Yao Ming might be accruing guanxi up the wazoo with his new standing committee gig, but it's Shaquille O'Neal who truly speaks to the people! Shaq showed up for Hunan TV's Spring Gala Festival to run around on stage with kiddie monks, and went through his usual patented brand of kung foolery while trying not to step on the children. more ›

138 instructors, disciples and students of the United Studios of Self Defense, said to be the largest martial arts school in North America, have arrived at the Shaolin Temple for the school's 15th annual pilgrimage. The abbott of the Shaolin Temple, Ven. Shi Yongxin (yes, the monk rumoured not so long ago to have visited prostitutes) presided over a blessing ritual and handed certificates of recognition to each disciple. more ›

Hong Kong Airlines is now making all of its flight attendants learn a form of kungfu called wing chun which is supposedly easy to use in small, confined spaces. So if you happen to be one of those problematic passengers, you may want to choose another airline next time.
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Check out this supposedly record-breaking clip that's trending on Youku right now, entitled "Kung Fu Iron Fist." It's been posted multiple times, each posting drawing hundreds of thousands of hits and hundreds of comments (mostly speculation as to the type and authenticity of the bricks.) The guy counting says 37, but I only counted 36... more ›

Here's Russell Crowe at the Shanghai Pudong International airport two days ago in what looks to be a letterman's jacket with a yin yang on it and a hat with a rabbit? Asia represent! more ›

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here). more ›

Coinciding with the anniversary of Bruce Lee's birth on Nov 27, Hong Kong's Media Asia (famous for the "Infernal Afffairs" trilogy) will produce "Bruce Lee, My Brother," a story of Bruce Lee's younger years as a Kung Fu trainee and Hong Kong movie actor. Bruce Lee is to be played by singer-turned-actor Aarif Lee (李治廷), no relation to Bruce. We don't know much about Aarif besides that he's Canto-pop's new it-boy, apparently believes in astrology and enjoys posing half naked on his albums. But does he have the mooooves? more ›

Ip Man, the kung fu master who among others taught Bruce Lee some of his tricks and kicks seems to be the honey of the 2010 silver screens. Two years after the film Ip Man (叶问), a sequel is now released, once again under the direction of Wilson Yip (Yip Wai Shun) and with Donnie Yen in the leading role. Apart from this, two other pictures about the great fighter is under production right this moment. more ›

We have yet to make it to the famed Shaolin temple, the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and kung fu epicenter of the world. It's a fabled place of fantasy: however, recent commercialization seems to have made it more of a Disneyland version of "where dreams come true" than the pious, bad ass temple of legend. Apparently, having Shaq and a bikini fashion show (not to mention raking in millions off 100RMB entrance fees) tend to take away from your credibility as a temple-cum-martial arts center. Maybe Rain's new remake of Enter The Dragon will help restore the renegade Shaolin monk's image, but it'll probably be more like a glorified Shaolin Pepsi commercial. more ›

We didn't know martial arts practitioners around the world still had grudge matches, but it seems like five of China's best Wing Chun practitioners (the type of kung fu used by Bruce Lee's master, Ip Man, who was recently played by Donnie Yen in a popular if grossly historically inaccurate movie) are battling Thailand's "Five Tigers," who do Muay Thai. How delightfully Street Fighter! more ›

The first screens of the new "Karate Kid" movie are out and well... here they are. As previous reports stated, it stars Will Smith's kid (Jaden Smith) as a troubled 11-year-old who's come to China with his mom and learns martial arts from an eccentric Asian master. more ›

Looks like Shaq's not the only celebrity to get some Shaolin fever. Over the weekend, the venerable Kung Fu institution saw an influx of pretty ladies as the Miss Tourism Queen International competition high kicked their way into Henan. more ›

We don't have words for this kung fu-inspired meat bun frivolity, except that it's awesome. In this edition, Super Baozi sings Jay Chou's Dragon Fist while handling nunchakus. If you liked it, we recommend you check out Sun Haipeng's vimeo page for another great video. more ›

Here's a change: the biggest NBA news in China right now isn't about Yao Ming or Kobe, but rather their 7-foot-1 compatriot, Shaq. The Cleveland Cavs center arrived in China on Monday on a promotional tour, but made an unplanned stop at the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, claiming, "I always wanted to know if Shaolin kung fu was real or not. Now, at last I know - the Chinese kung fu I saw on television, it was all real." more ›

Some of us here have tried our hand at learning Kung Fu before, and one of the reasons we've quit is because of 7-year-olds like Guo Siping. Guo, who appeared on the 2008 championship round of “Sunshine Kids” and now has a film contract, reminds of exactly the type of primary school student that used to titter in the background as we struggled to touch our toes. more ›

