Some random facts about Shanghai's most iconic landmark: 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 ›

• Yesterday morning, the Pearl Tower caught fire. But since it was at 2am and nobody got hurt, most people didn't care. Xinhua reports that "before the fire there was thunder, which could have triggered the fire." I think they forgot to add the lightning aspect of that in. [Xinhua]
• Well, this is surprising: just having an Expo ticket doesn't necessarily guarantee you a visit to the Chinese Pavilion. Organizers feel that the Oriental Crown will be so popular that you may need to reserve your visit beforehand. Luckily, they'll be inside the Expo venue, so you can reserve, walk around to other pavilions and then come back - like a Fast Pass! [eChinacities]
• Shanghai fashion week came and went pretty darn quick - it was more like Fashion FiveDay, really. If you want to see a gallery of hot fashion finds from this extremely short tribute to clothing, Urbanatomy's got one. [Urbanatomy]

• So while the actual full solar eclipse over summer turned out to be a rainy, unseen affair, today there'll be a partial solar eclipse... and you may actually be able to see it! Catch it between 3:39pm and 5:15PM today. At 4:57, around 80% of the sun will be covered. [Shanghai Daily]
• Shanghai has just overtaken Tokyo as the world's busiest stock market in Asia, with shares worth $5.01 trillion changing hands compared to Tokyo's paltry $4.07 trillion. [Business Week]
• Pro tip: When trying to kill yourself by jumping, don't do it from a short height and with your blowup sex doll. A Shanghai man found that out when his inflatable pal broke his fall, saving him. [ChinaSMACK]

Hey! Not to toot our own horn or anything (okay, we're tooting it a little), but it looks like we've been mentioned on the Agence France-Presse. That makes us feel kind of famous! In an article about Shanghai's recent attempts to eradicate Chinglish, the AFP quoted our picture of the sign at the Oriental Pearl Tower, where visitors are warned that "ragamuffin, drunken people and psychotics are forbidden to enter." Heh heh heh. It's too bad they didn't also include that bit about the "peculiar smell of effluvium." We were thinking of making that our new tag line. more ›

Shanghai Daily's recent article about the city starting a new phase in its campaign to wipe out those hilarious Chinglish signs reminded of something: this sign we snapped earlier this year at the Pearl Tower. more ›

Today looks like it'd be a perfect day to skip out of work - and not just because it's (somewhat) sunny either. The Shanghai government has expanded its half-price Tuesday campaign to even more locations around the city, making it a great excuse to finally get yourself over to attractions like the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, the Pearl Tower or the top of the SWFC. The discount was supposed to stop on April 28, but has been extended until July 28 thanks to their extreme popularity. Source: Shanghai Daily more ›

Those who stayed in the city for the May holiday, did it feel more crowded to you? According to Xinhua, it was - since more than 2.45 million tourists decided to make Shanghai their holiday destination. That's about 20,000 more tourists than last year. Despite the crappy weather, these intrepid travelers trekked out to downtown Puxi, the Pearl Tower and Century Park in droves. Other fun statistics: On May 1, the Shanghai railways handled over 1.27 million passengers, over 2,700 people left from Pudong International Airport on between 7 and 8:30am, and at least 50 people missed their flights because of traffic jams due to road construction. more ›

We have recently been taking flak for being lazy in bringing you the latest news in the live music scene. So here you go — something to make you all wet inside your pants: Rumors have been flying around that the Midi Festival is taking the show on the road this year. They are supposedly organizing something called the 'Midi Carnival' featuring many of the local as well as international bands that will be playing at the original Beijing Midi Festival. According to what we have heard it will be spread out over two days at some park adjacent to the Pearl Tower. This is apparently what has been told to a few tour managers who are bringing over bands. From the short list of international bands that we have seen so far it looks like Midi is going to have an even stronger metal slant than in the past. Backyard Babies and Hardcore Superstar from Sweden as well as Raunchy from Denmark are scheduled to play. Watch this space for more news! more ›

Available in either a Day or Night versions, this motorised marvel displays images of the Bund drifting by for a maximum of 8 hours. Leave the DVDs alone for a while and enjoy the music of your choice (the clip features "Carbon Dating" by the Super Furry Animals) as you try to understand why on earth the Pinyin is written from right-to-left. more ›

more ›

Slow weekend for music, lucky for us the bands that are playing (Live Earth is the exception) are worth seeing. This is the weekend for concerts dedicated to raising environmental awareness, accomplished by plugging in watt hungry amps and singing about sex and beer. On Friday Recycle a pop punk band, less pop more punk, will be joined by old school punkers Loudspeaker and garage rock favorites Banana Monkey at 4Live. On Saturday PK-14 (Public Kingdom for Teens) an amazing post-punk band from Beijing marks their return to Shanghai for the first time in over 1 1/2 years with two shows. Celebrating their launch of environmentally-inspired tees (proceeds of which will go to charity) the clothing shop ENO gets things rocking at 4pm with July 16th a garage rock band from Nanjing, Boojii the Shanghai Shoegazer band and the cat's meaow....PK-14. For those who can't get enough of them at the afternoon show (that should be everyone!), PK-14 will also be playing Saturday night at the Dream Factory. If great post-punk music isn't your thing then plenty of cheesy pop music will be available at the official Live Earth concert being held under the Oriental Pearl Tower (not exactly the most environmentally friendly of buildings). more ›

As we get closer to July 7, the day of Al Gore’s Live Earth concert, more info has popped-up on the official artist line-up in Shanghai: more ›

