Peijin Chen reports that the death toll in the Hangzhou subway tunnel collapse we told you about earlier has gone up, and that the problems that led to the tragedy were discovered a month ago.......

"I don’t know what La Bella’s space will become afterwards—surely it will still be some kind of French Concession-esque bar/cafe where young urban hipsters and professionals hang out. Whether or not that sense of community will transfer or can be quickly rebuilt is another matter entirely." We wish Isabella all the best. [Source]......

Photo by Peijin Chen Sexually transmitted diseases on the rise Reuters: China reports rise in sexually transmitted diseases Independent: China admits that cases of HIV/Aids have risen 45 per cent AFP: China launches first anti-AIDS drive for gay men: state media Religion AP: China Official Explains Religion Policy The Hindu: China for conditional constructive dialogue with Vatican Christian Today: Miliband should raise religious freedom in China visit – CSW The environment Reuters: Top China......

Photo from Peijin Chen Share with us how you see Shanghai, or China! Post your photos on Flickr, tag them with "shanghaiist", and we'll select one favorite image per day. Or you can simply email your photos to photos at shanghaiist.com.......

Art by Zhang Yong. Photo taken by Peijin Chen at the Zendai Museum of Modern Art. Share with us how you see Shanghai, or China! Post your photos on Flickr, tag them with "shanghaiist", and we'll select one favorite image per day. Or you can simply email your photos to photos at shanghaiist.com.......

Photo by Peijin Chen Spring Festival: The holiday is around the corner, and for the first time in years we'll be stuck in Shanghai, undoubtedly huddled under the covers and looking sorrowfully through our phone's address book for anyone who might also be here to help brush away the loneliness. Since our ayi who cooks our grease-ridden meals will also be leaving us for the holiday, we're going to have to trudge out into......

Shanghaiist has been feeling very French of late. After wondering when Paul was going to re-open and hanging out at Bar Rouge's "Excusez-moi" party... well, we had dinner in La Crêperie - Shanghai's new and so far only eatery devoted to crêpes from the Brittany region. La Crêperie enjoys a quiet location in the heart of the French concession at the crossroads of Dongping Lu, Yueyang Lu, Fengyang Lu, and Taojiang Lu (or if you......

At least, that's what the Swedish fashion retailer would like you to think, given the massive party it threw last night at the Pudong Science and Technology Museum, which included a brief appearance by Aussie pop queen Kylie Minogue. It's clear that expansion into Asia, specifically China, is high on H&M's priority list, so their media machine can be forgiven for grand pronouncements like "Asia is about to change" that show up in our......

Last week, we told you about the the big fire at Shanghai's historic 121-year-old Union Church. On Saturday, we went to the church to check on the damage. We were able to sneak onto the roof of an abandoned building next door to get some bird's eye views — and what we saw wasn't pretty. Workers are busy building scaffolding around the remains of the building, so it looks as though the church's renovation......

Shanghai now has China's first lesbian hotline.China has sentenced Chen Hui, 28, an internet "porn king" who operated several smut sites to life in prison. We guess those masturbation skills are going to come in handy.Shanghai researchers discover new cause for Alzheimer's disease.Two Shanghainese twin brothers are now training with PSV Eindhoven.Air pollution in Beijing is now at hazardous levels.The people of the Beijing suburbs and city make more per month than their counterparts in......

We apologize for letting mainland China's Journalists' Day (yesterday) pass with nary a mention on this site. Reuters (via Xinhua) celebrated by reminding us that being a reporter is the "third most dangerous job in China." Xinhua said: "An increasing number of reporters are obstructed, scolded, even beaten during interviews." ESWN posts about one such experience. But reporters are still better off than miners or policemen. China Media Project has a nice piece on Journalists'......

In a blow to those looking for blow and/or blowjobs, we learned from this report (in Chinese) that new hair salons, beauty parlors, foot massage and cards/mahjong establishments must be approved by the residents living in the area before they can open for business. While we don't know if this means a majority-rules or a single-vote-can-veto system, what it does mean is that the city government is cracking down on vice in the name of......

Open a popular porn site in China, face life in prison.The Peace Hotel is an "ancient dwarf."What's wrong with Shanghai? Too much English!A new museum in Suzhou looks kind of cool. What will be in the museum? We're not sure.Martial arts actor Jet Li fell off a building while filming a fight sequence for his movie Fearless. Evidently the mishap occurred because the stunt man Li was fighting was "so scared of him." We didn't......

Peijin Chen's photos from last night's Antidote show at C's. More Antidote here.......

Shanghaiist decided to have a look at the Annual Adult Care Expo (or "Sexpo" as many call it). Located at the International Exposition center on Xingyi Lu, with a 30 RMB admission fee, the Expo features just about everything related to sex. Much of this was toys -- fancy dildoes and vibrators. As it was last year, there were several exotic toys that take the brain and physical work out of thrusting a piece......

