A last-minute add to the program over at JZ, the Copenhagen-based group called Jazz Kamikaze who have been getting rave reviews will be playing this thursday night at JZ Club. In fact, when Shanghaiist was in Copenhagen last February, we didn't hear the band but got to jam a bit with some of the players in it. They were great, very creative and vibrant musicians. And killer players! So we're expecting a great show from......

Not that free jazz hasn't landed plenty of times already here in Shanghai, in fact all too often jazz bands that come through town are a bit too "free" for most audiences. But such is the nature of that beast called free jazz...it's certainly not for everyone. But in any case now it has begun to have its own regular performance by a locally-based group, so those of you who do like this unique musical......

Last week we were coasting on Shanghai Metro Line No. 2 when our attention was suddenly seized by this new Adidas ad displayed on the LCD next to the exit. We were so awestruck by the concept and grandeur of the commercial that we momentarily lost all of our cynicism about big corporations pushing merchandise...and almost missed our stop. Then, as we got on the escalator off the Huangpi Lu exist, we noticed the entire......

It's criminal to live so close to the fantastic JZ Club and actually get to the place as infrequently as we do, but we're determined to mend our recidivistic ways after spending a thoroughly spot-on Sunday afternoon there this weekend. There are few other places you can just blunder into from the street and, without spending a groat (though yesterday the Guinness proved too much of a draw) to be blown away by some great......

The People's Square station signage will soon get a makeover to get up-to-date with Line 8's signs. The new Line 8 platform will open by year's end. Metro Line 13, which has 4 planned stops servicing the future World Expo site, will be branded as a World Expo line. This is part of a move to add culture to the Shanghai subway system. The mother of the young man who was trapped and killed......

News tidbits from the public transportation world: Maglev hours are being extended to match the operating hours of the Metro Line 2, opening at 6:45am and closing at 9:30pm. In 2005 the high-speed train extended its hours in a bid to snag more passengers; this time the move comes as it rides a new wave of popularity. Shanghai's Dazhong Taxi is following the city of Beijing's footsteps and declaring all of its taxis to be......

Photo taken at unnamed station along Metro Line #1 from raemin. Share with us how you see Shanghai, or China! Simply post your photos on Flickr, tag them with "shanghaiist", and we'll select one favorite image per day. Or you can simply email your photos to photos[at]shanghaiist.com.......

Woman strangled and stabbed. A native of Hubei Province was charged with murder yesterday after Minhang District prosecutors allege Tian Qi, 27, strangled a woman with wire and then stabbed her with scissors because she refused to lend him money.Publicity toilet paper set to wipe out theft in Taipei. In a bid to deter roll bandits, the toilet paper would be sponsored by advertisers who will allow their names to be smeared for the public......

An industry source in this Metrofans thread reveals that internal estimates for the opening date of Metro Line 8 (M8) have moved up to October 31st from the previous estimate of December 28. Line 8 is a north-south line with all but two stops in Puxi. The stops are expected to be named as follows: ▸ 市光路站、嫩江路站、翔殷路站、黄兴公园站、延吉中路站、黄兴路站、江浦路站、鞍山新村站、四平路站、曲阳路站、虹口足球场站、西藏北路站、中兴路站、曲阜路站、人民广场站、大世界站、老西门站、陆家浜路站、西藏南路站、周家渡站、耀华路站 ▸ Shiguang Rd (northern terminal station), Nenjiang Rd, Xiangyan Rd, Huangxing Park, Yanji Middle Rd, Jiangpu Rd, Anshan......

This week saw some interesting announcements regarding Shanghai's metro system. First off, Metro Line 4's circle closes this year: Shanghai's top traffic management official yesterday confirmed that Metro Line 4 will complete its circle within the year. The last four station being completed will mean that the 26-station line will finally cross the Huangpu a second time in south Pudong, providing a more direct route for Pu dong's young-uns to get to Ikea. Shanghaiist wonders......

In light of this week's national holiday, here are some transportation stories for your enjoyment: Shanghai to host 4.4 million tourists during the May Day holidays: That is five percent more than last year. Yay. Avoid People's Square and other hot spots these week.China May Day spells nightmare: This AP story claims that the Chinese government is looking to develop "a new system of staggered holidays" to ease the burden on the nation's transportation systems.......

Shanghaiist thinks there aren’t enough cars in Shanghai. The air, quite frankly, is incredibly clean. There’s nary a spot of traffic. And really, couldn’t taxi drivers be more conscientious by honking their horns just a LITTLE more often? Shanghai needs more cars. Definitely. And what better place to encourage additional consumption than the Shanghai Auto Show! The Shanghai show has become a major stop on the automotive circuit. GM, BMW Audi, and many others are......

A round-up of BBS posts on the Shanghai metro: People's Square concrete drying... and drying... Poster SanNiu British Teacakes noticed yesterday that the yellow metal floor protectors place in front of the glass safety doors on the People's Square Line 1 platform have been moved around as the floor is repaired following the safety door installation process. Line 7 to perform "double crossing" of Suzhou CreekThe Metro Line 7 will perform a over-and-under double crossing......

We received this email today from a friend (and frequent eater of shengjian mantou): A friend was just walking through the Wujiang Lu food street, which was like a ghost town today, and a little old guy told him that it’s about to be torn down… end of April, apparently. Have you heard about this? Desperate tragedy for me… I think I will need to walk at least 5 blocks for XiaoYang dumplings now… We......

