Alas and alack, government paranoia over ongoing non-events-that-shall-not-be-named has claimed another victim as collateral damage - the annual St. Patrick's Day parade here in Shanghai. Apparently, nervous about any attempt by anybody to march in the streets under any kind of banner, the Public Security Bureau has put a nix on the well-attended parade. more ›

Though the last few days have been abysmally cold, don’t let that deter you from pulling yourself out of your hangover on Saturday morning (helas, if only you could find Solpadine in Shanghai!). Ireland Week 2010’s main event is the St. Patrick’s Day parade and will surely make you forget all those things you shouldn’t have texted the night before, and as there won’t be any fire trucks, you don’t need to worry about the headache. more ›

• A crowd-sourced translation of The Lost Symbol: is this copyright infringement? [Danwei] "His last book, The Da Vinci Code, was wildly popular in China and propelled translations of his earlier novels onto bestseller lists as well. The latest thriller, which follows the further adventures of intrepid symbologist Robert Langdon, should sell well over here too. Once it's translated, that is. People's Literature Publishing House expects a Chinese edition to be on shelves sometime in 2010. Chinese Internet users can't wait that long, so Yeeyan, a collaborative translation website, has launched a project to crowd-source the translation of The Lost Symbol into Chinese. They've already posted the prologue and the first two chapters."
• Baidu CEO touts growth of China's search engine [Cnet News] "Baidu CEO Robin Li, on a rare visit to Silicon Valley Wednesday, explained the rise of his company's search engine in China before a group of students more interested in entrepreneurial tips than censorship. Li ended a trip to the U.S. Wednesday at Stanford University, speaking to a crowd of several hundred students about the lessons he learned shepherding Baidu through the first dot-com bust and growing it into the Google of China. Baidu has 76 percent of the Chinese search market, he said, which consists of 338 million Internet users: larger than the entire population of the U.S."
• 11 indicted over factory brawl in S China [Xinhua] "Eleven people involved in a toy factory brawl on June 26 that left two employees dead in south China's Guangdong Province have been indicted for intentional injury and group affray, procurators said Wednesday. Xiao Jianhua and four other suspects were indicted for intentionally assaulting people during the Xuri Toy Factory brawl, the Shaoguan Municipal People's Procuratorate said."

This picture was taken by a person who went to check out one of the military drill camps training for the 60th Anniversary celebrations. This one seems to be from the Nanjing military group. It can be translated into: more ›

With only a week and a half left before the 60th anniversary of the PRC, it seems the whole country has caught National Day fever. Capturing the excitement, Boston.com has a wonderful collection of photos from various sources depicting many different preparations around China. We particularly like the fashion military parade pictures: those outfits are fabulous! But amidst all the hoopla, it's a difficult time to be in Beijing. 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 ›

Amidst all the hubbub of an unmentionable anniversary, the LGBT community has been planning it’s own great leap forward. Shanghai has been chosen for Mainland China's first Gay Pride event - Shanghai Pride! more ›

Yes, we do! The rumors are true. Shanghai will finally have its first, real Gay Pride day on June13, 2009. While Hong Kong held their inaugural pride parade last year, this summer marks the first time mainland China will have a large-scale Pride event. more ›

Attracting celebrities, dignitaries, and mass media coverage, the Opening Ceremonies are a highlight of the Games, showcasing the spirit of Special Olympics and the athlete's achievements through the theme I know I can. more ›

These are definitely sweet days for Shanghai dessert lovers. We've already reviewed Sugar and La Crêperìe. We even panicked a little over the temporary closing of Paul, which thankfully is now thriving and whose napoleon is one of the best tasting pastries we've ever had. Now comes Brix 12, located on the first floor of Hong Kong New World Plaza, which had their grand opening last week after a month-long soft run. more ›

Although June is the designated month of Gay Pride events all over the world, Shanghai will show its Pride this week by holding several events at Shanghai's own, one-of-a-kind gay dance club/bar/motel multiplex, PinkHome. All of the events are the result of much hard work by Shanghai's own, (and also) one-of-a-kind organization, Shanghai's LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) group. As for the events, there won't be a parade or hopefully any tear gas, curses, or... more ›

