Paul Luyeye and Martha Makuena, the Congolese proprietors of China's first authentic African hair salon located in Beijing speak to China Daily. more ›

Think the RMB25 cut-wash-blow at your local salon is a bargain? Think again. Chinese news reports are now saying that a lot of the shampoo used in hair salons around China are just cheap blends of thickener, fragrance, shampoo powder and water costing between 0.4-1.2 yuan per kilo. In some of the more extreme cases, experts have found the shampoo to contain mercury, sulfur or benzene. This could either damage your hair, cause you to go bald, or even give you cancer. more ›

After the recent hair care scares related to Bawang Shampoo, more and more people are turning to homemade shampoo recipe - even after product quality officials debunked the original reports of excess carcinogens. more ›

That's right: the man everyone's been waiting for with baited breath has finally landed in Shanghai. After starting his first Asia tour with a somewhat difficult and controversial trip to Japan, Obama will settle into what should be a more pleasant, warm reception here in the Middle Kingdom. more ›

And he got the characters right. 冠軍 means "champion" (he's using traditional characters). The other side says "Chatty." According to Artest's Twitter page, Chatty is the name of a friend who passed away. On Twitter, Artest also says he flew in Boogie the barber from Orlando for the cut and paid him a hotel room plus $20. Artest and the Lakers begin their quest to prove the left side of his head correct at 10:30 am Shanghai time against, fittingly, the Clippers. Source: Ball Don't Lie more ›

Oh Yu Zhenhuan (于震环), say it ain't so! China's hairiest man is allegedly going to go through plastic surgery to remove most of his hair after a stinging audition for a role as the Monkey King didn't work out in his favor, says Plastic Surgery Channel. more ›

A Beijing hairdresser is preparing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Communist China's founding with a replica of the buildings and monuments around Tiananmen Square -- all made entirely of human hair. more ›

NBA Commissioner David Stern is interviewed in a video from NBC Sports entitled "China's passion for basketball." Stern appears to have adopted his own passion for another Chinese invention: the comb-over. more ›

The last time we heard about Yu Zhenhuan (于震环), he was aiming to be part of the torch relay for the Beijing Olympics but it looks like he didn't get in. While a pair of Mexican brothers may have taken over him as the world's hairiest, Yu continues to reign as China's hairiest man. Today, he's touring around China with his rock band and hopes to record an album soon. Watch him sing and dance here and do a talk show on ABC on his trip to the US last year.
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We agree with PandaPassport that this has gotta be the worst case of child abuse. Ever. more ›

And ... ummm ... what ... exactly .... is ... that? more ›

Yesterday's copy of the Wall Street Journal has a very interesting observation: that few of China's top political and business leaders these days have white hair:

It is possible that could have something to do with genes, but something else is involved, too. For aging men of influence here, the dye job appears to have become as commonplace as the Mao suit once was. more ›

It's criminal to live so close to the fantastic JZ Club and actually get to the place as infrequently as we do, but we're determined to mend our recidivistic ways after spending a thoroughly spot-on Sunday afternoon there this weekend. There are few other places you can just blunder into from the street and, without spending a groat (though yesterday the Guinness proved too much of a draw) to be blown away by some great... more ›

We didn't know whether to laugh or to cry when we saw this one — a shirtless white guy with a picture of Mao Zedong in the background singing patriotic songs such as “My China Heart"《我的中国心》, "Without the Communist Party, there is no New China"《没有共产党就没有新中国》and "Oriental Red"《东方红》which can be best described as a love song to Chairman Mao. He looks like he's got a chest that would make the ladies swoon and the guys jealous, but apart from that — boy, does he make our hair stair on end! more ›

Ladies (and guys with long hair), resist from buying those cheap hair bands you find at the mom and pop stores in your 'hood because the news is out that some of them are made from USED condoms. China Daily cites an unnamed dermatologist with the Guangzhou Hospital of Armed Police who says viruses and bacteria abound on these hair bands recycled from condoms and users could be infected with AIDS, genital warts and other... more ›

Back in the office and just can't concentrate on work? Here's a bunch of useless links we gathered that you can entertain yourself with (while pretending to look oh-so-busy)! more ›

