The 2010 national Chinese census put Shanghai's population at just over 23 million people. With a gross domestic product (GDP) of 1.92 trillion yuan in 2011, the rough average of a typical Shanghai citizen's yearly income should be in the area of 80,000 yuan. What does it mean to be rich in the "Paris of the East" then? China Daily took it a step further on Saturday and exposed the short-list of "super-rich" Shanghai citizens. more ›

Forbes China has released its first overseas investment "risk list" for Chinese investors. Like all risk rankings, they gauged things like regional political stability, government corruption, legal system factors, and indicators of social stability and economic opportunities. Whether the Chinese follow these risk assessments is another thing entirely. more ›

Even with its deadly shellings of South Korea, the DPRK can probably continue to enjoy the (exasperated) support of its neighbor and only real ally, according to Gady Epstein at Forbes. Despite arguments that not condemning this behavior would basically be threatening the stability of all of Asia, "If the present situation would not deteriorate even much further, China’s general posture and position would be quite similar with China’s response to the Cheonan sunken ship case in the past months, esp. if one takes into account the dramatic and ‘huge’ improvement of China-DPRK relations in the past months or year," says Shi Yinhong of Renmin University. more ›

If you've ever wanted a nice breakdown of the wealthy upper crust of China, just refer to Forbes. The magazine has just released its China's 400 Richest list and it seems like the rich just can't stop getting richer in this country. more ›

Jessie Chen at Forbes' China Tracker lists the weird things that we get used to living here in China. Unfortunately, it's not stuff like "turning on the VPN" or "watching a kid pee on the street," heading into territory that's more like "mine disasters" and "violent evictions." Still, even if it's being serious, the list is hardly comprehensive. I'd add "useless prostitute busts" and "Premier Wen Jiabao showing up at another possibly man-made 'natural' disaster." You? more ›

Business people can find lessons everywhere - including in China's management of its illegal sex industry! According to Shaun Rein at Forbes, its on-and-off prosecution of everything from pornography to prostitutes teaches us this: "understanding the relationship, differences and interplay between the central and local governments is critical." Just because a local government's allowing you to bend the rules doesn't mean the central government thinks it's okay - and that local gov. favor may one day come back and smack you in the face. Not that you needed sex workers to tell you that. more ›

China's apparently poised to overtake the United States in technology any day/generation now, and there's a couple of (five) reasons why, according to Ray Kwong at Forbes' The China Tracker. A lot of it has to do with a combined one-two punch of leadership initiatives and crafty maneuvering here in China, and a failing of the U.S. education system to encourage science and math. more ›

Forbes' Gady Epstein has written up a hilarious satire (complete with pictures!) calling into question what would happen if the devastating BP oil spill off the U.S.' gulf coast had actually happened in China. Would BP CEO Tony Hayworth have been executed for his role in this "atypical ocean event"? Hint: kind of. more ›

The deviant little grass mud horse has struck again - only this time, it's a real alpaca rather than an internet one that's the center of this controversy. According to Forbes Asia, two Chinese men used an elaborate scam to trick an oblivious 74-year-old Tennessean Alpaca farmer into giving them business visas. more ›

Forbes has released its list of the Top 10 Chinese celebrities, which surveys the who's who of China to rank them based on personal income, public influence, internet reach and commercial value. more ›

Shanghai made it to 4th place in Forbes' list of the world's tallest cities with a total of 21 towers climbing over 700 feet. The current tallest is the Shanghai World Financial Center, at 1,614 feet, but it'll be surpassed by the Shanghai Tower, which is expected to be completed in 2014 and reach heights of 2,000 feet. It was beat out by Dubai, Hong Kong and, at number one, New York City. more ›

What do the digits 25, 35 and 82 have in common? They were all part of China news this week, as journalists, businessmen and government officials counted out and ranked up different individuals and groups related to the PRC. In ascending order:

• Forbes announced China's 25 Most Powerful Celebrities, with the number one spot going to basketball star Yao Ming. To create the ranking, Forbes looked not only at income (Yao brought in 388 million RMB in 2007) but also at celebrity status, measured by examining appearances on print, television and internet media. The 25 include athletes, film stars and media personalities, with Liu Xiang, Jet Li and Yi Jianlian coming in behind Yao as top scorers.
• Thursday's Fortune 500 list brought good news for Chinese companies, 35 of which made it to the top tier of global business, the largest-ever representation for China. Oil refinery Sinopec led the group in 16th place, followed by 25 other mainland companies, three from Hong Kong and six from Taiwan. Oil and energy groups as well as banks made up a big chunk of the big winners, and 19 were government-controlled corporations.
• Earlier this week we reported on the situation with Uygers in Xinjiang, brought into public view after police killed five Muslims in Urumqi who were allegedly planning a “holy war” and Olympic terrorism, but were armed only with knives. The incident comes into sharper perspective following the government’s announcement that it has detained 82 suspected terrorists in the northwest this year, on charges of plans to attack the Beijing Olympics. While exiled Xinjiang Uygurs denied the claim, Urumqi police chief Chen Zhuangwei was adamant that the threat was serious, adding that 41 illegal places of worship had been shut down in the province because they were headquarters for terrorist activity. more ›