Doomsayers over at Slate examine the myriad of potential disasters that could derail the Beijing Olympics, calling it the "Summer Olympics Disaster Guide". Pollution (no surprise here) and visa restrictions rank the highest with a 90% possibility while the unrest in Tibet and algae plaguing Qingdao’s waters come in a close second. But for us, the threat of a locust invasion entering Beijing from Duolun County in Inner Mongolia is hair-raising. According to local officials,......

(Roots & Shoots video about Jane Goodall...and gnomes) Shanghaiist loves any reason to go out, and usually the prospect of catching a great band play is enough for us. So the fact that the ticket sales from this weekends Rock for Roots and Shoots will go to one of our favorite charities ( ">Roots and Shoots) makes this a must see event. For the measly sum of 50RMB (which equals 2 trees planted by R&S......

Li Yang (李阳) of the Shanghai-based Crazy English movement has been getting a lot of bad press lately, and Shanghai Daily's Wang Yanlin is the latest to chime in, with a hard-hitting piece slamming the self-styled English guru who believes that getting his students to yell out phrases after him combined with hand gestures is the best way to learn English. The media-savvy Li Yang is also a dynamic speaker on stage who clearly understands......

The latest issue of TIME Magazine has an interesting story of a US-based company that has just set up shop in where else but Inner Mongolia, to feed the millions of hungry Chinese who are now looking to eat something other than pork: Earlier this year, Western Cattle started to raise Holsteins on an American-style ranch and feedlot built in the wide open spaces of Inner Mongolia. Their goal: deliver truckloads of well-marbled beef to......

A central government delegation led by Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong has wrapped up a 5-day trip to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where a high-profile series of events that was widely publicised on state television and newspapers marking the 60th anniversary of its founding have taken place. Photo from Anton Berkovich. Share with us how you see Shanghai, or China! Simply post your photos on Flickr, tag them with "shanghaiist", and we'll select......

Even as the majority of the domestic and international press crowned Inner Mongolia native and Shanghai resident Duo Zirong for her courage to stop the truck and "save" 800 cats from the food trade on July 7, dissenting voices have been raised with regards to the character of this women. And some have gone so far as to call her — as we have heard recently from those involved in various animal rescue organizations —......

In just three hours ago from a Reuters report:Three underground priests - Liang Aijun, Wang Zhong and Gao Jinbao - who have been unwilling to join China's Catholic Patriotic Church have been detained by plain clothes police in Inner Mongolia, having fled there from neighboring Hebei province, a Catholic stronghold. From the article: [Joseph Kung of the Cardinal Kung Foundation] said he did not know if the men have been charged. Another underground priest, Cui......

"People say they love hip hop, but then they go to Guandii. To me, we’ve never had hip hop in China. We just took things from the States. It’s never been homegrown. And I really hope we can have a scene to call our own." Those are the words of one Gary Wang (aka DJ V-Nutz), local hip hop hustler and pusher. Wang, along with partner DJ Fortune, runs The Lab, a non-profit studio dedicated......

Attendance falling at your local place of worship? Loyal herd looking elsewhere for spiritual direction? Have a carnival! That'll win 'em back. If only the Pope had thought of it ... like the Shanghai Xuhui District Tourist Bureau did. It's annual Longhua Temple Festival runs until May 7th, meaning you have one weekend left to catch all the fun. The press release promised a food street filled with snacks from around China (Taiwan, Dongbei,......

We never thought we would ever see The Slits appear on a poster promoting a Shanghai event, but that day has arrived thanks to 88 New Wave who have been quietly putting on offbeat punk parties at Cs Bar. We like their eclectic and open take on punk, enjoying everything from Gang of Four to Salt 'n Pepa. Tomorrow night is themed around feminine punk grrrl power so it's time to get out your favourite......

After conducting a worldwide search for a bride, the world's tallest man, 56 year old Bao Xishun (2.36m tall), has finally found his other half in his native region of Inner Mongolia. He will marry 1.68m tall Xia Shujun who, as you can see in the picture on the right, comes up to just his elbow. Last year, Bao hit world headlines when he used his 1.06m long arms to help save some dolphins who......

Sunday morning, while most people will be sleeping/ clubbing/ trying to get sober, about 15,000 runners will gather for the Shanghai marathon and half marathon, starting at 7:30 am, on Nanjing Dong Lu and Sichuan Lu. For those who feel sympathetic (check the weather forecast) and want to cheer the participants up, they start from the Peace Hotel, run on Nanjing Dong Lu, Jiujiang Lu, Nanjing Xi Lu, Yan'an Xi Lu, Zhongshan Lu, etc. etc.......

China has finally announced its long-awaited (and in Shanghaiist’s opinion very long overdue) first human case of bird flu. While the CNN story does not confirm the flu strain, the unlinkable subscription-only South China Morning Post (which has some of the best, most up-to-date information on bird flu) reports that the boy in Hunan province tested positive for the H5N1 strain. While the boy has successfully recovered after falling ill at the end of October......

China admitted earlier this week that the bird flu situation here is "grave," especially for the 2,600 dead birds found in Inner Mongolia. Now, quite suddenly it seems, Shanghai is starting to act like it is taking the threat seriously (and Shanghaiist is having SARS flashbacks, like when immediately after the government stopped lying to the people and Shanghai University gave all the foreign teachers a thermometer ... and vitamins). It was announced yesterday that......