President Hu Jintao recently hosted some very special guests at the Zhongnanhai compound, the Party and government headquarters. A group of young school children from Wenyuan, the epicenter of the earthquake in May, were flown to Beijing for a grand tour of the capital and to meet with none other than Grandpa Hu (胡爷爷). In this video*, President Hu is seen strolling through the scenic Zhongnanhai grounds with a visiting Russian delegation, and suddenly greeted......

For this week's edition of Opinionist, we present to you some of the thoughts of Ho Kwon Ping, founder and executive chairman of the Banyan Tree Group which owns and operates a chain of award-winning premium resorts, hotels and spas, surrounding the great Sichuan earthquake. Ho, who owns resorts in Lijiang, Shangri-La and Sanya, had a close shave with the earthquake as his flight from Chengdu to Hong Kong was almost taking off when the......

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......

"Resolutely love and protect the entire student body. Respect the students’ selfhood and treat students fairly and equally. Help students by alternating discipline and kindness, and act as a mentor to students. Protect the safety of students. Defend the students’ lawful rights and interests, promote the students’ complete, active and healthy development. Do not mock, satirize or discriminate against students. Do not subject students to corporal punishment or disguised forms of corporal punishment." All inspired......

A pig who survived for 36 days after the Sichuan earthquake on May 12 has been heralded as a hero and symbol of the will to stay alive. The pig, who has since been named "Zhu Jianqiang" or "Strongwill Pig," managed to live on a diet of charcoal and water while buried under rubble. It was discovered last week in Pengzhou city, having lost two-thirds of its weight and now "thin as a goat," a......

It has been just over a month since the earthquake hit Sichuan, and while much of the media coverage has moved on to other disasters, we can still catch musical tributes while waiting for the subway. From the very beginning, we were impressed by how quickly state-owned media mobilized to air reel after reel of footage to inspire citizens across China to action and in many cases rally hope. Popular musicians all over Asia have......

The Olympic athletes coming to Beijing in August might not be the only ones competing at the Games. Many Christian missionary groups are salivating at the opportunity to compete for all those heathen souls in the Orient. As FaithWorld blogs reports: Doing covert missionary work in difficult areas — usually Muslim countries— is a challenge some Christian groups relish. James Catford of the UK's Bible Society said in a statement, This great sporting event presents......

With the upcoming Olympics and the subsequent global attention, the government obviously wants the nation to look its best, which in China sometimes translates to quashing dissent. Two European-based human rights groups working together as the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders recently published a report declaring that the government has stepped up attempts to quiet dissidents, citing four people arrested for Olympic Games protests, including Hu Jia, who was sentenced to three......

One week after last month's deadly Sichuan Earthquake, we brought to you the heartrending story of Chen Jian (陈坚), a young man who was pinned under the rubble for 73 hours, but unfortunately didn't make it after rescuers managed to extract him after working on him for six hours. Today, Zhang Qian (张倩), the reporter who was by Chen Jian's side in his last moments still breaks down whenever she thinks of him. In this......

U.S., China make gains on investing [WSJ] "The U.S. and China initiated talks about a bilateral investment agreement and finalized a 10-year plan to cooperate on energy and the environment, a relatively successful conclusion to two days of talks that were also marked by simmering economic tensions."Foreign companies accused of not meeting China relief pledges [Forbes] "A surge of strongly nationalist rhetoric combined with misinformation to cast blame on foreign investors for failing to contribute......

Olympics China Rises: Restricting the foreign press Reuters: China urged to curb executions ahead of Olympics China Herald: Another Olympic mishap: problems in getting tickets Channel NewsAsia: Hong Kong toughens rhetoric to avoid Olympic Games protests ABC News: Athletes banned from Beijing opening ceremony China and the U.S. Blogging For China: America opens its doors, slightly, to Chinese tourists People’s Daily: First Chinese leisure travelers to U.S. greeted by music, hospitality Washington Post: In......

Left: American Gangster trailer; Right: Across the Universe trailer The 11th Shanghai International Film Festival had a rocky start on Saturday, when the opening film, Olympic Dreamers, failed to arrive, leaving confused media stranded in the rain after an unusually brief opening ceremony. Critics from around the world have noted that the event has less energy this year, a change from a decade-long trend of increasing prestige. Chinese organizers point to the earthquake as......

For those of you that have been complaining about the wet weather in Shanghai here over the weekend, our friends in southern China have been having it far worse. Heavy rain in Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces are causing water levels in rivers further downstream in in Jiangxi, Guangxi and Guangdong provinces to rise. Of course all this is doubly bad news for Sichuan which is still reeling from last month's earthquake. Over 1.27 million......

A month after the tragedy in Sichuan you’d be forgiven for feeling a little compassion fatigue. Whilst the focus of the recovery process has changed from the desperate speed of the first few days, there is still a lot of work to be done repairing damage both physical and emotional. On that theme then, tonight sees an event hosted by a group of Shanghai’s creative arts and fashion crowd called Heartbeat in Putuo. The organisers......

Nationalism has made its way into Olympic advertising as as this new television commercial by Chinese sports brand Anta shows. JWT Shanghai (part of the WPP Group) conceptualised the ad for Anta, saying it was "inspired by Chinese people’s response to the earthquake". Said the China chief executive of the agency, Tom Doctoroff:“We decided to extend the brand message from individual glory to national glory, encouraging everyone in China to stand tall through these obstacles.”......

Photo taken behind Duolun Lu by Slow Boat to China Sichuan earthquake AP: China holds funeral for panda killed by earthquake IHT: Flooding completes the doom of Chinese town below 'quake lake' Xinhua: China's main quake lake shrinks as drainage speeds up The Press Association: China says quake lake alert is over The environment AFP: China consuming twice what its ecosystems can supply: WWF The Age: China's 'footprint' a global concern AP: Report says......

