Time to top-out your public transport cards, all RMB 999 folks, Opening Day is upon us! The Shanghai metro system will soon be welcoming into the family "three lines and two segments," as the opening as been nicknamed, consisting of new Lines 6/8/9, the 2nd northern extension of Line 1 and the final stretch of the Line 4 loop line. Thanks to "planning with Chinese characteristics" it is still unclear whether the first day of......

Maybe. China Mobile’s CEO Wang Jianzhou confirmed that his company has been in discussion with Apple to bring the wildly popular handset to China, “because our customers like this kind of fashionable product,” said Wang. But, negotiations have stalled over Apple’s subscription revenue sharing business model. In Europe and the US, Apple receives a portion of iPhone users’ data/voice revenue from their wireless carriers. China Mobile, with its 350 million user base and de facto......

On Saturday, Oct. 27, the same night as our Halloween extravaganza, police raided and shut down Shanghai's popular gay club, Club Deep (commonly called "Deep"). Word on the street is that some Deep patrons were indulging in some not-so-legal substances during Deep's "Decadent Halloween" party, sponsored by i-Candy. According to our sources, between 20-30 police officers (initially mistaken for costumed go-go dancers, it was a Halloween party after all) arrested around 10 people, all suspected......

Well, this weekend there might not be a 1234 Beach Rock Festival, but that is no reason to stay home, curled up with a blankie, crying about what might have been. Live Bar out in Yangpu has shows going every night, showcasing emerging underground acts from Shanghai and Beijing. Friday night, Yuyintang will be hosting big hair, metal band Arch Enemy from Sweden. Apparently this is a pretty well known European metal band, and after......

Like we told you before, Chinese state media are beginning to get the hang of the art of spin. CDT informs us that People's Daily Online ran an article about President Hu's wonderful skills in the traditional Chinese art of paper-cutting and this has spawned yet another wave of satirical commentaries from Chinese bloggers, read here, here and here (in Chinese). Really, Shanghaiist would love to lay his hands on a pic or video of......

During our times in the suburbs of New Jersey (don't hate), the American restaurant chain Applebee's was always a friendly place for meals with family and late night gatherings with friends. All of those nostalgic feelings came rushing back as Shanghaiist read some rumors on the internets about the opening of the chain's first outlet in China. With our curiosity peaked, we decided to go check it out. As Shanghaiist and accompanying guest entered the......

According to recent rumors we've heard, tickets are on sale this week for the biggest show of the year (in our humble opinion), The Beyoncé Experience! Beyoncé (aka Beyoncé Knowles), the 27-year old singer, model, and actress, is currently one of the biggest superstars in America. She began her career with the ginormously successful all-girl group Destiny's Child and has been just as prosperous as a solo artist. She brings her world tour called The......

Shanghaiist finally made it back from the Beijing Pop Festival and had a great time. We give respect to the organizers bringing some great international bands to China, but do recognize that this festival has a lot of logistical and organizational flaws to work out before it can claim to be of global standards. Being great at weaseling our way into places we don't exactly belong, Shanghaiist was able to get on stage during the......

Hardcore Public Enemy fans in China, don't attempt to kill yourself or your flat mate just yet. According to Beijing promoters, Public Enemy is not canceling their BJ Pop Festival appearance scheduled for the 8th of September. So put in your gold teeth, hang some bling around your neck and get your ass on a plane. In other news, we have heard rumors, from a reputable Chinese music magazine, that metal gods, Megadeth, will be......

Another week, another round of rumors floating around. Looks like the Busdriver show is going to happen and is scheduled for October 13th at 4Live. What makes it even more exciting is the fact that Yacht, Portland DJ extraordinaire, might be opening for him. Yacht is currently on tour with Architecture in Helsinki and in the past has toured with LCD Soundsystem. Seeing both him and Busdriver on the same stage makes us wet our......

