Photo from erussel1984Via email from Shanghaiist reader Ned: I just wanted to let you know there was a fire at approximately 3.45pm in the Shanghai Centre. I am not sure what floor it started on but was in the Portman Hotel. I work in the office tower and we had no warning until we saw smoke outside the windows. I got to the lobby with my camera but the staff made me delete the photos......

We're somewhat late bringing this to you, but yes, over the weekend, anti-French protests took place over the weekend all over China outside Carrefour stores in Hefei, Qingdao, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Xuzhou, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Jinan and Kunming. Although these were mainly anti-French anti-Carrefour protests, they were described by People's Daily as "protests against Tibetan independence". As usual, ESWN has been on top of things bringing us the latest news. This incident related last Thursday by ESWN......

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By Benjamin Cohen Everyone's been talking about Moganshan lately, but it was only last weekend that we joined up with a few friends for a jaunt through its bamboo forests. This historic expat retreat, three hours from Shanghai, has enough cool mountain air and shimmering lakes to revive any weary urbanite. While Moganshan has plenty of hotels, we opted for a newly refurbished, carbon conscious cabin by Naked Retreats (and no, it was not that......

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).......

And here's an assortment of pictures that will give you a good sense of what we saw and experienced: Photos by Hélène Franchineau UPDATE, 02:32: The torch has been extinguished a third time. UPDATE 2, 02:48: This raw video of the protest just in from AP:......

We can see it now. Fast-forward to 2010. An ancient Tibetan god called Gozer arrives atop an apartment building near Xintiandi in Shanghai, where it tells the neighborhood's restaurateurs that the next thing they think of will be the form Gozer will assume to destroy their world. Despite their efforts to clear their minds, Bob Boyce imagines Haibao, the irksome mascot of the 2010 World Expo. As he explains, Haibao "just popped in there" as......

Yet another fake of everyone's favourite racist toothpaste. Some background from Golden China Brands:Darlie, (黑人, hēi rén, or “black people”) is a toothpaste brand of the Hong Kong-based company Hawley&Hazel. Meanwhile it belongs to one of the US based multinationals. The original name when I started using it (about 25 years ago) was “Darkie”. Darky, or darkie, meanwhile is a racist term used primarily in America and the UK to refer to black people.......

Few animals get tabloid coverage of their sex lives splashed across international media like our furry friends the pandas. Their being few is what the fuss is about. And now their enclosures have become Big-Brother-animal-sex episodes where their lack of procreativity is monitored as scientists continue to ply panda eyes and orifices with strategic tactics. Chuang Chuang watches the filth-movie from metro.co.uk Panda sex labs are coming up with yet more odd behavior—not on the......

Photos here and here A cross between Crest and Darlie, everyone's favorite racist toothpaste. Spotted in Qingpu District.......

The gory posters promoting driving safely are not for the squeamish and, although found in public places around China, they are not for children. The drive safety campaigns have chosen an aggressive "show", not "tell"approach here, not dissimilar from the anti-smoking campaigns in some countries, where real images of cancerous lungs, rotted teeth and fetal babies are put on cigarette packs as a warning to smokers. But this drive safety ad campaign, featuring real images......

Photos by Marc Dominic Cirkel Some of you have been asking on our Facebook page (remember to sign up as a Fan!) if there will be an update of the Shanghaiist logo once the WFC — you know, the building that had to be redesigned because it reminded people too much of the Japanese flag, took forever to be built because of a property glut, was almost burnt down, and recently suffered a security......

So,the Mountain Goats have a new album out and on it is a song called "Tianchi Lake." It's about the the crater lake at Changbai Shan, in Jilin Province, on the North Korean border. (More photos from our 2004 trip to Tianchi here.) You can listen to the song here. And here are the lyrics: Children by the water banks laughing long and loud Changbai’s high fine western peaks just beneath the clouds Currents in......

Photo by Brad Westphal Shanghai East Asia Hong Kong United 0 – 3 LA Galaxy Two late goals from Ecuadorian striker Carlos Ruiz gave a final scoreline that not only overstated the quality and excitement of this game, but also flattered a lack-lustre LA Galaxy side at the largely empty 80,000 Shanghai Stadium. East Asia had reduced Major League Soccer's Galaxy to few chances on goal and had even looked the more threatening side......

