62 year old Guangzhou man is New York City's Sad Panda
China: Nine nations in one?
Midweek Music Preview: Free tickets to Au Revoir Simone, Gaslamp Killer
Electrolist: Berlin 8-bit retroblaster tonight
Interview: Rich Medina funks up the Shelter
White collar workers in Shanghai have expressed increasing dissatisfaction with the lunch options offered at moderately-priced restaurants around the city.
Continue reading "A city-wide epidemic of unsatisfying lunches"
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Construction of China's first massive underground bunker is underway in Shanghai. It can hold up to 200,000 people, which means the rest of us get incinerated. It is connected to subway stations and office buildings, in case you need your Starbucks fix before the apocalypse. Hong Kong is vying for the first Asian David Beckham Football Academy, though if we know anything about Shanghai, it's that it will vie for one as well. A Hubei land-rights activist said he was paralyzed from the neck down after being attacked by assailants. Not so, say the authorities: He broke his own neck. From Cattlenetwork.com we have a report about the labor riots at a Dongguan toy factory. Mattel and McDonald's, two of the major companies that the factory makes products for, did an investigation and found that the riot had nothing to do with poor working conditions. Earth to McDonald's: People will riot when you serve them stale fries at the mess hall day in and day out. Shanghai's temperature reached 37 degrees over the weekendbut the surface temperature on the elevated roads was upwards of 50 degrees, which is why from 12-2 pm, they had to douse the entire road with several tons of water in order to bring down the temperature. We like the title of this article on Chinese basketball's recent loss to Spain: 63∶97再负西班牙 中国男篮挽回点颜面. The title says that China managed to regain some face, despite losing by a whopping thirty-four points. This is because in the previous game, they lost to Spain by 47 points. The rate of non-performing or bad loans in Shanghai has decreased so that they now occupy about 2.75 percent of the total amount of loans, whereas the national level is 3.82 percent. There's a new fad among people who live in big houses out in the 'burbs of Shanghai: Digging wells in their backyards. The cost? A mere 300 yuan. This blogger debates with himself the reason why Park 97 in Shanghai has lasted as long as it has, not so much in comparison with other places in Shanghai, but with popular nightlife spots in Beijing. Lupu Bridge was where the party was last night, as a bunch of Chinese and foreigners got together to celebrate Qi Xi, Chinese Valentine's Day.
Results tagged “mcdonalds”
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McDonalds ain't messing around with its China strategy. Having already spread out its home delivery service last year, and then lowered prices for its popular items on the China menu two months ago, it's now announced plans for a major hiring spree.
Continue reading "McDonalds looking to expand more than waistlines in China"
McDonalds will be cutting prices for many popular items on its China menu. Popular options like the Filet-O-Fish, Double Cheeseburger, McNuggets, McPuff, and the Mala Pork Burger, are all getting a nice discount. Sure, it's still more expensive than local food, but all expats craving their fast food fix can now do it even cheaper. Yay, recession! Source: Straits Times
Continue reading "McDonalds cutting China prices"
The Economist has issued its latest Big Mac Index which uses the price of McDonald's hamburgers to compare international currencies. The fast food dish is a funny but apt international measuring stick, since its 31,000 stores in 119 countries make it a widespread global phenomenon. But all those burgers are telling essentially the same story, at least as it relates to China: the yuan is severely undervalued. That might be bad for foreign economic competition, but it’s good for us — the Chinese burger, at $1.41, is the second most affordable in the world, beat out by India for the cheapest spot by a single cent. And people wonder where the Chinese obesity epidemic comes from.
Continue reading "Burgernomics and the Chinese yuan"
Either that or they look like McDonald's managers circa 1975. Check out pics and commentary here.
Continue reading "The Chinese Olympic team looks like scrambled eggs and tomatoes"
With the world looking at China leading up to the Games, China continues to make a concerted effort to meet the social standards of Western developed countries. In addition to public service announcements teaching people to be civil to each other, the powers that be (in this case the Jing'an Municipality) have have even gone as far as launching a volunteer guerrilla campaign to bribe people with small gifts to clear their tables at McDonald's and KFC.
Continue reading "You too can help make fast food faster"
Though this article is a little old, from Reuters we learn that McDonald's is expanding its delivery service, which we first wrote about way back when. Apparently, demand for home delivery was strong but the restaurants could only meet orders within walking distance. But now, after spending the past year outsourcing its delivery operations and investing in 300 motorcycles across its 42 locations, McDonald's is in a better position to compete with rival Yum! restaurants KFC and Pizza Hut, which have been delivering to customers for years.
