In a joint-venture with China’s TCL multimedia, IKEA will design and launch a line of sound systems and televisions as a complement to their furniture in at least five European cities this June. The furniture company, which is famous for their budget-friendly, DIY products, have given us yet another opportunity to own generic Bauhaus-inspired products and contribute to their hefty turnover, which was estimated at 2.97 billion euros during the 2010/2011 fiscal year. more ›

Forlorn empty nesters in the twilight of their days: shall they be content with long days parked in front of televisions, and long evenings that might include a stroll here or there, to sit on street corners and chatter? Or finding a Chinese chess game to watch, while grasping their hands behind their backs? For some elderly locals, the routine process of getting old isn't good enough, and you can find them twice a week at the Shanghai IKEA on Caoxi Road in Xuhui district, looking around for one last chance at love. more ›

• A video of the Turkistan Islamic Party claiming responsibility for the recent attacks in Xinjiang has just been uploaded. When are all these cells just going to get together and start their own Jihadtube?
• 360buy.com is (allegedly) crossing its fingers for a $5 billion USD IPO next week, in what would be the largest internet-related IPO ever. Meanwhile, its CEO is a little coy about the whole affair, weibbing that he'll be in the middle of a desert.
• The Globe and Mail (who recently made the CCP lose major face) meditates on 9/11 and what it's meant for China.

Last month, international media had a field day when an American blogger in Kunming discovered a fake Apple store that showed an unusual level of fidelity to the original. But as anyone who's been to an electronics market in China knows, this isn't exactly news. However, there's a new well-conceived copycat concept in Kunming that's caught our attention this week: none other than Swedish furniture-for-lazy-people giant IKEA has received the royal shanzhai treatment! more ›

Hopefully this new Ikea will allow more opportunities to see some sexy portrait shots on display furniture. According to CNN GO, Shanghai's second Ikea actually opens up today in Pudong. At 49,400 square meters, it's the largest in Asia and the second largest in the world, beat only by IKEA Skärholmen near Stockholm. more ›

A very recent story by the LA Times reminded us of one of our favorite threads in the Shanghai Expat forums: Chinese behaving badly at the Ikea in Shanghai. According to the article about the Swedish furniture maker's Beijing location, shopping for actual Ikea goodies can sometimes seem like getting a souvenir at the end of a trip to a theme park. A furniture theme park: more ›

Last Friday, the Xuhui District PSB was reported to have received a "threatening message" claiming there was a bomb in the Ikea store located on the corner of Caoxi Lu and Sanhui Lu. Acting on the news, a team of about 50 policemen was dispatched to the store to evacuate everyone. Patrons were only told there was a "mechanical problem" and within half an hour, the store was empty. Police then combed through the store with the help of the special service unit of the fire department and ascertained that there was no bomb in the store. The case remains under investigation. more ›

Having recently trumped the US as the world's number one carbon emitter, China has a long way to go to be considered an environmental role model. But today, on Earth Day, we have high hopes for clear skies ahead. Cough, cough. more ›