Shanghai's experiencing flashbacks worse than the last time you toured with Phish. Over the weekend, the China Pavilion saw numbers and lines reminiscent of last year's peak Expo days, with queuing times of up to four hours! 60,000 people visited the pavilion on Saturday and Sunday each, immediately forming lines stretching hundreds of meters. more ›

Nearly 500 pairs of twins and triplets descended on Beijing's Young Pioneers Park yesterday for the Eighth Annual Twins Culture Festival. Events included crawling competitions for baby twins, twins doubles badminton, a "make-up parade", tug-of-war competitions. more ›

All the things you'd want to do this Monday through Thursday. On the schedule this week: It's Golden Week! And to celebrate the holiday Shanghai has a slew of ongoing events throughout the next few days to keep you busy, including fireworks, forest park shenanigans, Swan Lake, local rock, and a Yanni concert! Read on (or check out our calendar) for more! more ›

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Frequented spots within the downtown core, including the Bund and part of Lujiazui, will be off-limits to cars and trucks for chunks of time from Friday to Monday as Shanghai authorities work to ensure that traffic runs smoothly as the nation's 62th National Day holiday gets underway. more ›

You can start lining up now, Apple Borg devotees! Word on the internet street says that Shanghai's third Apple Store, located at the tourist-trap section of East Nanjing Road, will open before China's National Day on October 1st, and even possibly as soon as next week. Perfect timing for the Golden Week hordes! more ›

As if traffic in Shanghai isn't bad enough, the upcoming national holiday will be sure to increase headaches for already wary commuters. Shanghai Daily reports that police are warning people about increased congestion and offering tips on alternative routes as thousands flock to the Expo to pay some sort of homage to the homeland. Thinking of walking instead? Well, if you can safely dodge the influx of drivers you'll still have to deal with the heavy layer of smog that will no doubt coat this city as 80,000 cars are expected on the Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway. Let's just hope these next few days don't turn into the horrendous 15 day traffic jam that hit Beijing. more ›

The National Holiday Schedule for 2010 actually came out a while ago, but with September and October holidays approaching, it seems that Chinese citizens are beginning to sit up and take notice... and they are NOT happy with what they're seeing. more ›

Yeesh, speaking of propaganda, it seems that China Daily has an entire section devoted solely to foreign dignitaries wishing China, among other things, a happy birthday and a bright future. more ›

The NPR had an interesting story on 50 slogans put out by the Communist Party to "get people in the mood for the big celebration." 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 ›

• Recession be damned! Shanghai shoppers spent more than 1.2 billion yuan over the past 3 days of the holiday weekend. This represents a 23.6% increase over last year. It seems none of us were able to resist the lure of deals, promotions, and other bargains that chased us around over the holiday. [Shanghai Daily]
• Although it might be a mess at the moment, some of that construction on the Bund is finally panning out - the new Pennisula Shanghai hotel is scheduled to open by mid-October. The hotel with combine Art Deco architecture characteristic of the area with modern luxuries. [Urbanatomy]
• Walking down the street with all of the traffic noise from the cars, buses, mopeds, old women yelling, and bicycles always manages to give us a headache. Shanghai is trying to clamp down on its bus drivers who are honking excessively by installing "horn-monitoring" devices that fine drivers if they are honking in a non-emergency situation. Although part of us is relieved to hear there will less noise, the other part now worries about getting hit by a bus even more. [Shanghai Daily]

With all the talk of National Day, we may have completely forgotten to mention how Shanghai celebrated it. Here's a good reason - it was rainy and gross. We stayed indoors most of the time, glued to the television screen and its vision of a sunny, beautiful fall day in Beijing. more ›

We all knew this was coming - along with the 60th anniversary holiday, there was bound to be strict traffic controls. The Shanghai Public Security Bureau has given us the details about what we can expect: Traffic will be controlled everyday between today and October 4th from 3:30pm to 11:30pm. more ›

With a mere forty-eight hours before the National Day celebration, we figured we'd throw a little surprise party of our own. Come down to Cotton's tonight and celebrate Shanghaiist's "we-hope-we-also-make-it-to-sixty" happy hour party! We're going to party like it's 1949, kick some traditional Chinese jams, and dance the night away with National Day drinking fervor. And like always, two for one drinks until ten! more ›