A very inventive dad in our neighbouring city Suzhou has decided to strip his son naked, and parade him around on the streets as punishment. Apparently the 15 year old teenager sleeps around in the park in the day and picks trash at night. He has refused to go home with his parents when they came to pick him up and even threw away the new shoes his mom bought him. Chinese netizens have lambasted the father for shaming his own child this way because even in the past, only the worst of criminals would be paraded and shamed in public. Poor child. We hope help comes to him soon. more ›

We don't know about you, but it's friggin cold out there. Well, not for some of you. It seems as though places that are supposed to be cold are warm and places that are supposed to be warm are cold. Or maybe that's just us. Either way, we're freezing. more ›

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. more ›

Torontoist has some awesome, cutting edge news: A movie is being made about a gay hockey player - filmmakers even got approval from the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs! Also awesome: Toronto's "Do the Sneeze Sleeve Campaign". And most awesome is this dreamy photograph of Toronto's skyline in fog. more ›

No, Shanghaiist isn't talking about xanadu or China's “rediscovered” Shangri-La. And, we are definitely not referring to the Tongren Lu establishment that just opened (no offense, but Tongren sucks!). Anyone who reads Danwei (or China Daily) knows that "lala" is a synonym for lesbians. So, welcome to the long-awaited post on Shanghai’s lala land. more ›

For the ever-pragmatic Chinese, adopting English names has always represented a way for them to bridge the linguistic and cultural gap. Now, as China widens its reach abroad and as the number of expatriates living in China swells, picking an English name has become a rite of passage for most young, urban Chinese. So ... this is news?

We know you all have been eagerly awaiting the 2006 Shanghai Tourism Festival (site appears to be only in Chinese -- helpful for tourists). Well, it kicks off with a parade tomorrow ... and it seems like traffic downtown will be all sorts of messed up. Here's the rundown: more ›

There is a new evil in Shanghai. We’re not sure when it arrived, but it’s a scourge. Inflamer of tempers. Destroyer of office equilibrium. Enemy of message taking. more ›

You know who's going to be upset about those Bikini Bandits? The Houston school system. Houstonist also reports on some redevelopment shenanigans over a landmark theater. more ›

... is the title of an article we found about Chinese Casanovas in Tamale, Ghana. Apparently, they're kind of an (ignominious) hit over there: more ›

Phillyist keeps it fresh by getting a new motto, learning to prioritize, and taking in an experimental indie rock show. more ›

Austinist makes it easy for us, with Candidate on a Civic Building, Blank on a Blank, and Penguins on a Freeway (warning: sad). more ›

This has been a rough week for your -ist pals, though you wouldn't know it from the great posts all over the network. Plagued with server problems, our tech team (led by the great Neil Epstein) toiled around the clock to solve the glitches as they arose. Seriously, we've said, typed, and thought the phrase "server problems" more in the past week than we have for the last 35 years combined. Why not say it a few more times, just for fun? For example, SFist is sure the San Francisco Chronicle wishes they could blame server problems for this error. But this San Francisco man that appeared on "The Daily Show" is, sadly, no glitch in the system. more ›

Shanghaiist wasn't expecting a great deal when we went along last night to the opening of Shanghai's newest luxury product, the Costa Allegra cruise ship, which was setting off from the city's port on its maiden voyage. Of even more concern was the dress code on the invitation: "Trendy Elegant." Those are two words that not even Grima Wormtongue could bring himself to label this particular writer with. more ›

Phillyist notes a fistfight between local pols that leaves one man down for the count. Jehovah's Witnesses get a Philly contributor out of bed, things get a little geeky with a film festival and geeky gets taken to a whole new galaxy when they talk with the Dragon Queen of the Dark Kingdom. more ›

After dozens of tryouts, we have finally selected the DJ for the Shanghaiist Happy Hour, coming up Friday, March 3 at Blue Frog on Tongren Lu. And the winner is ... "The Weasel" ... aka Shanghaiist's own Jeff Jorve (really, his iPod will be spinning all the tracks). Expect an eclectic mix -- and likely several songs with references to ultimate frisbee. To get a better feel for what Jeff-Jorve-the-DJ will be like, check out our top albums of 2005. Here is Jeff's top 20: more ›

Since Shanghaiist kicked off in July this year, we've inflicted opinion after opinion on you, our faithful readership. Here comes a whole bunch more. more ›

Adam Freeland, breaks DJ more ›