We're always on the look out for a cheap pint, because we're tight and like a drink purely as a service to you dear reader. Unfortunately, unless you like sharing your table with overly friendly bar staff and/or cockroaches, finding a decent beer that doesn't hurt your wallet can some times be a little tricky in this city. It'll come as no surprise for you to learn then that when it comes to buying a......

The man who posed as the farmer on some of the old renminbi notes is still alive... and he's in Shanghai!......

Where to go, where to go: Shanghaiist is still trying to figure out where to carb up for our big dodgeball game tonight (that's right, patches, dodgeball). Pure, the fancy new Japanese restaurant that is part of The Collection at Xintiandi, has been offering their new sushi menu for 50% off since last Thursday. The special ends tomorrow night, however, so if we enjoy ourselves tonight we may find ourselves there tomorrow as well. On......

Business and Economy WSJ: China Takes Additional Step To Cool Economy AFP: Underground money traders flourish on Hong Kong border Religion Xinhua: China-based Christian group prints 50 mln Bibles Reuters: Dalai Lama says sorry he can't meet Pope SCMP: Student leader finds meaning in life with God's will on campus [Subscription] AP: Dallas evangelical Christian seminary offers online courses in Chinese Miscellaneous AP: China Detains 33 in Deadly Mine Blast CNSNews: For China, Even......

By Julien Bertrand: On his first official visit to China, French President Nicolas Sarkozy must have been dizzy, witnessing the signing of contracts worth 20 billion euros in total, comprising of 160 Airbus aircrafts, two EPR nuclear reactors (to be built in Taishan, Guangdong, by 2014) and signal equipment for Shanghai’s future 36-kilometer metro line #10, a long-awaited deal between Alstom and Shanghai Metro that will link New Jiangwan Town to Hongqiao Airport. In an......

Or more specifically, Hilton, which was rendered as Hiton in a recent issue of The Bund (外滩画报). They ran some pictures and an interview with Paris Hilton when she was here, but unfortunately, it's only in Chinese. She has some interesting thoughts about dark matter in the universe, which she's been exploring for her upcoming novel. On the other hand, it seems that she won't discuss where her money comes from, or if she's saving......

Bravo to the big corporations — Hewlett Packard and Hennessy — that are each throwing huge music events this weekend and both are free to the public via registration on their respective webpages. On Friday, Hennessy is holding what is being billed as a "Hennessy Artistry Showcase" (last year featuring Juliette Louis and the Licks), out at the International Expo Center in Pudong and featuring Hong Kong pop star Wang Lee Hom, Gary Chaw, and......

Hong Kongers snub Beijing Sydney Morning Herald: Hong Kong voters snub Beijing, strike blow for democracy TIME: One for the Democrats in Hong Kong Reuters: Pro-democracy Chan wins symbolic Hong Kong election Fake moon pictures? Fox: China: Our Moon Photo Is No Fake The Canadian Press: China rejects questions over allegedly generic lunar surface photo The Telegraph: China defends lunar probe pictures China business WSJ: China Railway Shares Surge On Shanghai Trading Debut WSJ:......

We seriously LOVE some of the things we hear about going on in our city. Yes, some of the people we meet here can be harsh and mean, but this story goes to show that humanity still exists in Shanghai. Two weeks ago, Rebekah Pothaar, an executive with Ctrip.com, found that her ayi's husband was in a serious motorbike collision. They went with her to the hospital and found that surgery was going to cost......

What would you do if you paid a shitload of money to study at some college, thinking it would legit and all, only to be told that your diploma would not be recognised after all? We don't know about you, but we would definitely riot. Well, that's what some civilian students at the Hefei PLA Artillery Academy did a few days back. And it turned out to be a very bloody incident. Iron doors were......

Jiangsu Satellite tells us of the roller coaster ride a young stock investor had recently. One morning, Mr Peng, while checking his stocks online, found RMB900 million mysteriously credited to his account. Shocked (but pleasantly surprised), Peng didn't know what to think and went about his work. A few hours later, when he checked on his account again just to make sure he wasn't dreaming, all RMB900 million had disappeared, along with the over RMB4,000......

You guys ready for yet another ranking of most expensive cities? ECA International has ranked Shanghai the 8th costliest city in Asia for expats, so if they're to be taken seriously, Shanghai is cheaper than Beijing which came in 7th but more costly than Singapore which came in 9th. Seoul was the most expensive Asian city, while Guangzhou came in 10th. Also, Shanghai was named the 100th most expensive city in the world. That's 99......

For those of you wondering what Shanghaiist's founding editor Dan Washburn has been up to for the past half year or so (other than not posting very much on Shanghaiist) there was some evidence last week that he is alive and well and doing more than sitting on his couch counting his Shanghaiist money (really, that would only take around five minutes). Go to ESPN.com (here, here and here) for stories related to his book......

Shanghaiist has often wondered what China would look like if it had complete religious freedom, as in the freedom to organise and set up religious denominations and associations outside of the five "official religions", and to have all these religious groups enter the free-wheeling marketplace with their books, CDs, video programmes and what not. This weekend, we caught a glimpse of that when a woman claiming to be "Jesus' sister" was arrested in the Guangdong......

DONGPING ROAD: DOOMED OR REDISCOVERED? As some readers may know, the strip of Dongping Road on the south side from Hengshan to Yueyang Roads is leased to the bars, restaurants, tailors etc by the music college behind them. Most of the leases are coming up for renewal over the next 2-12 months.There has been some concern that the music college may decide to reclaim their land for their own expansion purposes, rather than renew the......