This self-orientalizing piece of crap has a few good moments. Since they are few and far between, we'll just tell you what they are. more ›

Think Rocky V, but during the Olympics. Jackie Chan, 54, will engage in some kind of fighting? boxing? kung fu? exhibition against Tszyu, 38, a welterweight boxer from Russia and former Olympian. However, as this is China's Olympics, we suspect that, like in the movies, Chan will triumph over the white man in the final, climactic scene. If he's in top form, he might be able to rescue some Ming vases and other priceless artifacts of Chinese culture at the same time! The exhibition has been agreed upon by both parties and would be set for August 22 or 23, depending on whether or not it gets final IOC approval. more ›

Taikang Lu is best known for its quiet galleries, trendy cafes and relaxed atmosphere but hidden away inside Building Three are a group who take beating you into submission very seriously. Unlikely as it sounds, studio 311 is home to top Brazilian Jujitsu and MMA trainer Tony Eduardo Lima. more ›

...and we don't mean playing the role of a teacher in a film, we mean an actual teacher. No, really. Most of us know Jay Chou (周杰伦) – the mumbling Taiwanese R’n’B superstar – as that guy who stares blankly at us from Meters Bonwe adverts on the metro, but if you thought he was just another vacant celebrity then a reappraisal may be due, as Jay will soon take up the post of lecturer in our fair city. more ›

Every now and again, time and space just seem to line up in an incredible display of fate/coincidence (delete as appropriate). For months now, we have been trying to get to grips with the strange brand of Uncle Tom-ism on display in the Shanghai ex-pativerse. It has so many unique facets that it appears to defy summary or clear explanation. Then along came Matthew Polly who wrote American Shaolin, a book that sets it all out with the purpose and prose of a Plato’s Republic. Albeit unintentionally. more ›

Yes, in the old days it was a national centre. The Jing Wu school was fully running before 1920 in Zhabei. Huo Yuan Jia was the most famous, although many people think he’s fictional these days. You can’t compare now to then but you can still find a lot of Bau Gua Zhang, Taiji and Xinyi, for example. more ›

Have you got an opinion? Starting this week, we will publish an opinion piece from readers on selected weekends, so if you feel like you've got something to get off your chest, email it to us at info AT shanghaiist DOT com and if we like it, we will publish it under this column. This week, a reader takes on That's Shanghai's Erik Peterson's review of Beijing punk band Snapline's new CD. All views expressed by writers under this column are their own and do not indicate any official position taken by Shanghaiist. more ›

Jackie Chan, China's most famous actor/singer/producer/cartoon character/matchmaker (whew!) finds himself one sino-franchise poorer this week, as government officials have blocked mainland distribution of his newest flick, Rush Hour 3. E! News reports: more ›

Shanghai's Science and Technology Museum is getting somewhat of a workout of late. Firstly, it hosted perhaps 2007's biggest bash, and then the news that Canadian entertainers Cirque du Soleil will perform their long-running Quidam show at the museum forecourt from June 28th. more ›

Last Saturday, Shanghaiist was invited to attend the unveiling of Shanghai's newest gallery space, m97. Once we negotiated the tricky shared building entrance, we made our way to the second floor and was immediately impressed by the physical space and airy nature of the gallery. The grand opening featured an exhibition of by emerging Beijing photographer and artist Jiang Zhi titled "Things Would Turn Simpler Once They Happened". Immediately we had diametrically opposing thoughts. "How were these photos taken?", and "I don't quite get it...". We wished that our interpretation of the photographic exhibition was as simple as the exhibition's title, but we assume this is the art part of the exhibition. Here's a little about Jiang Zhe (pictured below) and his exhibit from information posted by m97. more ›

The previous week's hits and misses more ›

Roller Revival tickets! more ›

Blogwatch is a semi-regular look at what is going on in the English-language Chinese blogosphere. more ›

Jackie Chan reportedly told The Times of India that "Asians should unite against American cinema." Chan, star of such American movies as Around the World in 80 Days, The Medallion, Shanghai Knights, The Tuxedo, Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2 and Shanghai Noon, went on to say, "Why do we need to ape their culture. I see an Indian saying 'Yo Man!' but that's not what Asian are about." He added, "Cinema reflects culture and there is no harm in adapting technology, but not at the cost of losing your originality." more ›

Welcome to China's (latest) new Cultural Revolution. The legendary Shaolin Temple will host a new Chinese reality show featuring the world's top Kung Fu masters. more ›