Tsinghua Professor Patrick Chovanec was wandering the aisles of a baby supply store in Beijing when he came across this hilarious educational poster series: more ›

• It's tradition to ring in the New Year at Longhua Temple here, and CNNGo has a pretty lil' gallery of Shanghainese residents doing just that. [CNNGo]
• Our fair city was recently featured in National Geographic. Check out their article, named Shanghai Dreams, and see what you think about their tagline: China's global city tries to recapture the glories of its past - this time on its own terms." Right. [National Geographic]
• Disposable income for Shanghai residents rose by 8% this last year, which has allowed them to buy 196 air conditioners, 223 mobile phones and 123 computers per every 100 urban families in 2009. [Shanghai Daily]

We already know that there's a pretty great amount of resentment towards the rich - not to mention, a wide perception of corruption - here in China, so it's probably not surprising that a People's Daily poll recently discovered that over 90% of people think the neo-rich got their wealth by networking with government officials. more ›

Found at a department store in Suzhou Industrial Park, this apple has a super red, glossy color, weighs in at 1.5kg and is roughly the size of a volleyball. But that's not the only reason it's 8800RMB (roughly $1,290 USD). It also has a golden Buddha painted on it. Well then, that makes it worth the price, we suppose. more ›

• While young Chinese are modernizing, they aren't in the way the Western world would think. [Business Week]
• Bill Gates talks about joining Twitter and what he thinks about China. [Mashable]
• As much as we disparage it, the quality of Chinese made products are in fact getting better and better every day. [China Law Blog]

You know that feeling you get when you're on Yan'an Xi Lu and some kid in a bright cherry red Maserati drives by, revving his engine, and you scoff and think “What an over-moneyed dick. I'd love to key that guy's car”? Apparently an overwhelming majority of people in China have that times a gazillion. more ›

• Jet Li returns to Chinese film after 3 US movies [AP] "Jet Li is returning to Chinese film with a reportedly non-kung fu movie after three Hollywood productions, a publicist said Tuesday. Li is due to start shooting the movie — tentatively called "Ocean Paradise" in Chinese — Edko Film publicist Zhang Hongyan told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday. The film, due to be released next year, will be directed by a newcomer, Zhang said, declining to give further detail before the official announcement at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday."
• China Premier Rejects 'Blindly Optimistic' View of Economy [WSJ] "China's Premier Wen Jiabao expressed caution about the country's economic recovery, saying the effects of some short-term policies may fade while longer-term policies will take time to have an impact. Ending a three-day visit to the eastern province of Zhejiang, Mr. Wen warned against being "blindly optimistic," according to a statement by the State Council."
• China Mobile chief pushes e-book potential [BusinessWeek] "China Mobile Ltd., the world's largest mobile carrier, is pushing e-reading, seeing it as its next big mobile business, the company's chief executive has said. Wang Jianzhou, also China Mobile's chairman, called e-reading a "new culture" and said he expects such services to grow in China because of the rising popularity of smart phones, which can download content faster than conventional cell phones."

Despite Shanghai getting the reputation for being filled with rich people, it seems that there are actually more billionaires and millionaires in Beijing. According to the Hurun Report, a survey that specifically looks at the rich, there are now 143,000 multimillionaires and 8,800 billionaires in the capital city, compared to just 116,000 multimillionaires and 7,000 billionaires in Shanghai. Surprising, right? We guess this is why you've got to have 3 million RMB more to be considered a "new aristocrat" up north. Altogether, China has 825,000 people worth more than 10 million yuan and 51,000 individuals with over 100 million yuan. more ›

The U.S. isn't the only country that's making incredibly super rich people cut down on their incredible super richness, China has now also set compensation caps for its State-sector financial companies. Salaries for top executives are now limited to 2.8 million yuan. Caps for pay packages will be slashed for regular executives, down to four times their annual salary (50,000 to 700,000 yuan). Oh, the humanity! Source: China Daily more ›

Today is one of those days where count our blessings that we are not rich and powerful and have never once (OK, once) been called a "tycoon." If those words describe you (and you are Chinese and corrupt and/or friendly with the corrupt) then you may not be free to breath in Shanghai's fresh sea air much longer. Just ask Zhou Zhengyi (also known as Chau Ching-ngai), who in 2002 was called China's 11th richest man with a fortune estimated at US$320 million. He was released from prison in May after serving a three-year sentence for fraud and securities manipulation, then detained again in October and formerly arrested yesterday on charges of bribery and using phony tax receipts. Someone needs to update his Wikipedia page. more ›

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 of plastic into yourself, leaving you to simply lean back and enjoy the ride. 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 ›