UPDATE 3: Photo slideshow by Jake Newby UPDATE 2: By Wee Ling Soh Wondering if anyone else thinks the gig was too short or if Björk sang too few songs that we know. Ok so we like her but not to the extent of knowing lyrics to every single song like the girl behind us, and who made it clear everyone in the vicinity should know by drowning out Björk's haunting voice every chance she......

Amsterdam-based World Press Photo earlier this month announced the winners of its annual photo contest, the world's largest and most prestigious for press photography. Shanghai-based photographer Ariana Lindquist, an American who shoots for the New York Times, TIME and other publications, won first prize in Arts and Entertainment for her portrait of a girl in an anime costume at Shanghai Stadium. We think the least all Shanghaiist readers could do is buy Ariana a drink......

If anyone happens to be hankering for some nostalgia, m97 Gallery might be a good place to head to this weekend. The gallery will be presenting a double-shot dose of street photography today with the opening of Dutch photographer Robert van der Hilst’s “Shanghai 1990-1993” and American photographer/journalist Howard W. French’s “Disappearing Shanghai”. The observations by two veteran photographers of a rapidly changing Shanghai over ten-plus years should be reason enough to traipse over to......

As Shanghai welcomes Chinese New Year for the first time in decades with a dash of snow, we trawl Flickr for pictures that best capture the essence of this week-long (or to be precise, 15 days' worth of) festive cheer filled with red firecracker sprinklings and endless fireworks. The unexpected snowfall brings along its share of inconveniences - slippery roads, beware! by ?lifemage? Homebound crowds at Shanghai Railway Station trying to get hold of the......

Long story short, the place is a zoo, but what'd you expect. Of course, things are made worse by the weather. Here are some pics from the last few days. From what we've been hearing both in the news and in our apartment elevator, the dastardly weather gods have caused big time cancellations and problems. Despite the crowds of cold people and the massive B.O. from the people waiting inside the subway station, things......

Now that the People's Liberation Army has been called in to battle the snow and the terms "war", "disaster" and "national crisis" are being used in association with the present weather conditions, we're feeling guilty for making a snowman yesterday in the park and secretly loving every flake. From (Xinhua):The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has ordered its troops to go all out to combat the lingering heavy snow in the southern part of the......

Photos by Alexandre J. Gruss (emailed to photos@shanghaiist.com) More Shanghai Snow photos available from the following Flickr users: Jake in Shanghai Clivez Slow Boat to China larocat Photos found via 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).......

By Mike Chen When: 2007-2008 Where: Shanghai Metro......

By Mike Chen By Mike 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.......

A lady loves a man in uniform, but the police officers of Hefei have definitely taken this mystique to the next level with their strenuous winter training. What could be more attractive than young, shirtless officers rubbing snow on their chests and doing push-ups? Ya, we couldn't think of anything either! Ladies (and gentlemen), we present you with two images to warm your hearts on those cold Shanghai nights. And let's hear no more complaints......

By Mike Chen Where: Shanghai Renji Hospital When: June 2007......

Photos from Christof Schmeisser Shanghaiist reader Christof Schmeisser was partying with his friends at Attica over the weekend and was surprised to meet Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson and his crew. They are apparently in town as part of a business delegation on UK prime minister Gordon Brown's Shanghai detour. His impression of the billionaire maverick was "very open minded and not snobbish at all". Schmeisser added:I said I like the idea of using......

From 163.com [Translation by CDT]:Before the founding of the People's Republic, people with leprosy were killed to prevent them from spreading the disease to others. In the 1950s, this disease could be cured and in the 1980s, medicines were handed out to leprosy patients for free. Even though the disease can be cured, the lasting effects, and discrimination, still stay with the patients. Leprosy communities are looked on as demons and are often not accepted......

Steve Buscemi and Southern Barbarian owner Feng Jianwen (Credit: Southern Barbarian) Next time, Steve, stay for some Grandma's Mashed Potatoes. Trust us. It's not every day that a Golden Globe and Emmy award nominated actor shows up unexpectedly at the launch party for a small photo exhibit at a Yunnan restaurant in Shanghai, China, but that's what happened yesterday when Steve Buscemi stepped in from the rain to check out Ying Tang's "Balance" at......

Photos courtesy of Red Beat Bar We're in that terrible time of year when the weather is so bad that even this scribe opts for hibernating in his heated home, rather than exploring Shanghai's bars. There's also the annual hiatus between western New Year and Chinese New Year which puts many happenings on hold. Nevertheless, there are some interesting upcoming events that will draw us out from our cosy dwellings with much to lure......