If there's one thing we don't trust in Shanghai, it’s ...err... actually there are a lot of things in Shanghai that we don’t trust. That said, at least one thing on our “list of ways we will probably die in Shanghai" is being crossed off: dying in a malfunctioning elevator accident. more ›

The Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau says that since 2005, 20% of foreign imported clothes have failed quality inspections. From Shanghai Daily: "Since January this year, the bureau has examined all imported clothing - 11,575 batches of clothes worth US$228 million. A batch can contain anything from several items through to thousands. Among these, the bureau found 178 batches of substandard clothes, which were returned or destroyed. Yesterday, the bureau burned around 10,000 pieces of inferior clothing, including 99.94 kilograms of children's clothes. The bureau declined to name the brands but disclosed that they are mainly high-grade clothes from South Korea, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Morocco, India, and Bangladesh. Major problems discovered with the substandard clothes included the use of dangerous and other illegal dyes, excessive formaldehyde, misleading fiber content and high pH index that could cause skin allergies." This kind of report is nothing new, and always smacks of that desperate "Hey guys! Hey, look, we're not the only ones!" feeling. In China, probably the last quality control issue we need to worry about is the Ph balance of our jeans. more ›

Take cover! Barricade yourself! Citizens of China must be protected from ...foreign… milk powder? China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has rejected more than 150 imported food and cosmetic products from the US, Japan, New Zealand, Denmark, and several other European Union nations. My, how the tables have turned and as always, they've turned fast. more ›