A resident in Liaoning spotted this insane spider eating a bee earlier this month. The unusual body looks like a human face, some may say eerily resembling a certain dark lord. Perchance we've discovered the eighth horcrux?! more ›

Some of you, like us, may be feeling summer blockbuster withdrawals to the point where in your fevered, gasping delirium you may not have the fortitude to search out the dates of your salvation on your own. So just for you, here are the upcoming summer theater release dates for China: more ›

We were pointed to this February 2nd edition of Glenn Beck on Fox News, which was so unintentionally funny, we decided to pass it along. The conservative pundit takes on why we need to be scared of China owning us: well, look at what they did to Harry Potter (back in 2007. Maybe Glenn gets his news on a three year cycle?). We've transcribed it below if looking at Beck's smug, bloated face may be a little too much for your stomach in the mornings - we know we got a little nauseous when watching. more ›

• Aw, so Harry Potter can't seem to cast a spell over Shanghai, earning barely half of what Transformers II: Revenge of the Fallen did. Is it because we didn't organize a movie night around this opening? [Shanghai Daily]
• Reacting to the Stern Hu detained in Shanghai saga, Rio Tinto is now pulling ALL of its foreign staff out of China. Allegedly. [CNN]
• To battle potential traffic jams, Shanghai will be employing an even-odd license plate system for the Expo like Beijing did for the Olympics. [Xinhua]

The latest movie in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opened today all over China (even in "riot-bruised" Xinjiang). According to China Daily, it's expected to be this year's leading box office revenue raiser. more ›

Déjà vu all over again? Here it is once more, Shanghaiist's nearly quarterly review the Douban book Top Ten List: Annie Baby - "Sunian Jinshi" (Beijing-based author, photographer and blogger who writes about love and self-exploration in the big city.) JK Rowling - "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (Official Chinese version, published by the People's Literature Publishing House.) Markus Zusak - "The Book Thief" (Australian author of Austrian-German heritage writes a WWII book... more ›

Back in April we did a post on the top ten books favored by the users of Douban.com, a book review and recommendation site. Since that time, tastes have changed and new books have been released so it's about time to take a new look at the site's top ten: more ›

CNN's John Vause says he's lost 10 pounds in recent weeks as reports of tainted food have come out in China. more ›

While we at Shanghaiist will undoubtedly be half-comatose after a night of liver bashing, if past experience be anything to go by, on 21st July Harry Potter enthusiasts will be lining up in the hordes to await the arrival of the seventh and last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. At 7 am on the dot (yawn, yawn) the long-awaited story will go on-sale at stores worldwide, including a handful in our locality (sorry, English only for the time being). more ›

As regular readers of Variety magazine, Shanghaiist was not surprised to read that Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which opens today in Chinese theatres, has been slightly cut-down by government censors. more ›

It's the beginning of December in China and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" keeps playing in the grocery store (damn you, Lotus ... or should we say Blotus?) so that can mean only one thing: Christmas is quickly approaching! So here you are preparing for the holiday season. You've already purchased your real tree. And, you've been preparing your killer rum apple cider recipe, that turned your last holiday party into a sleepover (good times!). But wait, it seems that you forgot something ... the gifts! Look no further than to a recent addition to Shanghai — Toys 'R' Us! more ›

Hu Run unveiled his annual list of the richest folks in China (that Hu Run can find info on) yesterday in Shanghai. Once again, Shanghaiist contributors missed the cut by a few billion kuai. Bummer! In a list of names that we know very little about and care little for, there is one interesting twist: A new king has been crowned ... or queen rather. Huang Guangyu after sitting atop the exclusive list for two years running have been knocked off his regal perch by Zhang Yin (pictured), who rang in at an astounding 27 billion kuai, dwarfing Huang’s paltry 20 billion sum. more ›

Photo from the AP. more ›

The residents of Shanghaiist's apartment building, especially those with hammers and drills, wake up at 5 a.m. on most Saturday mornings. But we're assuming this past weekend they all did so to stand in line to buy the English version of the new Harry Potter book -- everyone else in the friggin' world did. more ›