• The Tushanwan Archway, first created in Shanghai almost 100 years ago, has been reassembled from thousands of pieces and will stand ready to meet tourists in June, along with a museum named after it. It was exhibited at three World Expos and shipped back to Shanghai from Sweden last year. [Shanghai Daily]
• Looks like we're not the only ones complaining about the weather. Apparently one team media rep for the Shanghai run of Formula One welcomed NYT blogger Brad Spurgeon with the words "Welcome to the North Pole!" [New York Times: Formula One]
• Hot on the heels of that BMW Parkour-featuring video ad we discovered, it seems that Shanghai has opened its first parkour playground... though we thought the whole point of the sport was to use the city as your course? [CNNGo]

Three things to note about this BMW Mission 3 ad, which has garnered over 2 million clicks so far: It feature parkour (跑酷 pao ku)! While this has become a little old hat in the West, China is experiencing an increasing interest in the "street running" "street acrobatics" semi-sport. We talked briefly about the rise of parkour groups in the country last year. Now that it's in commercials, perhaps it means that parkour's become Mainstream?... more ›

Did you know China had a burgeoning parkour scene? We didn't either until 56minus1 discovered a bunch of online Chinese parkour groups, communities and forums. more ›

It might not be an Olympic sport yet, but Parkour, the urban pastime that originated in the suburbs of Paris, has arrived in Beijing. The "art of displacement" or "art of moving," Parkour is an activity which involves getting from one point to another as efficiently as possible using only the human body. Students at the Beijing Film Academy have started a 12-strong Parkour club led by 22-year-old student Du Yize. Du says his club has incorporated a distinctly Chinese element into their version of Parkour, combining traditional Chinese kung fu with the trendy sport. "Anyone who wants to learn Parkour in our club needs to learn some basic skills of kung fu first," Du tells Reuters Blogs. Watch this video of a Beijing Parkour clan above, or click here to see photos of Du and his friends practicing their moves. more ›