Way back in 1925, during the heyday of foreign imperialism in Shanghai, discontent was fomenting among the local populace over what were generally considered to be unfair privileges granted to foreigners and Chinese exclusion from the governing Shanghai Municipal Council. The deals the foreign powers had struck up with Manchu officials in the 19th century, suspect from the beginning, had little official legitimacy after the fall of the Qing more than ten years earlier. Tensions......

More green spaces, easier access to the promenade… All could be built in time for the World Expo in 2010. American urban design and architecture firm Chan Krieger Sieniewicz was chosen by the town to revamp its former international concession port area. The Huangpu River and the heart of the city will be “reconciled.” Head of project Liang Zhao explains that today, the Bund buildings are separated from the water by Zhongshan Road –......

Editor's Note: This is an update to that flash mob we told you about earlier. The writer was the organiser of the event. Following the example of NYC-based drama group “Improv Everywhere,” an assembly of people gathered on Nanjing Road last Saturday at 3pm to "freeze in place at the same time." Although it was raining a little and many couldn’t make it on time, the event was a great success in terms of......

There has been plenty of criticism leveled at the Shanghai subway system, both on Shanghaiist and elsewhere, for things that could be better about it: it closes too early, the interchanges take too long, it's too crowded and too hot/cold, it doesn't reach XXX place, etc. If you fancy yourself on optimistic person, though, you know that one way to change the negatives into positives is to change your complaints into things you're looking forward......

From varietyasiaonline.com: Shanghai, commercial capital of China, finally has itself an art-house cinema. The Shanghai Hong Miao Art Film Center was opened on Tuesday night as one of the highlights of this year's Shanghai international Film Festival (June 16-24). Four generations of local directors, including Lu Chuan, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Xie Jin and Wu Yigong, cut the red ribbon at the opening event on Shanghai's famous Nanjing Road. Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Go Master ­ which is......

Designer Tang Pushes Fashion in China David Tang is famous for founding the Shanghai Tang label that put Mandarin-collared shirts, cheongsam dresses and other Chinese-style fashion on boutique shelves from New York to Paris. Booming stock market cures man's paraplegia Not only can the man walk to the nearest brokerage in 20 minutes, he made 60% profits on his returns from the market. Entrance at Nanjing Road E. Station to be closed Not the......

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......

Shanghaiist isn't one to get up too early on the weekend to go out and buy groceries or produce; we prefer to watch the back of our eyelids. But we know that some of you do like to do active things each weekend morning. Personally, we dread the thought of hitting Carrefour, Lianhua or Hymall at this time, let alone any form of shopping on a Saturday morning. So the thought of hitting a gourmet......

Shanghaiist has been hearing a lot of rumours of late of dodgy, well, more dodgy behaviour along the Tongren Lu bar strip south of Nanjing Road. This morning, Shanghaiist was forwarded an email by our golf-enthralled editor via one of his trusted acquaintances. The email contained details regarding the assault of two expat males on Tongren Lu this week. Peter was beat up pretty badly and left unconscious in the alley/parking lot behind the bars.......

Shanghai plaintiff files wrongful death claim against Eastman in Madison County "Clevenger claims from the first moment his boss mentioned an international assignment, he responded that he and his family would go anywhere in the world except China." Interesting story. Ax In China TV Ads, In Nod to Muslims Porcine Prohibition "'China is a multiethnic country,' the network's ad department said in a notice sent to ad agencies late Tuesday. 'To show respect to......

Or at least the windows in old skyscrapers. The Shanghai Construction and Transport Management Commission ordered a safety check in the 2,300 glass-walled high-rises in the city yesterday after a huge glass panel fell from the 36th floor of Citic Square last July, injuring two pedestrians. So look up for falling debris when walking down Nanjing Road. Photo from spiky247. Shanghaiist features a "Photo of the Day", daily pictures of life around the city. We......

Michael Ohlsson is a DJ in Shanghai -- we recently interviewed him -- and he is also a blogger. His site called Weird Meat is about his experiences eating ... well ... weird meats. His latest culinary challenge (other than eating Shanghainese food -- which he hates)? Drunken shrimp: Drunken shrimp -- you may have seen a dish by this name on a menu in your country, but those are usually cooked. In Shanghai, drunken......

While some choose to generalize and lump all Chinese into one big pool of "Confucian consumers," others might say that to do so would be akin to corporate suicide (not to mention just plain stupid). For example most young Shanghainese want iPods and the latest mobile phones while their counterparts in Guangzhou would be happy with a nice mobile phone that doubles as an mp3 player. The expert in this interesting International Herald Tribune story......

Explosive news from the Shanghai Daily: Residents are only allowed to light fireworks from 8pm to 6am on January 28 through February 2 during the Spring Festival, the Shanghai Fire Control Bureau announced yesterday. The bureau also banned setting off fireworks on Nanjing Road, Huaihai Road and at Yuyuan Garden. Only? Only from 8 pm to 6 am? Because what else would people possibly be trying to do during those hours. Anyway, we're not going......

Shanghaiist first encountered housing eviction protesters last week in front of the Portman Ritz-Carlton on Nanjing Road Lu. Most of the protesters were involved in housing disputes that involved the demolition of their homes and their forced relocation to other areas. However, in some cases, years of trying to solve their problems through the normal means (i.e., the police and the courts) prove fruitless, and thus these protesters and tenants' rights activists ocassionally take to......

Yao Ming may not be living in Shanghai this summer, but his movie has just taken up residence in local theaters. The Year of the Yao, a documentary chronicling Yao's first season in the NBA, opens in Shanghai this weekend. The Shanghai Daily says the documentary "will play at a dozen theaters in the city, including Studio City on Nanjing Road W. and the Paradise Warner in Xujiahui." The paper goes on to say that......