One day, the most trusted sources on China's own history will be Chinese academics, rather than international ones. Until then: "A book about China's disastrous Great Leap Forward policy has won the £20,000 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction. Mao's Great Famine, by Dutch historian Frank Dikotter, beat five other short-listed titles to the award. Chair of the judges Ben Macintyre praised the book as an 'epic record of human folly'. Mao's Great Famine reveals new details of the period from 1958-1962, providing fresh historical perspectives on Mao's campaign to increase industrial production during which tens of millions starved to death. The academic - currently chair of professor of humanities at the University of Hong Kong - was one of a small number of historians to be given access into the Chinese archives." [BBC News] more ›

Events this week: more ›

Well Christmas is only 8 days away and our recent flurry of snow has definitely helped to add some festive cheer. So, as this weekend is the weekend before Christmas, it’s only right to go out and celebrate one of the last weekends of 2010 with a bang! If you need more ideas to plan your weekend around, don’t forget to check out this week’s Midweek Music Preview and our calendar. Keep warm! more ›

Beyond confirming that a BBC executive in Beijing is working with a New York-based film financier on a Mandarin edition, official information on China’s version of The Office is virtually nil - yet that hasn’t stopped nay-sayers from declaring “It cannot be done!” more ›

A flowery, pretentious narrator, archive footage and interviews with journalist, and the film's screenwriter, Theodore White and author Pearl Buck, make this 1967 documentary, brought to us by the CIA and the National Security Council, a misinformed gem. more ›

As we already brought to your attention, this weekend will see a host of bar re-openings and a delicious mix of live musical treats from Britpop to electronica. more ›

Oh come on! Shanghai only just finally got a decent mid-large venue for rock acts and now Mao Livehouse might soon be a goner. Allegedly, says China Music Radar, the owners of the real estate that Mao Livehouse sits on have decided that they can make a ton more money by tearing down that area of Red Town and turning it into... well, nobody's sure, though CNNGo says "high-rise apartment complex." Update! The organizers say that reports of their demise are greatly exaggerated: "Soma and Bad News (the Japanese investors) are committed to continuing Mao regardless of the physical space. The landlord has assured them that if/when they lose the lease, it will be with ample advance notice for them to find a new venue." Phew, good to hear! more ›

Every Friday, Weekendist brings you our picks of the best of what's coming in the next three days. Be sure to check our Shanghaiist Calendar for more info. more ›

Ah, Mao Zedong, so much about your life has been written in the annals of history. But there's always room for a little more, right? While you may have known that Mao loved spicy food because of his Hunanese roots, did you know that red braised pork (hongshao rou) was his favorite dish? Or that his consumption of the spicy meat is considered to be the the "'brain food' which provided Mao with the wits to defeat his enemies?" more ›

What's lurking underneath Tiananmen Square? It ain't just rats. In 1969, at the height of the Cultural Revolution, Mao commissioned the construction of an underground city, built right under Beijing. Fearing an imminent nuclear attack from the U.S.S.R, Dixia Cheng (地下城 the underground city) was meant to be a safeguard, designed to house 40% of the city's 7.5 million in case of catastrophe. It was meant to have apartments, stores, and even a skating rink: all the comforts of above-ground home. more ›

We've worked at art auction houses before, and we've come to understand that the Chinese Art world has pretty much entirely passed over the years under Mao. Besides, when we think of the soviet realist artwork that was produced during that time, we struggle to see anything beyond the cheap souvenirs sold on Dongtai Lu. Interestingly, Bloomsbury Auctions is holding the first ever revolutionary Chinese art auction, with memorabilia (Maomorabilia?) that ranges from porcelain works to little red books. The 170 lots are expected to fetch around £130,000: we wonder what Mao would think of that? photo by Transpacifica more ›

In case you haven't seen them, ObaMao schwag- shirts, bags, journals, you name it- is all the rage in Beijing. China Daily reported a while back on the entrepreneur whose political mash-up memorabilia (is it still Maomorabilia?) is making splashes on both sides of the pacific. Is it funny, insensitive, confusing, or just good old fashioned marketing? Salon.com draws some pretty funny insights from the shirts: more ›

We were sad to see National Day celebrations come and go in the blink of an eye, after months of ridiculous and awesome preparation. But now we've found an outlet for our grief - The Leo Gallery is in the process of showing a new exhibit, "1949-2009: 60 Years of Chinese Contemporary Art." more ›

Everyone's excited about the upcoming 60th Anniversary: after all, it marks a significant milestone in the country's history. A lot has changed over the years, to say the least. To commemorate the many stages and changes of the PRC, in2marcom has a wonderful collection of China Pictorial covers. more ›

Two months on from Soma's controversial deal with the Dream Factory, it seems the local record label are preparing to pull the plug on their arrangements with Zhijiang and instead combine with one of Beijing's premier livehouses to create MAO Shanghai. more ›

The Germans and their notoriously risque advertisements may have bitten off more than they can chew with Doc Morris Pharmaceuticals' most recent condom ads. more ›

The second career of Chinese diver-turned-actor Tian Liang has so far been received tepidly, but his latest role has sparked a big debate in China. Tian, a gold medalist in platform diving at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and a bronze medalist in Athens, has been chosen to play Lei Feng, a soldier held up by Mao as an example of selflessness for all of China to follow. The choice of Tian for the role has angered a host of Chinese netizens, who basically argue that Tian is too self-centered, materialistic and publicity-loving to play Lei Feng. Tian was kicked off the Chinese diving team ahead of the 2008 Olympics for too enthusiastically pursuing commercial activities. 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 ›

Shanghai’s #1 Fag Hag has a busy couple of weeks planned ahead. Maybe Shanghai really does deserve the title of 2008’s most improved gay life city… more ›

Photo from indrasensi more ›

Shanghaiist spotted John Cusack at Bar Rouge on Friday. Ensconced in the bathroom-sized VIP room on the club's terrace and guarded by a bevy of beefy bodyguards, Cusack was playing with his phone and appeared both tired and bored (who recommended BR anyway?). Doing the rounds of Shanghai nightspots, he was spotted at MAO the night before until the wee hours. more ›

So the story goes: When Chairman Mao visited Shanghai he asked, 'I know there is a Shanghai (上海：on the sea), but is there a Xiahai (下海：under the sea)?' We assume that this was followed by uncomfortable forced laughter as none present (save possibly Zhou Enlai) had the heart (read: cojones) to tell him that the joke stunk. more ›

We got a last minute heads up on a electronica duo playing at Mao tonight that should get early evening blog readers off the computers and into the club. Hailing from Japan, and named Miami, they are bringing an interesting 8-bit electro/violin mix to Shanghai. Tickets are 50rmb and include a free drink....doors at 9pm. Mao - 46 Yueyang Lu, near Dongping Lu, 岳阳路46号，近东平路 Abe Deyo is Shanghaiist's Music Editor. Email tips, recommendations, news and... more ›