• China's censorship arms race escalates [RConversation] "Last week the China Digital Times reported that the photo above (click here to view full size original) has been making the rounds in Chinese blogs and chatrooms. It is an image of a "computer science float" for Thursday's National Day parade, onto which somebody has photoshopped a screenshot of the Internet Explorer error message familiar to anybody who has ever tried to access a blocked website in China: "This page cannot be displayed." As the 60th birthday of the People's Republic of China approaches, Internet users in China are complaining that the Internet has become even more difficult to use than ever before. Not only has the number of blocked websites increased, but the most popular censorship circumvention techniques and technologies have come under attack."
• 'City of Life and Death' wins Spanish film award [AP] "Chinese director Lu Chuan's film "City of Life and Death" has won the top prize at Spain's San Sebastian Film Festival. The movie, a sensitive and balanced depiction of a traumatic moment in China's history known as the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, deals with a six-week period in 1937-38 following the Japanese capture of the Chinese city of Nanking."
• Mao's revolution at 60: He wouldn't recognize it [The Globe and Mail] "This Thursday, as tanks and missiles roll through Tiananmen Square in Beijing and fireworks explode overhead to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Communist China, a retired factory worker will gather with her children and grandchildren in this historic city on China's booming east coast, and sigh a little - regret mixed with relief - at what those six decades have brought them."

One of the cutest things we've found in our search for funny National Day things is this homemade music video. Set to the tune of Jackie Chan's "Country (国家)," it features a class of (it seems) 60 year olds and their families singing along, posing around Chinese flags and generally being absolutely psyched about their patriotism. more ›

• China anniversary puts security jitters on show [Reuters] "The Chinese government is flooding Beijing with armed police and up to one million security "volunteers" to head off any unrest over October's sensitive anniversary of 60 years of Communist Party rule. The relentless security has grounded pigeons, lined streets with grandmothers, prompted warnings to stock up on food and left harried residents wondering who the festivities are really for."
• China jails four over stabbings [BBC] "Four more people have been found guilty of carrying out attacks with syringes in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, state-run television says. The four received sentences ranging between eight and 15 years in jail. Three other people received prison sentences for similar attacks earlier this month."
• SCENARIOS: How US-China trade tensions might play out [Forbes] "U.S. President Barack Obama has slapped a 35-percent "safeguard" tariff on tire imports from China, inflaming trade relations and raising concerns about a possible trade war. Obama's decision, announced on Sept. 11, responded to demands from U.S. union groups, manufacturers and lawmakers who view the Asian export powerhouse as an unfair trader. That perception is shaped by the U.S. trade deficit with China, which hit a record $268 billion in 2008. Here are some ways the dispute could play out:"

In one of the more bizarre incidents to come out of Beijing lately, especially with security gearing up for the National Day celebrations, a man armed with a knife went on a stabbing spree in the major commercial center of Dashilan. He killed two people and injured about a dozen more before being captured by police on patrol. The 46-year-old from Jilin allegedly came out of nowhere. Police said they would strengthen security management in key areas to ensure the safety of local residents and tourists - but considering that safety measures already include items like "tell people not to leave their houses unless absolutely necessary," how much safer can you get without, we dunno, emptying the whole of Beijing? more ›

• Chinese Taste for Chicken Feet May Save U.S. Exports [NYTimes] "China is threatening to cut off imports of American chicken, but poultry experts have at least one reason to suspect it may be an empty threat: Many Chinese consumers would miss the scrumptious chicken feet they get from this country. “We have these jumbo, juicy paws the Chinese really love,” said Paul W. Aho, a poultry economist and consultant, “so I don’t think they are going to cut us off.”"
• Official Netizens’ Day Gets Little Attention Online [WSJ] "China officially marked Sept. 14 as the country’s first Netizens’ Day, as decreed by the official China Internet Society… China’s 338 million Web users, however, didn’t seem to muster much enthusiasm for the first official day specially designed to honor them. An online poll on NetEase.com showed that only 50 people out of close to 5,000 Web users surveyed said they “know about the Netizens’ Day/Netizen Cultural Festival”, while over 98% “have never heard of such a festival.”"
• Indian media declares war on China [India Today] "At the meeting of the National Security Council Advisory Board last week, a senior member argued for strong measures to control the media - especially the 24-hour news channels. He was reacting to media reports about Chinese transgressions along the border which are creating a war-like hysteria. In the last two months, news items about Chinese activities on the border have surfaced with remarkable regularity in the Indian media. Invariably these reports are leaked on a Sunday - a lean news day."