Continue reading "Fast Food News: McDonald's expands delivery, KFC nudges prices"
Four Chinese from Hubei have just opened a restaurant in the world's most dangerous city — Baghdad — reports the London Times. Edited highlights:
Continue reading "If you can keep your head when all about you …"
Since Thursday, mallrats visiting Citic Plaza on Nanjing road may have noticed the greeting card and painting exhibit on the ground floor, right across from McDonald's. We were struck by how atypically childlike the artwork was, and then we found out why: they were all produced by children. The event is called the "Share Your Love" Art Charity program and is organized and hosted by the SMIC Private School in Pudong. We'll let the website...
Continue reading "Last day of Art Charity Program"
We don't often watch telly here, so this might be a bit late and some of you might have already seen this. In this ad, McDonald's calls for children to march their way to the Beijing Olympics next year! Way too cute! Does anyone know which agency was behind the ad?
Continue reading "McDonald's gets into the Olympic fever"
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:
Continue reading "Made in China: Western cattle, western wine"
McDonald's has announced that with effect from next month, it will increase workers' wages in China to levels 12 to 56 percent above local minimum wages. The move comes after a 4-month long controversy which began in April, when Chinese newspapers reported it was paying part-time workers far below local minimums -- eg., 4 yuan (52 cents) per hour in Guangzhou, or just over half the city's minimum. McDonald's is not the only foreign company facing accusations of exploitation. Chinese unions have also criticised the wage policies of Pizza Hut and KFC and may be expected to step up pressure on them next, while Wal-Mart only began to allow its Chinese staff to join unions after the media slammed it for exploiting lower paid workers.
Continue reading "Photo of the Day: McDonald's to raise Chinese wages"
We have whined before about the dearth of decent restaurants in Shanghai's airports. Pudong travelers are still better off brown-bagging it, but it seems relief will soon be on the way for domestic travelers: Element Fresh is opening up shop at Hongqiao Airport. From their website:
Continue reading "Element Fresh coming to Hongqiao Airport in July"
"Shanghai is about to become a quieter city - from June 1, drivers of cars, mopeds and bikes will be banned from blaring horns within the Outer Ring Road." We don't see this being enforced.
"Shanghai's Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Wild Animal Park were crowned as two of China's top-grade scenic spot, according to a list today published on the official Website of the country's tourism watchdog." Watching ducklings die = top-grade.
"China's Ding Junhui will be able to play two ranking events on home soil next season after Tuesday's announcement that the inaugural Shanghai Masters will take place in August." The sport is snooker.
"The Starbucks decision actually came down earlier this year, but Brad wrote the post now to extol the fact that Xingbake (after losing to Starbucks) just changed its name and taken down all offending signage."
"And by 'intimate, personal' they mean 'smaller, pricier.' And by 'design-conscious travelers' they mean 'fucking retards.' The article is insipidly subtitled 'to the delight of savvy travelers, boutique hotels are finally sprouting up in Asia.'"
"The Pudong New Area People's Court ruled the store had defrauded consumers because it had turned the best-before date on the imported cookies into the production date on the Chinese-language label."
"Tim Fenton, head of McDonald's Asia-Pacific unit, said in a telephone interview that breakfast is a 'long-term strategy' in China, where the first meal of the day is more likely to include rice porridge with pork or mushrooms than eggs or hashbrowns."
"As the environment ministry said pollution across the country was getting worse, China signed five joint agreements yesterday with the European Union, as the United Nations marked International Biodiversity Day."
"Sculptor Mark Armstrong cuts an ice block in a basement on Huaihai Road Middle this morning. About 40 tons of ice has been transported from northern Sweden to build city's first ice bar, which is scheduled to open next month." At least our third ice bar.
"Shanghai Bites essays to uncover the best of the 'xiao chi' experience in Shanghai, as well as other comfort foods and occasional glimpses at “the other half” of food in Shanghai. "
"About 200,000 people die in China each year from improper use of drugs, Chinese doctors and pharmacists say, and they are calling for greater efforts to educate consumers."
"Buildings in Rizhao, a coastal city of nearly three million on the Shandong Peninsula in northern China, have a common yet unique appearance: most rooftops and walls are covered with small panels. They are solar heat collectors."
"For the second time in weeks, a Chinese drug or food product has been singled out as a threat overseas. ... In both cases, Chinese producers said they believed the use of the chemicals to be safe and knew of no rules regulating their use."
“'Ghost shares' are highly risky, but 'black horses' have beaten expectations. Buying cheap to sell high later is known as 'fighting for the hat', while selling at a loss to avoid further losses is 'meat slicing'."