Fiery episode of 《针锋相对》on Phoenix TV hosted by Hu Yihu (胡一虎) discussing whether Fan Meizhong (范美忠), teacher at the Guangya School in Dujiangyan, was "morally corrupt" for being the first to run away when the earthquake struck (If you missed this story earlier, read this backgrounder by Danwei). Unfortunately, we won't be able to translate everything said in these four videos, but a few things are worth pointing out. First, Fan starts by saying that......

As many of you may remember, Shanghaiist held a benefit for Sichuan's earthquake victims at Sasha's Bar and Restaurant almost three weeks ago. Due to the munificence of many companies and individuals, attendees had close to a 20% chance of winning a raffle prize. Unfortunately, many awards have not yet been claimed! Therefore, we have set a deadline of SUNDAY for you to collect your prizes. Please check the partial list of our generous donors......

Fons Tuinstra of China Herald suggests that lots of hotel rooms, in particular 4-star rooms, are still available during the Beijing Olympics. Is Beijing really expecting 500,000 foreigners in August?Latest visa rumour from Richard Brubaker of All Roads Lead to China: Anyone born after 1983 will no longer be offered a Z visa.The Opposite End of China informs us of a Uyghur attack on a police station last week in Sangong, Xinjiang, which is right......

A new hotpot restaurant in Chongqing that named itself after the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12 has been shut down by authorities after a huge public outcry. The Chinese characters used in the name of the restaurant "512震宗锅" (or "512 Quake Pot") was a homophonous pun for "authentic hotpot". Netizens have called it the "most shameless hotpot restaurant in Chongqing" and the owner of the restaurant has apparently been sent in for "criticism and re-education".......

The previously bustling city of Mianyang (绵阳), Sichuan's second largest city and an important military and nuclear base with a population of 5.7 million, is now nothing but a ghost town. As of June 5, Mianyang had a death toll of 21,963. Another 167,742 were injured, and 8,743 people missing. The remaining residents have been evacuated as the nearby Tangjiashan quake lake threatens to burst anytime soon. Meanwhile, prime minister Wen Jiabao (温家宝) continues to......

Kaiser Kuo of the Ogilvy China Digital Watch breaks the news: Video sharing site 56.com has been temporarily shut down by "the Guangdong provincial branch of the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT), acting on orders from SARFT’s national leadership, according to a highly-placed industry insider who declined to be named. The closure seems to have been in effect since 6pm on June 3". A spokesperson from 56.com has cited server malfunction and......

Cara Anna of the AP reports police dragged away over 100 parents protesting outside the courthouse in Dujiangyan (都江堰) holding pictures of their children who died in the Sichuan earthquake:"Why?" some of them yelled. "Tell us something," they said as black-suited police wearing riot helmets yanked at them. The parents had been kneeling in front of the courthouse yelling, "We want to sue." Police dragged an Associated Press reporter and two photographers who were......

Tonight (Tuesday, 3 June) "Hip-Hop" group the Black Eyed Peas are playing a hastily arranged benefit gig for around 700 people at the Shanghai Concert Hall. Although previously set up as a brown-nosing corporate show for Chivas and Pernod Ricard the invite-only show will now apparently help victims of the Sichuan earthquake in some way. "We will invite our VIP guests, main customers in China, along with media to the concert"says Chivas spokeswoman Vanessa Wright......

USA Today reports that adoption agencies across the United States, particularly the China-only agencies are experiencing a great surge in enquiries after thousands of children were orphaned by the Sichuan earthquake:"There's lots of interest," says Joshua Zhong, co-founder of Chinese Children Adoption International, one of the largest China-only agencies in the USA. He says inquiries have more than tripled since the May 12 quake, which has killed at least 68,109 people and left an estimated......

Looks like mammon does have its way of making people think before they talk. Less than a day after Sharon Stone suggested at the Cannes Film Festival that the Sichuan earthquake was karma for China's treatment of the Tibetans, she has been forced to eat back her words and apologise:"My erroneous words and deeds angered and saddened the Chinese people, and I sincerely apologise for this. I'm willing to participate in any earthquake relief activity......

A powerful, evocative and sombre collection of photos taken by Shanghai-based Canadian photographer Chad Ingraham who has been spending time in Chengdu and Dujiangyan over the last few days.......

A group of about a dozen celebrities including Andy Lau (刘德华), Sammi Cheng (郑秀文), Joey Yung (容祖儿), Gilbert Lam (林韋辰), Joey Meng (萬綺雯), Grace Cheung (張家瑩), Bowie Lam (林保怡), Astrid Chan (陳芷菁), Zhang Guoli (张国立), Chen Daoming (陈道明), Feng Xiaogang (冯小刚) and Jiang Wenli (蒋雯丽) are part of a contingent of celebrities taken to visit the earthquake zone in Sichuan Province and to rally the troops that have been serving non-stop in rescue operations. Pop......

The next time you are at Shanghai Centre Element Fresh, be sure to check out what's on the walls as you wait for your order to arrive. Shanghai-based Canadian artist Jeffery Robert Bleazard has donated six of his artworks to the Sichuan Earthquake Charity Art Auction organized by Element Fresh and the paintings will be on display at Shanghai Centre Element Fresh until June 8. Quite appropriately so, four out of the six paintings......

Chinese official, on his knees, begs parents of children killed in quake not to protest [AP] "The image was startling: A Chinese official on his knees, begging. The Communist Party secretary of Mianzhu city pleaded with protesting parents — whose children were killed in a school collapse during China's recent devastating earthquake — not to complain to higher authorities, the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper reported Monday."China finds escaped quake panda [Reuters] "China has recaptured a......