A man with a kid on his shoulder is disappearing behind a gate leading to a narrow alley behind Julu lu. He is apparently heading towards The Studio, the art gallery and creative space which lies squeezed inside a maze of low brick houses. A couple of minutes later more parents show up, leading their children by the hand into this little bubble of art in the heart of the French Concession. more ›

• Another Wal-Mart Shoplifter Is Killed [Huffington Post] "You steal, you die. That's the international policy apparently at Wal-Mart stores, where reports indicate another alleged shoplifter has died at the hands of a gang of overzealous Wal-Mart workers -- this time in China. According to the Associated Press report this week, Yu Xiachun, a 37-year-old woman, died 500 yards from the Wal-Mart store in Jiangxi province. Based on the local police report, Yu had exited the store and was on her way home on August 30th when she was surrounded by five Wal-Mart workers, who accused her of shoplifting... The police say that the Wal-Mart workers fought with Yu, and she was knocked to the ground. She was taken to the hospital, where she died three days later."
• Ethnic groups united in hostility towards leaders [Financial Times] "The government in Xinjiang has been caught off guard by the anger it faces from its own people. For decades its rulers brought in millions of people from China's Han ethnic majority to colonise the ethnically diverse far western region. They kept a wary eye on the Uighurs, the biggest local ethnic group, as the main security risk. But since Wednesday it has been Han marching in the streets of Urumqi, the regional capital, calling for Wang Lequan, Xinjiang's Communist party secretary, to step down."
• U.S. Company and China Plan Solar Project [NY Times] "Chinese government officials signed an agreement on Tuesday with First Solar, an American solar developer, for a 2,000-megawatt photovoltaic farm to be built in the Mongolian desert. Set for completion in 2019, the First Solar project represents the world’s biggest photovoltaic power plant project to date, and is part of an 11,950-megawatt renewable-energy park planned for Ordos City in Inner Mongolia."

We're kind of loving the new pictures that are coming out of the various parades that'll be featured on October 1, the 60th Anniversary. We especially love this picture, which shows our ladies of the People's Liberation Army in their crisp powder blue uniforms and kickin' white high heeled boots. more ›

True, the government has been quite busy in the preparations surrounding the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China: crackdowns on illegal firearms and explosives, tighter security than at the olympics for the National Day celebrations, and the classic visa clampdowns that come with every important holiday. But what about the celebration? more ›

Ok folks, it’s official! Now that the State Council has released its 2009 holiday schedule, we can start our planning and make full use of the precious vacation time for the coming year. more ›

Welcome to the latest episode of Chinese Soundbites, a podcast series brought to you by ChinesePod and Shanghaiist. Every week we'll be bringing you topics and words pulled straight from the headlines, in Mandarin Chinese. more ›

About 30,000 people gathered on Tiananmen Square at 6.10am for the flag-raising ceremony on China's 59th National Day. A flock of doves was freed after the national anthem was sung. more ›

Sichuan has reopened 17 tourist destinations province-wide after the devastating May 12 earthquake — just in time for the National Day holiday season. Among the 17 destinations is Dujiangyan, one of the worst-hit cities in the province, and home to the collapsed Xinjian Primary School and Juyuan Middle School where many students and teachers were literally buried alive. more ›

It's widely known that Microsoft has taken a fairly laxed approach to software piracy in China. Bill Gates has even admitted to Fortune Magazine last year that "while it was terrible that people in China pirated so much software, if they were going to pirate anybody's software he'd certainly prefer it be Microsoft's." more ›

Following up on yesterday's post about China's new holiday lineup for 2008, we now have the official official list of dates, so now everyone knows what Saturdays and Sundays they might be asked to work (and that nonsense starts soon). Here we go: more ›