Ah, sweet nostalgia. Long afternoons playing with kids whose names we don't remember, showing off our toys made of tin and plastic. Look at this wind-up chicken's manic pecking action! And you can play with my Constructicon, but only if you promise to be really, really careful with it. His name's Scrapper, and he's their leader, and he forms the right leg of DEVASTATOR! Look, you pull his head out like this, and then you make him stand, like so... more ›

It is not uncommon to bump into lone individuals surveying old longtangs that are undergoing demolition - the occasional photographer who quietly weaves in and out of shadowed lanes or curious passers-by wondering what once stood in the place of razed rubble. more ›

A mesmerising piece of work from Dan Chung of The Guardian. more ›

Back in April we did a post on the top ten books favored by the users of Douban.com, a book review and recommendation site. Since that time, tastes have changed and new books have been released so it's about time to take a new look at the site's top ten: more ›

Due to multiple requests (total of two, and one was me) here is more golden week festival news. The previously mention Hop Festival has gotten an official name...so....let it hence forth be referred to as the Yue Festival. Ticket prices are set at 140rmb for students, 280rmb advanced purchase and 360rmb at the gate. Rock-ing has also released their ticket prices and they range from 280-880 depending on how special you want to feel. For those who are worried about getting to Zhujiajiao and back to see the 1234 Beach Rock Festival, your sleepless nights are over! Promoters have promised to keep the complimentary shuttle buses running to Shanghai Stadium late into the night. Shanghai isn't the only Chinese city to catch festival fever. Modern Sky in Beijing will also be hosting a 3 day festival at Haidian Park that first week in October. Rumored headliners are the Yeah Yeah Yeah's and Mogwai. We will keep our ear to the underground and keep you updated on the freshest festival news (aren't we clever? we can string words that rhyme into sentences!). more ›

This being the first (hopefully many more comin') quickie band profiles, Shanghaiist chose one of the bands we respect the most. A band with name steeped in adolescences nostalgia, with music that has some of the most mature lyrics you will hear in China (and OMG, they, like totally sing in Chinese). Public Kingdom for Teens, aka PK-14, is a band that has been labeled everything from punk to progressive rock, but we prefer to categorize them under the broad banner of alternative rock. more ›

Jia Zhangke’s Golden Lion-award-winning Still Life (in Chinese, Sanxia Haoren, or "The Good People of the Three Gorges") isn’t quite the masterpiece that we’ve come to expect from the man responsible for the pitch-perfect The World (2004) or Platform (2000). But save for a few minor hiccups, it comes awfully close. more ›

While Shanghaiist’s mind is usually consumed with cocktails, food, and finding a costume for the AWESOME Shanghaiist Halloween Party, our mouth started watering immediately upon seeing this email from Ken Walker, the man behind Bubba’s Bar-B-Que & Saloon in Hongqiao: more ›

the Duolun Museum of Modern Art at 2 pm. You can get a chance to ask question or chat with the director after the screening. Check out director Shu Haolun's blog for more information as well as a couple of interesting interviews about how he decided to make this film, how he decided to become a documentary filmmaker, etc. more ›

Shanghaiist asked its contributors (and a few "music people" in town) to list their five favorite albums released (or yet-to-be released) somewhere in the world in 2006. Got a list of your own? Submit your favorite 2006 music as a comment to this post. Enjoy! more ›

"My father loved the film. He was born in the house in 1936 and my parents lived with my grandparents but, according to the party, my grandfather was a capitalist, so his room, and art, was confiscated during the Cultural Revolution," said Shu. more ›

Shanghaiist has always been one to pull for the underdog (except for in baseball), so it makes sense that we grew up eating our fast food at Burger King[1], not McDonald's -- well, at least until Wendy's moved to town. Oh, those were the days -- before nutritional information was mandatory, when a family of four could order two Whoppers, two Jr. Whoppers and onion rings for everyone and actually feel good about themselves. These burgers were flame broiled, that must make them good for us. more ›