Things have slowed down a bit this week, but there's at least a few good excuses to venture out into the cold. Shelter's Back to the Classics is on for Saturday, catch South Africa's longest-running musical, meet up with some expat golfers, or catch a North Korean romcom! (no joke.) Read on for all the details, or head over to our calendar for even more. more ›

We learned about these dangerous batches of eels coming in from Indonesia and the Phillipines earlier this year harboring a dangerous brain-damaging parasite called gnathostoma spinigerum. Thankfully we've been reassured that Shanghai eels are clear of parasites, which can't be said for all neighboring provinces. In fact, it's not just our eels that might be safer. On Sunday, the major of Shanghai proclaimed that he plans to lead the country in food safety, adopting "the 'toughest' measures on food industry market access, supervision, law enforcement and punishment." more ›

Some were skeptical when they started calling it "Asia's Major" back in 2005, but scan the list of entries for this week's WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai and it's increasingly difficult to argue the validity of that claim. PGATour.com columnist Rob Bolton points out that eight of the top 10 golfers in the world, and 33 of the top 50, will tee it up at Sheshan International Golf Club from Thursday to Sunday, fighting for the winner's share of the US$7 million in prize money. more ›

Hey Shanghai, can you feel that? Like the weight of a million people has been lifted from your shoulders? As if suddenly you've been freed from a wearisome and oppressive burden? EXPO is finally over! If you're looking to get out of the house and celebrate, here's a list of things you might want to do this Monday through Thursday. On the docket this week: Lao Hu (Tiger Woods) is back in town for the HSBC golf thingy, The Woman in Black is running until Sunday, and Dambisa Moyo speaks about aid in Africa. Read on (or check out our calendar) for more! more ›

Founding editor Dan Washburn writes about the struggling international golf course makers now plying their trade in China - the only place where the golf course market is booming. Yes, yes, we know, golf was banned until 1984 here and the construction of golf courses has been banned since 2004, but what are you gonna do? China has more loopholes than a course has sand traps. more ›

If there's anything Tiger Woods needs right now, it's a comeback - and it looks like he's thinking about staging it in Shanghai. Just weeks after he shot the "worst 72-hole score of his career," and despite a pretty crappy run in the same spot last year, Tiger has booked his return to Shanghai for the $7 million WGC-HSBC Championships at Sheshan International Golf Club. So those who worried they wouldn't get a chance to see "Lao Hu" this year... don't anymore. more ›

Gay, straight, jock or art critic, there is something for everyone this week! Mix it up with psychedelic Japanese art, ultimate Frisbee and chill out sessions with the girls.  more ›

• Beijing's hell-bent on making Hainan the world's best beach destination, and they've got an accomplice that was literally banned in the country just a few decades ago: the game of golf. While the island's government gleefully bulldozes ancient villages Cultural Revolution-style, we're just wondering whether or not a Tiger Woods-type scandal is in China's golf future. [Foreign Policy]
• It seems that Americans are now officially scared of the 21st century being China's time to shine. It also seems that they're ambivalent to this prospect. Curious? Yes. But so too is the fact that a major publication is only now reporting on this. [Washington Post]
• This just in! United States and Europe have been pushing China's buttons on a number of controversial issues as of late out of concern that their dominance in matters of international relations may be a casualty of China's rise. [People's Daily]

In case you didn't get enough of (or couldn't access) that sweetly awkward video of a Sims-esque Tiger Woods being beaten by his wife and driving into a tree...well, we've got some screenshots for you, but this time they're bigger and (well, sort of) better. And there's a whole gallery of 'em! Enjoy trying to fit the pieces together; heck, even make your own web cartoon out of them! Just remember, you got 'em here first. more ›

Thank you, 1-Apple News of Taiwan, you've just made our day a little more animated. (PS if you can't see the Youtube video, you can watch it on 1-Apple News' website) more ›

In case you've been following - or not following as closely as you wanted to - the HSBC Champions, Asia's World Golf Championship, our intrepid founding editor, Dan Washburn has been covering the event and what it means for China on ESPN.com. Check it out: more ›

The WGC-HSBC Champions tournament is starting up tomorrow, and today, the big players were on the China publicity warpath by doing their mandatory "Look at us! We're taking part in Chinese culture!" bit. The part of Shanghaiist that's actually interested in this sport says this happens every time pro-golfers come into town: three years ago there was a ping pong match. more ›

