way). This morning, we were informed of some ways to donate to relief efforts. more ›

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Calling all university studs! The Shanghai sperm bank is setting up a branch in university-friendly Songjiang district to encourage more frequent visits. As an additional incentive, the bank offers 50 yuan for the first sample, and if you're a good donor, 200 yuan for every subsequent, uh, turn. Why Songjiang? Because university students represent 95 percent of the sperm-donor pool in Shanghai. Although the bank has quite the supply (20,000 units of sperm), only about 10% are usable for conception, due to health reasons or "low sperm quality." Couples may wait up to year for a viable sample -- hence, the additional search for donors. Get cracking, men! more ›

In our ongoing Threesday feature, Shanghaiist takes the time to count out three of....well, whatever catches our fancy that week. Here we present three different ways to help with the relief efforts in Haiti without having to leave Shanghai. more ›

The island nation of Haiti suffered a devastating 7.0-magnitude quake in the middle of the day on Tuesday. Untold numbers of people remain trapped under the rubble and tens of thousands are feared dead. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the tragedy "Biblical," adding that "There was so much hope about Haiti’s future, hope that had not been present for years. And along comes Mother Nature and just flattens it." As everybody probably remembers, China's had its own brush with Mother Nature's wrath. Now, it's gotten a chance to help. more ›

Cisco announces a three-year $45 million (RMB300 million) commitment to helping rebuild in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake that left nearly 5 million people homeless. The memorandum of understanding signed by both Sichuan Governor Jiang Jufeng and Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers was the result of several weeks of meetings between the Cisco team and officials from all levels of the Chinese government to gain a better understanding of the current situation. Corporate Social Responsibility News (CSRWire ) brings us the detailed story here. more ›

The turnout last night was phenomenal! The lines flowed out the door and onto the streets, the beer taps ran dry, no could hear the raffle winners’ names, and the BBQ queue was unbelievable… but, beautifully, no one seemed to care. more ›

Forwarded to us from our new friends at Chengdu's English-language magazine Chengdoo (Thanks Joe and Jane!). We are posting these up because the needs are real and time-sensitive. Many have died, but the living need help too. Now. more ›

UPDATE: More than RMB 20,000 in lucky draw prizes donated so far! More details here. more ›

Looks like evangelist Franklin Graham who previously made the news in the China Daily for "hoping to do more for China" is seriously putting his money where his mouth is. Speaking from Shanghai after a tour of Beijing, Hangzhou and Nanjing, the CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (named after his dad) and international Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse has just donated a whopping RMB2 million, or US$285,000. That's a whole lot of money, ladies and gentlemen! To put things into perspective, even Singapore, which has one of the world's highest GDP per capita, only managed a paltry US$200,000 or RMB1.4 million. more ›

By Sue Anne Tay more ›