Photo from here [h/t to Micah Sittig] See any familiar buildings in the picture? Share with us how you see Shanghai, or China! Post your photos on Flickr, tag them with "shanghaiist", and we'll select one favorite image per day. Or you can simply email your photos to photos at shanghaiist.com.......

Following their somewhat bizarre picture last month of Obama and a "dapper" donkey, the latest person to grace Baidu's homepage gives a slightly clearer message. The picture is of "Wheelchair Angel" (as she's been dubbed in some sections of the press) Jin Jing clutching the Olympic Torch to her chest, a position she adopted when pro-Tibetan protestors tried to snatch the flame from her in Paris last month. Clicking on the picture takes you through......

The idea is simple: get five internationally reknowned directors to make short, impressionistic films about Beijing, showing the people of Beijing in their everyday lives and as they prepare for the Olympics—and in the kindest light possible. The five filmmakers were: Patrice Leconte (France), Andrew Lau (Hong Kong/China), Majid Majidi (Iran), Giuseppe Tornatore (Italy), and Daryl Goodrich (UK). You can find a rundown of each film's style and content as well as a link to......

Anti-China exiles ready for Tibet trek [AFP] "Tibetan exiles in India were set to begin marching to their homeland Monday as part of protests marking the Dalai Lama's escape from China in 1959 and the run-up to the Beijing Olympics."China's International Schools are Growing [US-China Today] "Christiana Lilly is not your typical American girl. As the daughter of a diplomat, her world and life experiences extend far beyond the United States. Between Taiwan, Singapore, Burma,......

A few weeks ago, Richard Brubaker of All Roads Lead to China reported:I just received an email from a friend who said that they were being told they could not renew their F visa fro within China anymore. A quick Skype to another confirmed that F visas cannot be extended past the Olympics. That apparently is not the case, but the cost of an F visa has gone up quite a bit. In Richard's latest......

Like all football connoisseurs, Shanghaiist loves nothing better than a good derby. Games like Feyenoord v Ajax where travelling supporters are banned. The sheer evil of Rangers v Celtic. The Latin heat of Real Madrid v Athletic Madrid. The Manchester United v Liverpool grudge match. The Superclásico of Boca Juniors v River Plate. And Shanghai Shenhua v Inter Shanghai lacked the history but not passion before one half upped sticks and moved to Xi'an. But......

Ching Cheong, the chief China correspondent of the Singapore-based Straits Times that was jailed in China for supposed espionage but freed recently, has made his first statements after his well-deserved rest. He lost more than 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) during the more than 1,000 days that he was in prison. Here are Ching Cheong's quotes, compiled from various news sources quoted below: On his innocence:I have never done anything that endangers national security or harms......

With all the bad press surrounding Steven Spielberg's Olympic boycott, Beijing seems to be scrambling to action to diffuse all the negative publicity by wooing a most unlikely target, the Pope. From Michael Sheridan of the Sunday Times (UK):TEMPTED by the prize of a historic visit to China by Pope Benedict XVI, the nation’s leaders have authorised a renewed effort in confidential discussions with the Vatican to heal their rift and inaugurate diplomatic ties. The......

Photo by Mike Chen The Steven Spielberg pullout... AFP: Spielberg mocked in China over Olympic pullout Business Week: Why Spielberg doesn't care about annoying Beijing Xinhua: Spielberg slashed by Chinese, but his movies still admired ... and the fallout Reuters: Dutch party seeks boycott of Olympics opening The Canadian Press: An athlete's voice of protest could become a roar at Beijing Games AFP: Ex-China basketball star says Olympics are platform for change The spy......

Steven Spielberg's decision to withdraw from arranging the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics caused press around the world (except for China) to rub their hands with glee this week at the prospect of China's dirty laundry being flown from the flagpoles of Beijing. Citing China's tacit support of genocide in Darfur, the director claimed that his conscience no longer allowed him to continue business as usual, and that the hosts "should be......

Just three days after Straits Times journalist Ching Cheong regained his freedom, China has released yet another media man — Yu Huafeng (喻华峰), general manager and deputy editor of the Southern Metropolis News《南方都市报》, the Guangzhou-based paper that is one of China's boldest and most critical papers. According to AP, this is the Yu is the third journalist to be freed this month. Li Changqing (李长青), a former writer with Fuzhou Daily《福州日报》, was apparently released on......

By Jake in Shanghai Chinese New Year around the world Reuters: Chinese New Year exodus exposes Singapore generation gap AFP: Brown sends New Year wishes to China Xinhua: Chinese new year goods sold in Mexico's Chinatown AllAfrica.com: Botswana: Chinese Celebrate New Year The Canadian Press: Chinese New Year banquets being held more frequently in restaurants Xinhua: Danish PM wishes for closer cooperation with China in New Year HIV/AIDS China Daily: Charting the battle against......

Have you got an opinion? Shanghaiist has started publishing opinion pieces from readers on selected weekends, so if you feel like you've got something to get off your chest, email it to us at info AT shanghaiist DOT com and if we like it, we will publish it under this column. China Gets Beijing and Shanghai Ready for the 2008 Olympics and 2010 Expo By Jeffrey Wasserstrom China's economy is booming like never before and......

By JFK Miller Of course! Xinhua has already called it for the home team (on Christmas Day, in fact): “China is widely expected to beat the United States and Russia to top the medal standings of the 2008 Olympic Games.”......

We told you about the possibility, but now it is OFFICIAL. China does want to be the next world power in cheerleading. We hear that a series of competitions are being held across schools and tertiary institutions, fitness centres and community clubs across China to select 200 cheerleaders for the Olympic Games. Before you know it, some of them will be mixing acrobatics into their cheerleading routine.......