The Xinhua News Agency is reporting that China may allow foreign multinationals to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange(SSE). SSE officials are conducting feasibility studies and companies names mentioned include HSBC Holdings Plc, Coca-Cola Co., and Siemens AG. China is under renewed international pressure to speed up its currency reform and open its financial market. Letting foreign firms trade on domestic bourses may just be the first of many steps toward integrating China into the......

No more rescuing Shanghai [IHT] Now that PetroChina's stock is trading in Shanghai, this year's surge in Chinese shares will lose one of its catalysts: the mainland debuts of Hong Kong-listed companies.China Railway Group sets plans for Shanghai IPO [IHT] China Railway Group Ltd., a state-owned builder of railway lines, will begin subscriptions for an initial public offering in Shanghai on Nov. 20, the company said in an announcement Wednesday.Dollar Falls to Record on China's......

Hong Kong Triad T-Shirt Gets Fashion Label in Hot Water [Asiaone.com] The arrest of 18 employees of a Hong Kong lifestyle and retail chain over a controversial new line of T-shirts '14K' bearing the name of a well-known triad gang spurred an apology from the store's founder.Pakistan - Besieged Musharraf plays for time [Asia Times] Having opened a can of worms by declaring a state of emergency, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf is now in......

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recently published a report about how much income you need in order to be classified as white-collar in various Chinese cities. At the top of the list was Hong Kong, where you needed to make at least 18,500 RMB. As for some of the other cities:The benchmarks in some major cities at the upper end are: 8,900 yuan ($1,194) in Macao, 5,350 yuan ($717) in Shanghai, 5,280 yuan ($708)......

For the first time in 17 months, China will raise wholesale price cap of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, “to guarantee domestic supply of refined oil and promote energy conservation/为保证国内成品油供应，促进能源节约,” or so says the National Development and Reform Council. Per metric ton of all three refined products will go up 500 yuan, or roughly 10 percent, starting November 1. China has kept fuel price steady even as world oil market continues to set new highs,......

In this day and age, you can define "torture" however you want to, and for a long time, we considered the practice of inputting Chinese characters on a Mac to fulfill our definition. OS X has a built-in simplified Chinese input that does the job, but doesn't really hold a candle to any of the Windows XP input methods—and when Sogou came out with their input method, and Google copied it, we considered that battle......

Yu Zhengsheng replaces Xi Jinping as Party head in Shanghai [Xinhua] Xi Jinping no longer serves concurrently as the Party secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The post is now held by Yu Zhengsheng, according to the CPC Central Committee.Boom in China's coal industry draws increasing interest from American investors and business [IHT] As China's appetite for coal is booming, American investors and businesses are cashing in.India has......

Although Triangle premiered at Cannes film festival this year, it wasn't until recently that we got a mainland China acceptable version into theaters around town. For all you non-Hong Kong action film fanbois and grlz out there, this film was a collaborative effort between Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam, and Johnny To, each one making one-third of the film, with the stipulation that there be mutual non-interference—each director does what they want with the story, according......

Shanghai surprise as luxury goods addicts flash the cash in red China [The Telegraph] Luxury goods addicts seem to have added Shanghai to the list of must-visit cities if the shopping buzz is anything to go by, says Mark Kleinman.China sets up party leadership reshuffle [Financial Times] China’s Communist party has cleared the way for the appointment of a new senior leadership group following the retirement of vice-president Zeng Qinghong and two other members of......

Everyone's having their own little calendar these days it seems. Second Chance Animal Aid recently came up with one, and this time, it's the boys from The Shanghai Rugby Football Club and Shanghai Hairy Crabs, and they've shed their clothes for a good cause! Shanghaiist caught a sneak preview of some of the pics, and connoisseur of men that we are — we're telling you these boys will give Dieux du Stade a good run......

Comments below don’t necessarily represent the Shanghaiist’s point of view or opinion regarding the Canadian government (we don't want them to hold a grudge and kick us out of Canada too!)… we just received it recently from the Busdriver promoter and thought it was kind of funny… shows are still on in Beijing and Shanghai…..and we are as giddy as a school boy in the girls locker room to see Busdriver play live! “Nothing......

This cute little video is from an English teacher in Taiwan who came up with a way to teach his kids English... the MC Hammer way. We wish school was this fun for us, and hopefully the clip will inspire all TEFL teachers out there. From Daryl Caesar:The final performance is here! The kids were totally petrified, and performed way worse than the rehersals, but what can I expect from 5 year olds dancing and......

It is official...the golden week has finally hit Shanghai, and it is hitting us hard, with a multitude of music festivals. So for those of you who are taking the vacation serious and drinking so much you can't think straight, Shanghaiist is here to do the thinking for you. Feel free to print and paste the sample itinerary listed below to that one pair of underwear you plan on wearing for the entire week. After......

According to anonymous MLB officials, the American professional baseball league is making plans to send a few teams to Beijing to play exhibition games during their pre-season spring training. The games would be held in March, five months before the start of the 2008 Olympics, and take place at Beijing's Wukesong Field, a small stadium with a capacity of 15,000 that will host the Olympiad's baseball events. The Beijing games are a part of an......

We've just spent an entertaining and enlightening weekend at the Learning2cn education technology conference at Concordia International School in Jinqiao. The topics covered included podcasts, wikis, cyberbullying and making exciting lessons within a technology setting. Issues related to laptop schools may seem irrelevant to most of us, but the event is groundbreaking inasmuch as it is probably one of the largest and most significant English language technology conferences that has ever been held in China.......