We've got lots in store this weekend. Kicking things off is a Geisha event, bringing us French Decadence again. Then on Saturday, a little charity event, followed by the transformation of Mr. and Mrs. Bund to Bar Rouge, and an LGBT event. Topping the weekend off is a relaxing and educational walking tour around the French Concession! And if that's still not enough, head over to our calendar for more. more ›

Christmas is just around the corner! For all of you who couldn't make it home for the holidays, as always Shanghai will keep you swimming in sumptuous Christmas meals. Below we've selected a few options that caught our eye, from the non-traditional to the best bang for your buck. Make sure you call for reservations, as many places tend to fill up. Take a look, and take your pick! more ›

The restaurant could be be the latest item in a long list of revealed-to-be Chinese inventions! Formerly misattributed as Western creations, gunpowder, printing, and even New World exploration have all been claimed thoroughly as Chinese in origin. more ›

The video's featured luminaries speak about what French means to them, saying it's a colorful, beautiful and romantic language, all in order to promote the Year of French Language in China, which curiously only lasts nine months. more ›

Have you ever wanted to become internet famous in China? Turns out, all you have to do is set up a food stand outside your local Chinese university and have the cops run you out. Oh also, be French. more ›

Funny. more ›

Depending on where you read your news, the nation-wide boycott of, and protests against, French supermarket chain Carrefour in China were either a well-attended show of nationalistic pride or were over-shadowed by the bargains on offer inside the stores. Angered by events surrounding the Olympic torch relay in Paris last month and by President Sarkozy declining to rule out a boycott of the games in Beijing in August, the protests had been arranged through on-line forums and text messaging. more ›

Danwei informs us that Carrefour.com.cn is currently "undergoing a website update and maintenance", but CarrefourS.com.cn is alive and hopping with nationalist messages and other "user-generated propaganda". Crazy times.
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We're somewhat late bringing this to you, but yes, over the weekend, anti-French protests took place over the weekend all over China outside Carrefour stores in Hefei, Qingdao, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Xuzhou, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Jinan and Kunming. Although these were mainly anti-French anti-Carrefour protests, they were described by People's Daily as "protests against Tibetan independence". more ›

From www.aujourdhuilachine.com:

French athletes will not be allowed to wear their “For a better world” badge – meant to show their commitment to Human Rights, during the Beijing Games, said the French Sports & National Olympic Committee (CNOFS) President Henri Sérandour. more ›

First it was Coca-Cola. Now Carrefour, too, has been hit. The video on the right shows a confrontation between a (lone?) woman protestor outside Carrefour in Beijing and a PSB officer (h/t to PandaPassport). Jason Leow of the Wall Street Journal writes:

Some Chinese citizens, angry over foreign criticism of their country's policies in Tibet, are calling for boycotts of at least two European retailers for purportedly supporting the Dalai Lama, the latest sign of growing tension between China and the West ahead of the Olympics. more ›

April 1st marked the birth of Comme à la maison, the new French online magazine based in our beloved city. more ›

We're not sure if this has anything to do with this earlier story, but Beijing police do seem intent to really CLEAN UP the city in time for the Olympics. In a massive raid on Sanlitun recently, the city's popular nightlife area, Beijing police have arrested 20 people (including eight foreigners) and many young people are said to be shaken. Blogger Beijing Boyce happened to be in the vicinity, and observed:

1) this raid was much more coordinated that the one last October; 2) given the numerous photographers, it was meant to send a very public message; 3) now is not the time to be acting recklessly in Beijing; and 4) it’s a good idea to have your identification papers with you... [read more]

Do films with titles like "Feathers of Dongtan" and "Sounds. Breaths" give you a tingle in your special area? If not, fret not, there's still some time to develop that acquired taste which is promotional films for really-big-Chinese-events. "Vision Shanghai", like "Vision Beijing," is going to feature documentary films by famous directors, thought the names of those directors have yet to be released. However, Shanghai Film Group has announced its next Expo film, a full-length doc by Jia Zhangke. We've been hearing about this intermittently for awhile, and whatever our reservations about promo films, we're still curious to see what Jia's up to with this film.The article says that trailers are being shown on TV soon, but we haven't seen anything new on the video-sharing sites. more ›

On February 11th, a Chinese couple from Zhejiang, while shopping at the famous high-end retail group Galeries Lafayettes on a Paris tour, was accused of using a counterfeit note, then brought to a police station, questioned and searched “insultingly” then accused a second time at the same cashier of using a fake banknote, although it had been proven genuine by a bank expert. more ›