We told you previously of China's great vision to be a "harmonious society" by 2020 — yes, that year when paradise will come to earth if nations around the world all accomplish their visions. Now, it looks like there is even a "harmonious ranking" to help us measure how "harmonious" we are, and it has been created by Shanghai's very own East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) [华东理工大学]. Out of a possible 100, Shanghai scored 84.97 points — the second highest among 30 domestic provincial capitals. Beijing topped the rankings, edging Shanghai to second spot with a score of 86.45 (Dang! Three cheers for Beijing!), but even harmonious Beijing is no match for Shenzhen which came in tops in a separate ranking for cities at 86.80 points. more ›

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is bringing a clear message to China: Israel will not allow Iran to get the atom bomb. Israel is concerned that China and Russia, which are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, have opposed calls by the United States for tougher sanctions on Iran. more ›

An absolutely stunning 35-yard freekick from Shanghai Shenhua midfielder Xiao Zhanbo just three minutes from time was not enough to give his side victory in an East China derby match with CSL new boys Zhejiang Lvcheng. more ›

Despite chalking up their first point of their 2007 AFC Champions League campaign, Shanghai Shenhua are out of the competition after being held 0-0 by J-League champions Urawa Reds yesterday. more ›

On Friday, Chinese protesters clashed with Japanese coast guard ships and helicopters off the coast of the East China Sea islets, known as the Diaoyutai (钓鱼岛) in China and the Senkakus in Japan. The islands are located 170 km (100 miles) northeast of Taiwan and 410 km (250 miles) west of Japan's Okinawa island are a long-standing source of dispute between China and Japan. In brief, Japan claimed the islands in 1895 when it colonized Taiwan, but the United States controlled them after World War II and returned them to Japan in 1972. While they are currently administered by Japan, the Diaoyutai are independently claimed by Japan, China, and Taiwan. The islands are uninhabited but surrounded by rich fishing waters, and it is believed that they sit above vast underwater oil and gas deposits. more ›

Photo by spiky247 taken from the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute 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 ›

Shanghaiist was scanning the Shanghai Morning Post and decided, after reading just the main headlines, that we could indeed spare the seven jiao needed to purchase this paper. On the top left hand corner we noticed an ad for 嗨！ 上海 (最 HIGH 的 上海生活门户） which translates to "Hi! Shanghai (the most HIGH Shanghai lifestyle portal)". What we found there was a cookie-cutter portal which tries to be everything for everyone. more ›

Shanghaiist wasn't expecting a great deal when we went along last night to the opening of Shanghai's newest luxury product, the Costa Allegra cruise ship, which was setting off from the city's port on its maiden voyage. Of even more concern was the dress code on the invitation: "Trendy Elegant." Those are two words that not even Grima Wormtongue could bring himself to label this particular writer with. more ›

Now that our personals site is up and running, we have once again been reminded just how many hot chicks women this fine city of ours has to offer (single or otherwise), and getting in shape has skyrocketed on this Shanghaiist's to-do list -- just below finally getting around to watch Lost. With our new found enthusiasm for anything workout related, this article , “Shanghai’s top 5 jog spots”, in the latest issue of City Weekend piqued our interest. more ›

The Virtual Shanghai project is backed by a team of experts from Institut d'Asie Orientale and the Institut des Sciences de l'Homme in Lyon, France, East China Normal University, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and University of California, Berkeley Center for Chinese Studies Library. Here's how they describe the project on the site: more ›

Looks like the Shanghai-to-Hangzhou Maglev train we told you about recently is a go. That is, if you trust Xinhua. And when will the project be completed? You guessed it -- 2010: more ›

Bloomberg reports that Focus Media -- responsible for many of the flat LCD screens airing ads throughout the city -- has plans to turn parts of Shanghai into Times Square. Actually, not just Shanghai. Focus Media will "install giant screens of light-emitting diodes in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou." The first such illuminated advertising wall, 16 stories tall, appeared in Shanghai in 2003 on the Aurora Building, a skyscraper that appears in many a Pudong skyline photo. Focus Media's LED screens wouldn't be 16 stories, but they would be huge -- 500 square meters, costing 50,000 RMB per square meter. more ›

Take a look at the photo to the right and tell us what you think you see. We thought it was a new stadium at first glance -- and, oh boy, Shanghai really needs one of those. (That was sarcasm.) more ›

Did you know that the epithet "jerk" -- as in That motherf#%kin "jerk" riding his motorbike on the sidewalk nearly took my arm off -- actually comes from "jerk off", as in wacking, wanking ... you get the picture. Now we know why onanism has gotten such a bad rap these last couple of decades centuries. Wondering where Shanghaiist comes up with such pearls of wisdom? Don't worry, it's not innate, you too can learn factoids such as this from the official website of Shere Hite, the famous scholar of sexuality and author of the landmark Hite Report on Female Sexuality, which came out in 1976 and kicked a lot of ideological ass, from what we gather. Shere Hite is not your typical academician, she's been on a mission to delve farther into human sexuality than most people are either capable of or comfortable doing. more ›