MONDAY 7:30 am, Yanchang Lu Station, Line One: A 24-year-old man jumped off a platform in front of a train at Yanchang Road Station on Metro Line 1 this morning but only suffered broken toes, according to Shanghai Metro police. The man was waiting for train with his father and grandfather about 7:30am, when he suddenly jumped into the tunnel as a train was pulling in. Police said he tried to commit suicide because of......

Intercontinental football comes to town tomorrow night in the shape of a fascinating clash between Australian side Sydney FC and local favourites Shanghai Shenhua in the Asian Champions League. The match signifies the dawn of a new era in Asian football, as the A-League side enter the Asian fray for the first time since Australia quit the Oceania confederation a year ago to join the Asian one. And with typical Aussie bravado, Sydney FC captain......

Seven minutes: A woman was killed after she jumped in front of a subway train yesterday, the second suicide in the city's underground network in less than three weeks. The incident occurred at 12:44pm at the Lujiazui Station on Metro Line 2 in Pudong. A man was killed in a similar incident on January 10. The Metro service was suspended for seven minutes yesterday. Two in three weeks seems like a lot, but we don't......

Lots of juicy transportation news today: A new displacement order has been released by the Xujiahui Housing, Land and Resource Administration Bureau which is likely related to work on an extension of the Maglev to Hongqiao Airport.At the ongoing Shanghai People's Congress, representative Lei Guofen submitted a proposal asking that the commercial advertisements after stop names announced on metro cars (including the ubiquitous and therefore infamous Christine Bakery) be replaced by announcments of "public and......

Quit Smoking with Lasers "This window was on a nondescript building near my new office. The characters mean 'laser' and 'quit smoking,' begging the question: how exactly do you use lasers to quit smoking?" Metro work to throttle more roads "Among the affected areas, sections of Xizang Road S., Minli Road W. and Dalin Road in Luwan District were shut down yesterday because of Metro Line 8 construction, according to the city's Engineering Administrative......

Yes, that Cui Jian. The godfather of Chinese rock. The one some call "China's Bruce Springsteen." The guy they put on the cover of the first Chinese Rolling Stone. The guy who last year shared a Shanghai stage and accompanied (kind of) Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. Yes, that guy is playing an intimate gig Monday night at JZ Club, and we wouldn't have known about it had we not walked past the place......

Well, here are two options: If you were on Metro Line No. 1, perhaps you were delayed because a woman in her 20s fell ill and then fell onto the tracks at Pengpu Xincun Station, up north. This happened at 6:52 am. The train stopped "meters away from her" and she is now in "stable condition." Shanghai Daily didn't mention how long this shut down traffic.If you were on Line No. 2, at around 8:49......

Mozilla coming to China, seeking talent "The Chinese government has been enthusiastic about open source software systems such as Linux, and it seems likely that the Chinese market will be receptive to a greater adoption of Firefox, where currently IE is the default browser." Google partner in China is accused of abetting piracy "We have been watching [Shenzhen Xunlei Networking Technologies] for some time and we have observed that like many file-sharing networks/enablers in......

We were leafing through the latest City Weekend* over breakfast this morning when we realized we forgot to tell you something very important: We love Southern Barbarian (南蛮子). It's a Yunnan restaurant that opened in the fall (we have mentioned it briefly twice before). It is easily one of our favorite restaurants in the city, Chinese or non-Chinese. The food is fantastic — tasty and plentiful — and it is cheap (especially when compared to......

We swear we heard the PA system announce yesterday that we were at Jinjiang Park metro stop, when we knew we were at Huangpi Nan Lu (and so did everyone else — lots of confused faces). We assumed the metro just got its sound files mixed up ... but could it have been someone's mobile phone ringtone? Micah tipped us off to a RAR file online that contains high-quality mp3 files of 19 "We are......

Shanghai's largest shopping mall is linked to the pension fund scandal.The long awaited parity of the HK Dollar and the RMB was a typo?!Shanghai Wenguang Media group is helping release the film Men (《门》) simultaneously in the theaters and on the internet and mobile devices.Bored during the holidays? Grab one of the hot selling books on Chen Liangyu and the pension fund scandal.China's military white paper says: no arms race.Shanghai's energy white paper: 20% energy......

Someone in the Shanghaiist forum wanted to know "what's happening with the shows at Live Bar." Well, Shanghaiist is happy to report that things are happening just fine with the shows at Live Bar — and tonight they've got a great lineup: The Scoff (pictured): Who some people are calling "one of the most popular bands in Beijing right now" — of course "some people" means Brad, who owns Live Bar, but he's a good......

Win Maxïmo Park tickets!...

Because the boss tells them to. Or at least that is the answer we have received ... on many occasions. We like Charmant, the Taiwanese restaurant on Huaihai Lu near Fuxing Lu. We have written about how much we like it. And now that we live pretty much next door, we go there quite often. But we have always wondered why the female manager and every single one of the waitresses has a short, boyish......

One of our all-time favorite TV series is Homicide: Life on the Street. And one of our all-time favorite Homicide episodes is called "The Subway". In it, Vincent D'Onofrio plays a subway commuter who somehow gets wedged between the platform and a subway car. Below the platform, his body is twisted and mangled in such a way that the only thing keeping him alive is the fact that he is squeezed between the platform and......

We received an email yesterday from Fabrique telling us about a "re-opening" party on Saturday, and we wondered, How many re-openings can one club handle? But this most recent incarnation looks a little more interesting than previous ones. Zooma, formerly of the old Tang Hui and formerly of the new Tang Hui, is now the GM at Fabrique, which will now be known as 4 Live (same name as the party held at the club......