Video of Blind Stereo MV Taking a week off, Shanghaiist has been in Los Angeles where rumors are flying that 2 hot L.A. acts (Rocket and Busdriver) will be headed our way this fall (contracts have been signed...shhh!). Also confirmed to play 4Live September 16th are punk rock legends the Exploited! Gotta love the gossip, now here is what's on this weekend in live music (that we like). Norwegians rejoice! Blind Stereo an electronic pop......

Yeahhhhh, boyyyyyyy! They are playing the Beijing Pop Festival, September 8-9 in Chaoyang Park — this much appears to be confirmed. But there is a rumor (albeit a drunken one) going around that they might head down to Shanghai for a show, too. The rumor we heard has them playing at a club with a name that rhymes with "man down." This rumor should be taken very seriously. Because as you know all Shanghai music......

Burgers. Beer. Sangria. Live Music. Fireworks. Prizes. Fun. As much as you want of the above for 150 kuai. It kind of sells itself, doesn't it? Here are the confirmed entrants in the "Best Burger in Shanghai" competition: SH, City Weekend, Sherpa's, Jebsen/Vin, American Craft Beer/ The Naked Cow, Blue Frog, Azul/Viva, Bubba's Smokehouse, ARCH, Jean-Georges, Buns of Steel and Renmin Burger. And here are the confirmed judges: Brendan Byrne (Hint Magazine), Shamus Sillar (Shanghai......

It’s the end of the line for Shanghai’s most notorious drug lord, Li Bin. Shanghai’s highest court has turned down his appeal against a death sentence decision from October of last year. Along with Li Bin, 19 members of his gang were given life sentences. What does this mean for Shanghai and the world in general? No more k-holes, suckers! Finally somebody can write what will possibly become China’s Goodfellas. Li’s story is straight out......

Shanghaiist is not one to visit the many, various, countless, plentiful, and numerous gossip sites on the internet and saved in our bookmark folder. However, after an accidental click or two while innocently surfing the internet at work, we stumbled upon several interesting reports claiming that Christina might be performing at her upcoming Shanghai concert with a "noticeable bump". Could Christina have a bun in the oven? The speculation has the celebrity gossip blogs in......

Expats it’s time to start renegotiating your contracts! The Shanghai Daily reports in the past week the price of zongzi (粽子), the delicious pyramid-shaped dumpling made of sticky rice and meat, has according to reliable sources increased by a whopping 10 percent. The treats are now fetching a prohibitive 2.50 RMB. The reason for the increase is probably due to the coming Dragon Boat Festival and the ever-rising price of pork. While there are......

Last Sunday, Beijing took another step in diversifying its mammoth US$1.2 trillion (that's 1,200,000,000,000) foreign reserve by purchasing a US$3 billion stake in US private equity giant the Blackstone Group. China, saddled with a problem most nations would kill for, has way too much money on its hands, most of which, 70 percent plus by some estimates, is sitting in dollar denominated fixed income asset, earning a paltry 4.5 percent annual interest while suffering some......

Singapore - Singapore will host a round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, making it the home of Asia's first street circuit (the only other street circuits are in Monaco and Valencia). More exciting is the fact that this will be the first night-time event in Formula One history! Dili, Timor Leste - Asia-Pacific's newest and poorest nation turns five, and the success of the country's recent presidential election, won resoundingly by Nobel......

Guangdong, China - 25 year old Chinese woman Yang Huiyan is now Asia's richest woman and China's richest person after her father transfers his shares to her and the company debuts on the Hong Kong stock exchange. At $9 billion, Yang is richer than George Soros, Steve Jobs of Apple and Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. But sorry guys, she is already married!Singapore - Founding father of modern Singapore Lee Kuan Yew, acknowledging the view......

For most of the day yesterday, we here at Shanghaiist were wondering if we should post anything about the horrific mass shooting at Virginia Tech, a university in the United States. On the surface, the answer should have been an easy "no" — Blacksburg, Virginia, is nowhere near Shanghai. But news started to trickle in about the suspected killer: He was Asian, possibly Chinese. And then, yesterday morning, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed posted a......