We use the word "blockbuster" very loosely. Via our Contribute page we found this recent post by Shanghai blogger Jakob Montrasio: more ›

Lucky for Shanghaiist, we won't be. But we certainly feel for people who will be stuck in the city for the holidays. So we've compiled an incomplete list of a few things to keep you occupied while your friends are back home drinking eggnog and getting wasted with family around the Christmas tree. more ›

What a weekend—the Shanghaiist Halloween Party was a blast! We loved the diverse crowd and friendly vibe. (Local residents, who contacted the police about the noise, were rather less enthused.) We’ll start planning for the next event soon — when we nail down the details, we’ll be sure to let you know. Any suggestions on places to go? more ›

One of the landmark structures, Jinmao Tower, has been erected, and another, the Shanghai World Financial Tower, is being built. ... more ›

At least they don't lag behind in anything important!

胡锦涛主席启程出访五国
Chairman Hu Jintao sets out to visit five countries, including 美利坚合众国 (the USA). Did you hear about the dinner at Bill Gates' house? more ›

We at Shanghaiist know that you have felt something amiss in Shanghai since you arrived, whether you were born here or the day you stepped off the plane. A nagging feeling tugging gently on your consciousness -- a feeling that there is more to this great city than meets the eye. more ›

We wrote about Thames Town earlier, and it seems that Kristie Lu Stout, armed with her "Shanghai Diary" has taken it upon herself to bore many, many people with her take on what several hundred thousand people have already had their take on. You'll enjoy this: more ›

Acting as a tourist-in-your-own-city can be addictive. Having enjoyed our exploration of the Longhua Temple and Martyrs’ Memorial during the Spring Festival, we looked for another fresh expedition right on our doorstep. more ›

Last month, the developers and designers of the nearly-a-decade-in-the-making Shanghai World Financial Center (WFC) skyscraper in Pudong caved in to pressure from China's Japan haters and announced they had made alterations to the planned appearance of the building, which will be one of the world's tallest if it ever gets completed. Most notable among the changes -- the large circular hole that was to cut through the building's top floors was replaced by a large trapezoidal hole (uh oh, murderous cult alert). Some had complained that the circle design looked too much like the "rising sun" image from Japan's flag, especially considering the WFC's developer, Mori Building, hails from Tokyo. (Of course, the building's designers Kohn Pederson Fox -- three decidedly un-Japanese names -- don't have offices in Tokyo, opting instead for three other powder kegs of anti-China sentiment: New York, London and, er, Shanghai.) more ›

Shanghaiist knows a thing or two about Australia. So we obviously know a bit about sharks (or “Noahs”, as they’re called Down Under). We therefore read with great interest that the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium has opened a special exhibition called “I Love Sharks -- Our Ocean, Our Home.” more ›

Last weekend’s immensely successful staging of Shanghai’s first Asian Gaelic Games tournament has ensured that the event will return to China’s commercial hub next September, when teams from across Asia will once again compete to take home the Derek Brady Cup. This year’s unlikely winners were the Dubai Celts, who pipped Hong Kong to the post in extra time, with the ladies trophy collected by feisty Beijing, a team that lost every single one of their matches this time last year. Following a stunning win over tournament favourites Singapore in the quarter-finals, Shanghai’s mens team lost out to Hong Kong in the semis, but saw their star forward, James McDonald of County Down, take home the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament award. The Shanghai Sirens ladies team held on to reach the Plate finals (one stream below the Cup), but were beaten by a powerful Singapore side, boasting, as rumour had it, a 40-year-old former inter-county player and mother of three, who went by the name of Mary, and thundered in a clutch of stunning goals in the second half. more ›

It was just over a year ago that Shanghaiist was with a company -- whose CEO is rumored to have been beaten-up by thugs at least once and possibly arrested for fraud by Chinese police -- that was commissioned to write up a business plan for a Chinese developer based in People's Square, looking to add a little amusement park gaudiness to the Square's collection of museums. The developer had been making frequent trips between London and Shanghai, working hard at luring the Tussauds Group into China. But Shanghaiist never heard anything more about a wax museum for the city and assumed Shanghai was safe. Until now: more ›

Just what in the name of Gabby Reece is going on beneath the Pearl Tower this week? They've trucked in 300 tons of sand and dumped it at the base of our city's signature structure -- and no, it's not for one of those God-awful "foam parties" (that doesn't happen until Saturday). It's not a giant ashtray either, although that no doubt would be quite popular considering the way Chinese tourists choke them down. Nope, this fake beach almost on the shores of the Huangpu is for the grandaddy of beach volleyball tournaments in all of China -- the 2005 China National Beach Volleyball Championships -- a marathon that began way back in April and included stops in seven Chinese cities, culminating with the Shanghai finals, which began Tuesday and end on Friday. more ›

Shanghaiist’s worst travel experience ever was on a 15-hour “sleeper bus” (ha!) from southern Shandong Province back to Shanghai. Packed to the rafters, Arctic January temperatures, layers of ice on broken windows, an ancient, festering interior dotted with rusty metal benches and the occasional sodden blanket (actual interior, pictured), black smoke chundering out of the engine console inside the vehicle, a desperate need to urinate for the second half of the trip and a Soup Nazi of a driver who couldn’t even be bribed to stop. To make matters worse, we joyously spied the night lights of the Oriental Pearl Tower in the disorientating haze of bladder pain and thought the horror was over, only to discover it was a miniature of the Pearl Tower located about 200 kilometres northwest of the city and we still had a four-hour crawl left to go. more ›