"The government looks set to back down from its long-held intention of imposing real-name registration for the country's 20 million bloggers following protests from the industry."
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Photo by Slow Boat To China found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.
Continue reading "Today's Links: McMuffins, banned horns and bad medicine"
"She said the gunman 'was just a normal-looking kid, Asian, but he had on a Boy Scout-type outfit. He wore a tan button-up vest, and this black vest, maybe it was for ammo or something.'"
"The 24-year-old man arrived in San Francisco on United Airlines on Aug. 7 on a visa issued in Shanghai, the source said. Investigators have not linked him to any terrorist groups, the source said."
"The gunman who shot up a Virginia university and killed at least 33 people including himself was an Asian student who had quarrelled with his girlfriend just before the shooting spree, a Taiwanese student said Tuesday."
"The gunman found dead today by authorities from apparently self-inflicted wounds was described by an injured student to MSNBC as a college-aged Asian with a maroon hat and black leather jacket." Just because his visa was issued in Shanghai does not mean he is from Shanghai.
"No Chinese students have been found among the dozens of victims in Monday's shooting rampage on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), in the eastern U.S. state of Virginia." Except for, maybe, the killer.
"Shanghai's oldest luxury hotel, Peace Hotel, has been closed for a US$65m restoration and is expected to reopen in 2010."
"McDonald's China has promised to establish trade union branches in its 40 restaurants in the eastern Zhejiang province this year, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) said Monday."
"Some interesting variations by Chinese sports shoe companies on one of the world’s most famous logos." Also 'borrowed' from are Diadora and Mizuno.
"The bones are used for traditional Chinese medicine and the claws are worn by some men as pendants in the hope of increasing their virility."
"The Consumer Council in Hong Kong warns that excessive consumption of dried squid snacks could result in arsenic poisoning, leading to chronic pathological liver disorder." Good thing we can't stand the stuff.
"Google may face legal action after admitting to unauthorised use of data from Chinese internet portal Sohu in its own Chinese translation software."
"The U.S. government's accusation that China's market access restrictions on films, books and audiovisual products are leading to rampant piracy does not stand up," Wang told a news conference in Beijing.
"They said the fourth-year undergraduate was an introvert who was working as an intern in a local company. She was reportedly pessimistic about over the demanding job last week." Happened in Changning District around midnight.
"Zhu Jun, owner of Shenhua soccer club, is countersuing his neighbors in a dispute about a wall that allegedly blocks sunlight." On Xingguo Road.
"After This Our Exile, which tells the story of a gambling addict who forces his son to steal to make ends meet, won best film, director and screenplay."
Photo by sheniferous found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.
Continue reading "Today's Links: Murderers, McD's and squid snacks"
McDonald's, KFC, and Pizza Hut have been accused of paying part-time workers less than the minimum wage in various Chinese cities, Chinese labor officials found.
Continue reading "McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut accused of lowballing wages"
A quick follow-up to last Friday's post, "Whisk whacks free Internet — a trend?." Sunday's New York Times ran a story that might be of interest to those of you who have interest in the topic of WiFi and its freeness. The piece, entitled "What Starbucks Can Learn From the Movie Palace," discusses how some American eateries are handling the WiFi issue — FYI, it ain't free at Starbucks or McDonald's (yes, McDonald's has WiFi) — thus, it is not 100 percent relatable to our Shanghai situation ... but what is?
Continue reading "WiFi revisited"
"'What needs to be stressed is that China has always advocated the peaceful use of space, opposes the weaponisation of space and arms races in space.'"
"China will not loosen its one-child policy, despite a top family planning official’s acknowledgment Tuesday that it was partly to blame for a worsening problem of too many boy babies and not enough girls in the world’s most populous nation."
"'Hawks say (the missile) boosting (Chinese) spirits, strengthens our country's power, not to mention that others are also doing it; Doves say this violates the outer space treaty, increases international distrust, and might cause a new round of outer space weapon competition.'"
"The Chinese broadcasting monitor has called for only 'ethically inspiring' television shows during prime time to foster national harmony before a major meeting of the ruling Communist Party..."
"Chinese scientists have found fossil remains of a four-winged dinosaur called a Microraptor, with feathers on both its forelimbs and hind limbs. ... Six fossilized specimens were found in Liaoning Province in northeastern China. They are dated between 124 million to 128 million years."
"The Beijing drive-through, which opened Friday, is the first in McDonald's venture with China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. Jeffrey Schwartz, McDonald's China chief executive, said 25 to 30 more joint sites would open in the next 12 to 18 months."
"Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group have partnered with a joint venture operating in China that develops technology for distributing music downloads and other content to mobile phones, the record companies said Tuesday."
"... 'The Place Hotel & Spa' is expected greet customers at an average price of 350 US dollars per night, much more expensive than the current 220 dollar average among Shanghai's five-star hotels. Located in downtown Jing'an District, the hotel is tucked amidst a group of high-end hotels ..."
"When new ticketing machines go into use at Metro stations around the city, passengers will be able to buy tickets with bankcards, not just coins, notes or a public transport card."
"China's new bullet trains will make their debut runs between Shanghai and two nearby cities on Sunday, the Shanghai Railway Administration confirmed yesterday."
"Prosecutors discovered that Zhou was suspect of bribery and falsification of value-added tax invoices during their investigation into the city's pension fund scandal, the Procuratorate said."
"If you don’t have the fortune of knowing what roujiamo is, check out these photos. If you detest the vile weed as much as I do, you’ll also want to make sure you know how to tell them to hold the cilantro."
"So there I was in my basement in my underwear eating a bag of Cheetos and downing a six-pack of Mountain Dew wondering how I could date an Asian woman. I had seen enough cute Asian girls in kung fu movies, hadn’t I?"
"Let's keep a few things in perspective. Rui is no 'ordinary grass-roots Chinese person.' I first met him not in Beijing but in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum."
For more del.icio.us links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.
Photo by spiky247 found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.
Continue reading "Today's Links: Missiles, Microraptors and Roujiamo"
Last Friday, Shanghaiist attended a conference which was, for all intents and purposes, about how to push products to the Chinese populace and maximize profits in this gold rush. Weasely marketing types abounded, frantically and forcibly pelleting their business cards upon us whilst spewing their “bottom-line is king” rhetoric. Every other word out of their mouths was either ‘opportunity’, ‘growth’, ‘potential’ or ‘profit’. Scary stuff.
Continue reading "Thought-provoking contradictions at the Contrasts Gallery"
Torontoist has some awesome, cutting edge news: A movie is being made about a gay hockey player - filmmakers even got approval from the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs! Also awesome: Toronto's "Do the Sneeze Sleeve Campaign". And most awesome is this dreamy photograph of Toronto's skyline in fog.
Continue reading "This Week In -ist: Elsewhere in the Gothamist Network"
The success of the website Overheard in New York has spawned similar sites in China's major cities, such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Changsha, Xi'an and Shanghai. Recent news reports on this phenomenon are referring to Chinese sites, but there are also English sites: Overheard in Shanghai and this site -- which is still empty.
Continue reading "Overheard (and copied) in Shanghai"
Colonel Sanders has found his conscience: after being threatened by lawsuits in the US, Kentucky Fried Chicken announced that come April of next year, all of its restaurants in the US will cease using oils containing the harmful trans-fats that have been linked to heart disease.
Continue reading "Warning: These products may clog your arteries"
Phillyist rejoices in the Phillies' wild card chances, mourns the injuries sustained by Eagles defensive end Jevon Kearse, and goes pirate on our asses.
Continue reading "This Week In -ist: Elsewhere in the Gothamist Network"
The Wall Street Journal tells us that the QP marks a change in McD's marketing strategy: Rather than trying to localize their food to suit the palettes of the Chinese, they are, with the QP, insisting on the cultural integrity of the product -- almost:
Continue reading "Check out the big brains on Shanghaiist"
media reported on Friday. They welded the cage shut. Add him and his wife to the ranks of the sexually frustrated.
Continue reading "Extra! Extra! Cover-ups, cages and sexual frustration"
One step closer to a worker's paradise!
Continue reading "Extra! Extra! Troubadours, unions and backyard wells"
Photo by theshanghaieye taken from 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.
Continue reading "Extra! Extra! Boy Scouts, coffee shops and Faye Wong"
This may be old news (in fact, according to this link, it's almost three-year-old news) but we just learned over the weekend that McDonald's delivers in Shanghai, so we thought perhaps it would be new to some of you, too. We're not sure if every McDonald's in town delivers, but the one we were at in Yu Yuan (don't ask) does. The sign says they deliver between 9 am and 9 pm and require a minimum order of 50 kuai -- which means Shanghaiist won't be getting delivery anytime soon, since the only reason we ever go to McDonald's is for their ice cream.
Continue reading "McDonald's delivery, McFlurries and a scavenger hunt"
Photo by Thomas Will taken from the Shanghaiist photos page. To see your photos on our photos 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.
Continue reading "Extra! Extra! Drive thrus, moon walks and sex ed"