By JFK Miller Just 200 days away from the Olympics brings this piece of unbridled jingoism from China’s premier news source: “BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Just 200 days away, the Beijing Olympics is poised to be the most memorable Games in history.” Now that’s not what you call “managing expectations.” Most memorable? Don’t you think it’d be safer to downplay expectations just a teeny-weeny bit? What if the Olympics turn out to really not......

Reuters: China urges flexibility from Iran and the West The Press Association: Brown in first visit to China as PM Reuters: UK's Brown urged to press China on human rights Reuters: China housing prices jump 10.5% in December AFP: Kung fu out in Beijing Olympic Games cold Taipei Times: Beijing, not Huang, should be blamed: Chen The Times of India: China is India's largest trade ally Photo from 2 dogs......

A China Daily report dated 14 December 2007 suggesting that Beijing may make a temporary exception for banned foreign publications such as Playboy and The Sun has travelled around the world and created a mini-furore and lots of confusion back home here. Here are the offending paragraphs:All pornographic material is prohibited on the mainland but a temporary exception could be made for the Games, according to the biggest importer of foreign publications in the country.......

By JFK Miller China Daily columnist Kang Bing thinks Beijing is being unfairly criticized by overseas media in the lead-up to the Games: “… some overseas media are demonizing Beijing's air pollution and traffic problems...” “… the Chinese capital would be lucky if criticism against it ended just there. Beijing has kept its promise to the IOC on press freedom, but some media seem to be asking the host to adopt freedom and democracy according......

In a repeat of the utter ridiculousness of the Chinese gymnastics team being made to promise to be injury- and drug-free, the latest news is that the Chinese soccer team has been offered a million dollars as a reward and made to recite the following vow:“I pledge to advance to the World Cup, which is the professional goal that we strive for… We swear by death to kill along the bloody road of defending the......

Christmas in China Reuters: How the Grinch stole China city's Christmas trees Asia Times: Christmas is made in China RFA: China Detains 70 in Raid on Shandong House Church Meeting [Proxy needed] SCMP: Controversial bishop tipped for top post [Subscription required] Xinhua: Rule on living Buddhas aids religious freedom Women, money and bling LA Times: In Beijing, some bling is unwelcome EastSouthWestNorth: Desperately seeking Anna Miscellaneous EarthTimes: Chiang Kai-shek's family threatens to bury his......

Olympic Games will take place in Pékin and not in Beijing “The French have committees for everything. … After much discussion, the geographers and linguists of the CNT have decided that the rest of the world has it wrong. ‘Beijing’ must be spelled ‘Pékin’.” China anti-graft Web site felled by “too many hits” “A Chinese government Web site encouraging citizens to report corruption crashed on its first day under the weight of too many......

Shanghai wants 50 top minds every year “Local authorities are offering lucrative packages to lure leading academics to the city under a new scheme to help boost its competitiveness.” Shanghai to launch int’l channel targeting foreigners “The ICS programs, covering news, information, fashion, entertainment, foreign TV shows and movies, will be aired in English and Japanese, with Chinese captions, for 19 hours a day.” Shanghai GM to launch Buick LaCrosse hybrid prior to Olympic......

Last week we were coasting on Shanghai Metro Line No. 2 when our attention was suddenly seized by this new Adidas ad displayed on the LCD next to the exit. We were so awestruck by the concept and grandeur of the commercial that we momentarily lost all of our cynicism about big corporations pushing merchandise...and almost missed our stop. Then, as we got on the escalator off the Huangpi Lu exist, we noticed the entire......

According to the official countdown, the Beijing Olympics are about 240 days away and the pressure is mounting for China's athletes to bring home the bacon, especially in China's strongest events like ping pong, diving, and gymnastics. In traditional Chinese business fashion, gymnastics coaches are making their gymnasts sign a contract to stay injury-free and drug-free in preparation for the Games, according to this article from China Daily. In an unusual move to secure a......

Looks like a high intensity lightning bolt hit someone at the China Daily recently that foreign journalists want to know the truth about China, so they decided to do an article to inform their readers, just in case they, erm, didn't already know. Here's an excerpt from the story:French journalist Caroline Puel wants to present the real China to her readers, who are eager to know more about the country with the Beijing Olympic Games......

We attended the Chicago Improv All-Stars show at Henry's last night ... and we enjoyed ourselves. It kind of had the feel of a theme party at a friend's house (assuming that friend was very popular, brewed their own beer, had a very large living room with poorly placed pillars, was bad at training their staff and charged guests RMB 280 at the door). If you have ever seen an episode of Whose Line......

Tiger eats tiger in NE China zoo [Xinhua] A Siberian tiger at the Shenyang Glacier Zoo was killed and eaten by four tigers it had lived with for five years over the weekend. Apparently, the cash-strapped zoo has not been able to feed the tigers with sufficient food for the last two years.'Spiderman' Scales Part of China Mountain [AP] A daredevil French climber nicknamed "Spiderman" scaled part of Hunan province's Tianmen Mountain using only his......

According to Major League Baseball's official website, the LA Dodgers and San Diego Padres have committed to playing two exhibition games in Beijing's Olympic stadium next March. The games, scheduled tentatively for the weekend of March 15-16 at the Wukesong baseball stadium, are part of an MLB outreach to Asian baseball fans. The effort also includes season opening games between the Oakland A's and reigning champion Boston Red Sox at the Tokyo Dome, and a......

China confirms presence of toxic substance in bead toys [Economic Times] China's quality control watch dog has confirmed that the bead toys which the US and Australia have recalled in millions over safety fears contain toxic substance. US sees no rapid shift in China's currency reserves [AFP] Amid a plunging US dollar, China has again threatened to diversify its mountain of dollar foreign reserves but US officials are unperturbed while experts do not see a......