A round-up of BBS posts on the Shanghai metro: People's Square concrete drying... and drying... Poster SanNiu British Teacakes noticed yesterday that the yellow metal floor protectors place in front of the glass safety doors on the People's Square Line 1 platform have been moved around as the floor is repaired following the safety door installation process. Line 7 to perform "double crossing" of Suzhou CreekThe Metro Line 7 will perform a over-and-under double crossing......

Shanghaiist contributor Micah has posted some information about the present and future of Wujiang Lu in the comments section of our post from yesterday. We thought they were worth highlighting. Comment No. 1: I've been reading some Chinese articles on this from Google News: Looks like, concretely, they're shutting down and "remodelling" the section between Taixing Rd, where the WB store is, and Shimen No 1 Rd, where the "real" Wujiang Rd starts. The rest......

What have we, what have we, what have we done to deserve this? While glancing at the headlines on the Shanghaiist Forum yesterday, one headline jumped out at us: Pet Shop Boys. We have to say we were mildly interested: One, Pet Shop Boys are past their prime enough to make a show in Shanghai seem realistic; Two, we are not ashamed to admit that 20 years ago we spent a fair amount of time......

Imagine Superman, Monkey King, time travel, martial arts and state-of-the-art technology all rolled into one. Sorry for that mental image, but this is what Mohuan Shouji (魔幻手机 or "Magic Cellphone") promises when it hits the small screen in November. This "modern" fantasy television drama series brings up a concept that human beings can actually be transported through SMS (we have heard rumors that Shanghai officials and mobile phone service providers are actually planning on launching......

Are you in the Chinese stock market? No, this isn’t a reprint of the post from last month. We ask because yesterday, both the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges dropped about nine percent, registering their biggest decline in a decade, surpassed only by the sell off the day after late reformist leader Deng Xiaoping died in 1997. A month ago, Shanghaiist told you about the national mania that is the local stock market. While both the......

Despite the Rumors, iPhone is Not for China "This, ladies and gentlemen, is the perfect example of how an otherwise intelligent person can make a huge, expensive mistake in China." Shout Out! Winopete, Now Available in Shangers "Its author, the often wily and sometimes wobbly Winopete, has now relocated to Shanghai and turned his pen and liver loose." Not your grandma's Antiques Roadshow "What distinguishes Collection' from those other shows is that Wang destroys......

AsiaPundit » Blog Archive » iPhone Now Available in China "Even though the official Asian launch date for the Apple iPhone is not until 2008, users of the China’s Taobao auction site can already buy the ‘revolutionary’ phone. No wonder Taobao could beat eBay in the China market ..." (tags: china iphone gadgets tech taobao) Syphilis epidemic raging in China, says study - Yahoo! News "Syphilis, virtually eradicated in China under Mao Zedong, has......

Browsing the Ditiezu.com (Subway-ers) BBS, we came across some interesting tidbits: Rumors say that new Siemens 8-car trains are about to hit the Shanghai metro system on Lines 1 and 2, possibly the 15th of this month or possibly next month. This should do a bit to relieve the currently over-congested 6-car trains. The LCD displays on station platforms are being updated to show the capacity of the next arriving train.Tongji University administrative vice-principal, and......

We told you about Charlie Fowler and Christine Boskoff a few days ago. This site has proven to be the best source of updates on the search for the two well-known climbers. Unfortunately, none of the updates have included the news we are all hoping to hear. Here is the latest since Dec. 18: • On December 18, 2006, the Chief of the Consular Section U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu, China, reported that the governments......

When we posted just a short while ago about Yahoo China's becoming a community portal we didn't really know what this meant ... but now we have a better idea because we were just surfing Mop.com (猫扑), a website which claims to be China's first or number one interactive entertainment portal. In any case, while there we read about how Shanghai's finest plan on creating a system for monitoring migrant populations in Shanghai. Basically, non-Shanghai......