Our favorite roadshow philanthropist is at it again! Billionaire and rogue disaster relief respondent Chen Guangbiao (陈光标) made headlines again this week when he mercilessly bashed a perfectly good Mercedes-Benz to smithereens with a giant robotic arm, all in the name of the environment! more ›

In the Yaopu village (瑶圃村) of Shanxi province's Xiaoyi city (孝义市), a local widow has served as a one-woman orphanage, having adopted 80 orphans and disabled children over the course of 22 years. The widow, 49-year-old Li Yanping (李艳萍), subsists on a meager income, and lives inside a 40 square meter country-style yard home with 13 children who call her 'Mother'. more ›

"My 'violent philanthropy' is exactly what China needs to raise the overall level of philanthropy in society. There may be many debates and discussions on what I do, and that's a good thing. My philanthropy is from the heart. My high-profile approach to philanthropy is not to promote myself. I've always been high-profile since young, and if I didn't let people know I've done a good deed, I'd feel miserable." more ›

Chen Guangbiao's at it again down in Yingjiang, Yunnan! After pictures of his shamelessly showy relief efforts in Japan earlier this week, it's hard to believe he could top himself already, but the man has done it! Sure, he's not pulling anybody from the rubble this time, but he's doling out stacks of cash like a rock star to earthquake survivors in Yunnan. more ›

Chen Guangbiao, the renowned Chinese philanthropist famous for his unorthodox, un-subtle approach to charity (he's been known to make it rain on the less fortunate, hongbao style), has made headlines this week for taking his flashy show on the road to Japan. The only thing more overwhelming than the ostentatious nature of the visit (see flag-draped escort, flag-pinned suits, Mao-esque poses above) is how genuinely impressive it is. more ›

Last weekend Shanghai Daily put out a call for people with RH negative AB type blood to help an aging local teacher and charity worker. 10 local expats answered the call for donations to help 87-year-old Zhang Jingdi, who was suffering from anemia following an abdominal surgery. AB negative is a blood type more common among Caucasians than Chinese. According to Zhang's family, he is already in stable condition and they will call on the volunteers only if his condition worsens. "We are deeply touched and are grateful to the foreign volunteers," said his son. Thanks to those who stepped up to the call! If any of you are interested in donating so shortages like this don't happen again in the future, you can contact the Shanghai Red Cross Blood Center (their procedures are entirely sterile and safe.) more ›

Our favourite paper, Shanghai Daily, is looking for RH negative AB type blood. Apparently it's to save the life of an 87 year old retired Shanghai teacher who has over the years raised more than 5 million yuan to help people in poverty. Did they think this guy was so famous that they didn't need to name him? Apparently so. Below their announcement in full: more ›

With last weekend being as crazy as it was; Halloween parties, Pride parties, Party parties and Closing parties (or lack thereof), you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that there couldn’t possibly be anything else left to do. Well luckily for you, there is! Here are our favourite picks for the weekend, but, if it’s not enough to satisfy your needs then head on over to our Midweek Music Preview and our calendar for even more top notch events in Shanghai. more ›

If energetic dance, vibrant rhythms and supporting an organization that brings positive change to disadvantaged youth are your thing, then head to Cotton's Xinhua branch tomorrow night for a gumboot dance performance to be remembered. more ›

A web designer up in Beijing has gotten himself all in a tizzy over Bill Gate's and Warren Buffet's philanthropic billionaire's dinner taking place later this evening. You don't need a bazillion dollars to be a philanthropist, or at least that's the message this Beijing resident is trying to send by organizing his own dinner for charity - one for the average Joes. more ›

The Shenzhen real estate and hotel tycoon will donate 470 million dollars in cash and property assets to the charity with his namesake: the Yu Pengnian Foundation. This most recent donation will bring Yu’s total to a whopping 1.2 billion dollars in personal contributions—the entire worth of his fortune--and elevate him to the first mainland philanthropist to break the billion-US-dollar barrier in donations. more ›

Bill Gates has quit from his day-to-day role at Microsoft Corp, but he's not exactly "retiring" — the 52 year old is dedicating himself to full-time philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest charitable foundation with a war chest of US$37.5 billion, four times the size of the next largest foundation. The amount is set to rise to US$100 billion by the end of Gates' lifetime (Note: The US philanthropy sector is now at US$300 billion). more ›

There's an interesting piece in the Shanghai Daily today about the habits of China's rich, who, instead of learning from the moral paragon that is Warren Buffett, are spending more money on themselves. Says the report: more ›

The Hurun Report will release its annual "China Rich List" tomorrow, ranking about 400 of the richest people in China. On their website (link above), you can also find all types of interesting rankings, from philanthropy (individuals or corporations) to the "power" ranking, which we surmise means something in addition to just the boku bucks. The 2004 rankings are on there as well. Just for kicks, you can check out Forbes' rankings, which are also yearly but as of now are limited to the top 200, which we suppose sucks for No. 201, but with all that cash, we're sure he/she can shop their way out of that funk. On second thought, maybe Nos. 201 and 401 are happy to have avoided the spotlight. There's a Chinese saying: shu da zhao feng (树大招风), which means "the tall branch catches the wind." Then there's a another saying: qiang da chutou niao (枪打出头鸟) or "the bird that stands out from the flock is the first to get shot." And yet another: ren pa chu ming zhu pa zhuang (人怕出名猪怕壮) or "people fear fame and pigs fear getting fat." Hmmmm. Wonder why the Chinese have all these sayings. We always thought to get rich was glorious. more ›