• When will scientists in China win the Nobel Prize? [UPI Asia] "Chen Ning Yang, the Chinese-American Nobel laureate in physics in 1957, remarked during a symposium at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2000 that Nobel prize-winning achievement will emerge from the Chinese mainland in 20 years time. I would like to pour cold water on Chen’s crystal ball gazing. Not only has China not accomplished anything close to a Nobel Prize, but also the time horizon for bagging it could be longer, if the country’s education and science and technology system continues to operate at its current standard."
• A North Korea that's hard to get to know [Danwei] "Premier Wen Jiabao was recently in North Korea to broker deals about North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Chinese media was there during the Premier's trip, and included in the entourage was Rose Luqiu Luwei (闾丘露薇), who is an executive news editor for Hong Kong's Phoenix Satellite Television. Rose Luqiu Luwei's series of blog posts came up on the liberal blog aggregator that she set up, my1510.cn, and her own Phoenix TV blog."
• It's tricky for wikis and online encyclopedias in China [CNN] "When Jimmy Wales visited the headquarters of Hudong.com last month, he had one question for its founder: is it possible for Wikipedia to be the number one online encyclopedia in China? "Absolutely not," was the response of Pan Haidong, head of Hudong.com, the world's largest Chinese encyclopedia website."

Already properly leaked, rumored and reported, the International Federation of PGA Tours made it official Tuesday morning at a press conference at the Shangri-La Hotel in Pudong: Shanghai's HSBC Champions golf tournament has been elevated to World Golf Championship status. To many in the golf world, this immediately makes the HSBC event, which has called Shanghai home since its 2005 debut, the most prestigious golf tournament outside of the United States and the United Kingdom. That China — which opened its first golf course in 1984 and currently has no professional golfers in the global top 100 — has been chosen as the locale for such an event speaks volumes about China's role in the current global marketplace. It's also a strong indicator that golf's governing bodies realize globalization, with Asia being the primary focus, is the key to the sport's survival in an increasingly harsh economic environment. more ›

With RMB 1.2 million in prize money, this is the richest tournament in the tour's short history. The Nanjing leg also boasts the largest, and arguably strongest, field ever, with 144 players. And 31 of those golfers hail from outside Mainland China, another tour record.¹ In all, 14 nationalities are represented. Just two years ago it was a big deal when the once Mainland-only tour invited a handful of players from Taiwan and Hong Kong to compete in two events, now white writers attending tournaments get mistaken for competitors — things sure are changing fast. more ›

Wow, CCTV has some real influence. After it declared Tiger Woods Chinese earlier this week, the golfer announced that he plans to play in China's HSBC Champions tournament in Sheshan this November, according to ESPN. He has not played overseas since 2007. We're glad to hear Tiger's making a trip to China, but hope that golf fans here won't be disappointed that he can't speak Chinese and is not into using cremes to lighten his skin. more ›

Dear CCTV, more ›

When the field tees off at the Dell Championship in Xiamen Thursday, there will be a father-son pair among the field for the first time. Wu Weihuang, 40, will compete against his 17-year-old son Wu Jianlong, a student at Xiamen Sports School who will be playing in his first professional event. more ›

Some people must have been wondering if the HSBC Champions golf tournament at Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai was ever going to finish. Already one day longer than expected due to rain, play was extended even further this afternoon when Spain's Sergio Garcia and England's Oliver Wilson ended up tied at 14-under after 72 regulation holes. Garcia won on the second playoff hole. We're not sure how many people actually made it out to the course today, but it seems like those who did saw some good golf. Last year, Phil Mickelson, of the United States, won the tournament, also in a playoff. Read the entire Day 5 rundown here. The final leaderboard is here. more ›

Rain caused another three-hour delay today, and there is a lot of standing water on the course at Sheshan Golf Club, but second round action finally got started more than 24 hours late at 9:45 this morning. Most of the leaders teed off in the last hour. You can follow the leaderboard here and the official blog here. For those planning on heading out to the event, you may find this page helpful. Ticket info can be found here or you can call (+86) 21 962388. more ›