Well, this weekend there might not be a 1234 Beach Rock Festival, but that is no reason to stay home, curled up with a blankie, crying about what might have been. Live Bar out in Yangpu has shows going every night, showcasing emerging underground acts from Shanghai and Beijing. Friday night, Yuyintang will be hosting big hair, metal band Arch Enemy from Sweden. Apparently this is a pretty well known European metal band, and after listening to a few of their songs, they might make you want to kick some dude (any dude) in the balls. This, in case you didn’t know, is a big thumb’s up for a metal band. For those who don't really like kicking (or possibly being kicked) then check out the Lulo Reinhardt Latin Swing Quartet at the Melting Pot on Friday or on Sunday at Labella's Cafe. We have heard rumors Lulo Reinhardt is an amazing Jazz guitarist and we are looking forward to seeing him play. Antidote, one of Shanghai's favorite monthly parties is holding an exhibit of party posters and videos from the past 2 years at the Source gallery and will hold a party at the gallery, tonight. more ›

It is official...the golden week has finally hit Shanghai, and it is hitting us hard, with a multitude of music festivals. So for those of you who are taking the vacation serious and drinking so much you can't think straight, Shanghaiist is here to do the thinking for you. Feel free to print and paste the sample itinerary listed below to that one pair of underwear you plan on wearing for the entire week. more ›

September is quickly sliding into history, which means for all us music fans that the orgy of music festivals Shanghai will experience in the first weeks of October is almost upon us. And of course Shanghaiist is here to bring you the latest in festival news..... more ›

Hardcore Public Enemy fans in China, don't attempt to kill yourself or your flat mate just yet. According to Beijing promoters, Public Enemy is not canceling their BJ Pop Festival appearance scheduled for the 8th of September. So put in your gold teeth, hang some bling around your neck and get your ass on a plane. more ›

Closing Dish: Cafe Transat fought the good fight with its relaxing terrace and inviting happy hours. Unfortunately, it appears that not even a Shanghaiist endorsement was enough for it to sustain the business that this high-rent district demands. We were taking a break at Bellagio on Taicang Lu over the weekend when we noticed that Cafe Transat across the street had closed shop (picture of the storefront on the left). According to the Bellagio staff, the restaurant stopped operating around two weeks ago. more ›

Punk might not be dead, but it seems that, due to permit issues, the Exploited tour is. What Shanghaiist can't figure out is why the Exploited, in all their anti-government glory, would even apply for permits (many of the bands who come for China tours do it on tourist visas). Any one who has already purchased tickets for the show will be able to take them back to 4Live for a full refund. more ›

Photos from Ken Yip. more ›

Chinese search engine Baidu just can't seem to stay out of the news. Pacific Epoch thinks that Baidu is finally living up to the formerly tongue-in-cheek moniker of "Google of China," while fool.com likens the growth of the company to a "runaway freight train." Certainly, there are plenty of reasons behind its phenomenal growth: for one, it copies most of the neat functions and applications that Google has—including a rumored instant messaging application. Called "Baidu Xiaosheng (百度小声)", no one actually knows if this thing exists or is just another fake cardboard steamed bun. The picture that you see came from a website where you could supposedly download the beta version, but the install file link no longer works. The Baidu public relations say that this so-called "leak" is a hoax, though there are those that believe that Baidu will eventually want to take on Tencent and other internet giants, meaning that an IM client and an email service are just a matter of time. What does seem to be closer to an undisputed fact is that Baidu is the fastest search engine in China according to a report from webpronews.com that measured and compared response times of various search engine websites. more ›

This has the potential to be really disgusting, but the "oh, no, they didn't!" factor is enough to pique our interest: Rooms filled with popcorn, hot bodies shimmering with color-enhanced movie-popcorn butter, crumbs in our shoes and corn husks in our hair -- feederists rejoice, but Shanghaiist is still on the fence. more ›

This week's Adoptable Pet from Second Chance Animal Aid, Shanghaiist's adopted animal charity. From the SCAA: more ›

It doesn't just end there. Yahoo is also inaccessible now it seems, although both Yahoo.com.cn and Yahoo.cn are still working as usual. Has it been GFW-ed? Is the inaccessibility of the two websites related? more ›

Our round-up of some of last week's highlights from China's English-language blogosphere: more ›

Our round-up of some of last week's highlights from China's English-language blogosphere: more ›