By Wm Patrick Cranley This week marks the 36th anniversary of the signing of the 1972 Shanghai Communiqué, the world-startling diplomatic letter that marked the beginning of the rapprochement between the People’s Republic of China and the United States. The communiqué was signed at the end of a week-long visit to China by President Richard M. Nixon, his wife, and a large entourage, including Secretary of State William Rogers and Dr. Henry S. Kissinger (who......

Here is a piece of good news (for all you live music lovers out there) to help quench your thirst while you wait out the events drought that inevitably hits during every Chinese New Year. End of March there is a promising new live music venue (no cover bands!) opening up. Unfortunately, we have been sworn to secrecy on location (hint: former sports bar somewhere on Huaihai Road) but can tell you it will hold......

If "burger" can be defined in the simplest terms as meat crammed in a bun, then we think Macau-Portugese restaurant chain Lisboa can throw their hat in the ring for next year's Shanghaiist Burger Grill-off. Their pork bun (pictured) is one of the many affordable delights that keep us heading back to Lisboa when in need of some Asian-style comfort food. And comfort food it is: uncomplicated, substantial, and (in the case of this Shanghaiist)......

Part of Huaihai Lu to be shut for 20 months due to subway expansion A section of Huaihai Road W. between Xinhua Road and Huashan Road will be shut down for 20 months starting on Saturday due to construction on a new subway line, metro officials said yesterday. Use of transport card to be expanded Local residents will be able to use their transport cards to pay taxi, bus, and subway fares in Nanjing and......

Shanghai Daily tells us that all businesses in Xintiandi and along Huaihai Road, "especially foreign-brand stores", must add Chinese names to their signs and must do so before this Sunday. According to Yang Jishi, of the Economic Commission in Luwan District:This is part of a long-term project to crack down on foreign-language-only signs, which not only are a barrier to understanding for most Chinese, but also violate the law on language Hmm. What law, we......

Sh Shanghai: 200-yuan car horn fines "Shanghai is about to become a quieter city - from June 1, drivers of cars, mopeds and bikes will be banned from blaring horns within the Outer Ring Road." We don't see this being enforced. Two city spots crowned in China's list of top scenic sites "Shanghai's Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Wild Animal Park were crowned as two of China's top-grade scenic spot, according to a list......

Still recovering from your May Holiday partying? Well, there's no respite. Here are a few things that Shanghaiist is keeping an eye on over the coming week. Thursday May 10th Photography Exhibition Reception: Shanghai - The New Noir. Photography exhibitions appear to be a 2007 trend. Tonight, see the opening reception of photographer Heungman's collection. The exhibition contrasts the great metropolies of New York and Shanghai, and explores their lurking "sinister energies". Shanghai: The New......

There appears to be a push (or maybe a slight nudge) to save an old house on Taojiang Lu that for four years in the 1940s was occupied by Soong Ching Ling, also known as Madame Sun or Sun Yat Sen's wife. The two story villa, which is very close to O'Malley's, is currently occupied by 40 workers from the Shanghai Qianggu Construction Engineering Company. From the story: After 1949 when the People's Republic of......

CNN has just published a fairly glowing précis of Shanghai aimed at first-time visitors. The article, with the treacly title “Shanghai always a lovely surprise”, features hints on the major sites, getting around and day trips -- though, funnily enough, not a single word about food. But there was one short section of the article that prompted the pricking up of our ears. Also be on guard against the street vendors who sell phony designer......

We know you all have been eagerly awaiting the 2006 Shanghai Tourism Festival (site appears to be only in Chinese -- helpful for tourists). Well, it kicks off with a parade tomorrow ... and it seems like traffic downtown will be all sorts of messed up. Here's the rundown: Buses will be banned on Longmen Road between Jinling Road M. and Huaihai Road M. from 10am to 9:30pm. They will also be banned from 5:30pm......

Shanghaiist has seen "countdown"-style traffic lights elsewhere in China, most-recently on our drive to Moganshan last weekend (it was our first time behind the wheel in China, and for the most part, despite some annoyances -- people using the shoulder as a lane, etc. -- it was fine). Anyway, the tick-tick-tick stopwatch-style lights Shanghai pedestrians have become accustomed to are now being tried out on the city's drivers, who, incidentally, are supposed to yield to......

We just got this in our email this morning. Has Tang Hui gone electric? Dear all: Yes, we know we’ve kept you waiting! And here’s the good news: we’ve found a nice place and are under decoration now. The new “Tanghui” will soon be open at the end of this April. We expect to see you very often then. Our new address: 85# Huating Road (near Huaihai Road, just opposite Changshu Road Metro Station) Opening......

Explosive news from the Shanghai Daily: Residents are only allowed to light fireworks from 8pm to 6am on January 28 through February 2 during the Spring Festival, the Shanghai Fire Control Bureau announced yesterday. The bureau also banned setting off fireworks on Nanjing Road, Huaihai Road and at Yuyuan Garden. Only? Only from 8 pm to 6 am? Because what else would people possibly be trying to do during those hours. Anyway, we're not going......

From the China Daily (via the People's Daily) we learn that the number of free parks in Shanghai now stands at 122 after 23 more were opened on April 1. But not everyone is celebrating: [V]isitors are often hassled by beggars and fortune-tellers, and put off by the smell of urine left behind by someone using the grass as a toilet. "I'm proud of our numerous free parks, but it would be better if the......