If you happened to be a tourist in Shanghai over the past several weeks, consider yourself lucky. In our nearly four years in Shanghai, we have never seen so many consecutive blue sky days and moonlit, starry nights. Never. (Please keep in mind that we are writing this while staring at the blue sky from within our air-conditioned office. Our earlier "lucky" statement pertains only to those who can enjoy the clear skies and escape......

According to this report (in Chinese) about half (50.1 percent) of Shanghai's white collar workers have no "night life," meaning they don't go out at night. Most of those who do go out tend to go out 1-2 days per week, while a small fraction go out every night of the week. Most of those who do go out spend less than 300 RMB per month on their nocturnal activities. They usually take turns footing......

Shanghaiist headed out to the city government on Wednesday morning to check out what was happening with the housing protester folks, who go there every Wednesday to meet with officials in hopes of solving their cases. It's been several months since we last reported on these folks, and nothing much seems to have changed. There are still of plenty of pissed off people. Wary of making too much of an impression on the guards over......

A new traffic website and hotline is going to help drivers avoid the places where traffic is snarled up. Yet 10,000 more cars hit the road every month.Liu Xiang could probably have run the distance from our home to our dinner appointment in less time than it takes for us to get there by bus or taxi. He just set a new world record in the 110 meter hurdles at 12.88.Rental rates at the top......

Shanghai's jazz scene is definitely deserving of some steady coverage, and who better to document it than someone in the thick of it? Here is how the man behind shanghaijazzscene dot com describes himself and his mission: My name is JQ Whitcomb, and I’ve been living in Shanghai since 2003 playing jazz for a living. In the couple years I’ve been here, I’ve watched the jazz scene in town expand exponentially, with no slowing in......

We enjoyed last month's Family Flea Market at Garden Books on Changle Lu so much that we booked a table for this month's incarnation of the mostly-outdoor event, which takes place tomorrow (Saturday) from 2-5 pm outside in the bookstore's -- you guessed it -- garden. There's a section that is kind of indoors, as well. Look for the table with the Shanghaiist banner and perhaps a really cute dog. We'll be selling our custom-made......

Shanghaiist headed out to Shuffle last night -- and not just to loiter in front of convenience stores drinking beers with random Finnish girls. We caught The Living Thin's last show (ever!) -- the band is breaking up after a short but successful (by Shanghai standards) stint. You can check out some of our pictures of last night's show here. We wish them luck in their future endeavors. If you want to remain in the......

GigShanghai: Free gigs, Fairyland and ready to 'get retarded'?...

More great photos from Peijin Chen here.......

Shanghaiist doesn't know much about emocore or nu-metal (can you be both at once?), but we decided to give local band Slit a listen while they were performing last night at Shuffle, a new music venue on Xingfu Lu, a stone's throw from where the old Tang Hui rock bar was. Shuffle just opened (on December 31 we believe), so there weren't too many patrons there, but that kind of suited us just as well......

Shanghaiist was (un)fortunate enough last December to go to Shangcai prefecture out in Henan, which is where the famed "AIDS village" (艾滋病村）is located. We were shown around the hospitals and schools, always under the supervision of officials. Even though we never paid for the sumptuous meals downed with numerous bottles of beer and rice wine, and were often pestered at night by the hotel staff wanting to know if we needed a "massage", we were......

ARK Live House was filled to overflowing last night as locals and expats alike turned out to see just who would be crowned China's best turntablist at the Chinese national qualifiers for the DMC DJ Championships. Taking home top honors was Beijing's DJ Wordy, who (despite the handicap of being the first contestant to perform) threw together an impressive 6-minute set of beat juggling, scratching and good ol' fashioned party music. Shanghai's own DJ Fortune......

Shanghai, by and large, is a city of hype. Shanghaiist has and will continue to contribute to it, propping up events, holding out hope for free beer, and generally trying to see the good in the sometimes random governmental edicts. But the weary wait for someone, anyone, to open a real western book store -- with books and maybe even magazines -- has taken its toll. But now, Chaterhouse Booktrader has us hooked. The location,......

... when I'm 64? That may or may not be on a distant horizon to you, but for Shanghai, the graying of its population poses a real challenge to society. One of the more serious problems presented by this situation is the status of caregivers. A current report (in Chinese) about professional caregivers came on the heels of an open letter, written by an anonymous caregiver of elderly patients, that describes not only how difficult......

While there are blue skies in Shanghai, Typhoon-cum-Tropical-Storm Matsa is bearing down on Beijing, a city that has experienced only four typhoons since 1949. Matsa is responsible for 13 deaths in eastern China. Four people died in Shanghai -- three were electrocuted because of flooding and one construction worker was crushed when his dormitory was toppled. Eighty-four Shanghai streets were flooded over the weekend and so were many nearby farms. Vegetable prices are expected to......