The Shanghai tournament's website reports from a soggy Sheshan Golf Club: "[P]lay has been officially abandoned for the day without a ball being hit. ... The intention now is to play as much of two rounds on Saturday as possible, beginning at 6.45am." The tournament director for the European Tour stop said the leaders — including Henrik Stenson, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Anthony Kim — will tee off at 8:30am. Shanghaiist's weather center reports a 70% chance of rain on Saturday. A more detailed look can be found here. Our advice: Bring an umbrella and a change of socks. If you have Friday tickets or passes, you can use them Saturday, and there is already talk of finishing the tournament on Monday (every golf journalist's dream). more ›

For those of you who can't afford tickets for the pricey European Tour golf tournament going on this weekend at Shanghai's Sheshan Golf Club, the event's official website is live-blogging with hourly updates. You can follow the leaderboard here. Swede Henrik Stenson (65) currently owns a one-stroke lead over four big names: defending champ Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim and Adam Scott. Three Chinese golfers, Liang Wenchong, Zhang Lianwei and Shang Lei, are tied for 29th at 1-under. Tee times for tomorrow will eventually be found here. more ›

The new Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 game for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, and PSP, which was released last week, has put Shanghai golf on the (digital) map. Finally, you can afford to play Sheshan Golf Club (seriously, we think an Xbox might be cheaper than a round there). more ›

Liang Wenchong, a native of Guangdong province, moved one step closer to becoming a contender in international golf with his performance at the Open Championship (known in the United States as the British Open) this weekend. more ›

US-based Golf Digest magazine has released its annual list of what it considers to be the China's top ten golf courses. According to the magazine's editors, if you're looking for China's best courses, forget Shanghai, Beijing or Shenzhen – go west to the laid-back city of Kunming. more ›

Luis Tapia of Daedalum Films gets on the Omega China Tour and follows professional golfer Zhou Xunshu, who features prominently in the upcoming book on the development of golf in China by Shanghaiist's founding editor, Dan Washburn. Late last year, we introduced Zhou to you and told you the story of how this guy literally stumbled his way into professional golf, but hearing him tell his own story in this video really left us impressed with all that he has accomplished despite his humble background. more ›

If it's possible for three generations of Chinese golf to already exist (modern China didn't get its first course until 1984), they will all be proudly on display in the third round of the US$2.3 million BMW Asian Open, a European Tour event, today at Shanghai's Tomson Golf Club in Pudong. Forty-two-year-old Zhang Lianwei, the trailblazer among Chinese pros, shares the lead at 5-under with Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands, one stroke clear of Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke. Liang Wenchong, 29, China's current No. 1 and the 2007 Asian Tour money leader, is tied for sixth, three strokes off the lead, along with teenager Hu Mu, a Florida-based, David Leadbetter-coached amateur who will enroll at the University of Florida this fall. And just one stroke back of that group, at 1-under, you'll find big Li Chao, 28, the top player on China's domestic circuit, the Omega China Tour. more ›

Wonder if Scottish golfer Colin Montgomerie thought his whining about not getting an invite to play in next weekend's Masters Tournament (while lower ranked Asian golfers, including China's top player Liang Wenchong, did get special invites) would open up this can of worms. more ›

are quite open about why." more ›

Not content with the prospect of being the next world power in cheerleading, China has now set its sights on cricket. The quintessentially British sport that is played mostly in Commonwealth nations has had a surprisingly long history here though, with the first recorded match played in Shanghai in 1858, between a team of officers from the HMS Highflyer and a Shanghai XI. Now the Asian Cricket Council wants China to start playing the game in a big way, sending cricket experts and coaches from Australia, Britain, India and Sri Lanka to help develop the sport. Now, Bhutan isn't exactly the greatest sporting nation, but in this clip we find out that they do beat China in at least one sport: cricket. Golf, as it turns out, is doing much better here. Thanks to corporate sponsors, prize money for certain tournaments has been bumped up 100 times to about US$5 million, and set to rise further (although as far as we understand, most of that money is being won by foreign golfers so it remains debatable what good is being done for Chinese golf). Liang Wenchong (梁文冲), China's top golfer, is only 30 but has made waves last year by making it to the top of the Asian Tour's Order of Merit. He is now Asia's top player, 83rd worldwide and has a permanent place in the European Tour. For golf aficionados out there, here's a shameless plug: Watch out for Par for China, a book that is currently being written by Shanghaiist's managing editor. more ›