Two Hong Kong TV officials have taken responsibility and resigned for broadcasting a false report of Jiang Zemin's death in July. Since 9/11, there have been more than more than 35,000 terrorism convictions in the world, and half of those took place in China and Turkey. Most of the arrests in China were, unsurprisingly, made in Xinjiang. In his new memoirs, Dick Cheney explains how he wishes he could have gotten just a little more intimate with Hu Jintao, instead of getting cockblocked during his first meeting, and spied on in the next! His inability to whisper sweet nothings led eventually to "the end of all conversations between the two politicians." more ›

That's what frantic Weibo users were speculating about on Saturday night when multiple photos were uploaded around 8pm showing what appeared to be plumes of smoke coming off the top of Shanghai's tallest building. Fire authorities' official response: "Nope, clouds." more ›

Ew ew ew ew ew. We know China's had somewhat of a bad record with grinding up crazy things into pills before, but ABORTED FETUSES?! A South Korean TV station has reportedly aired a documentary showing that "man pills" - aphrodisiacs - from China had contents with turned out to be 99.7% human. The Ministry of Health here was so mortified that they've actually called for an investigation. more ›

A few links to start off your day: more ›

Rumors were flying on weibo last night that Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese president, has passed away. It looks like the rumor originated on dissident website Boxun and were reported by Epoch Times, a newspaper funded by a certain unpopular religious group in China. So I think we'll hold off on drafting our tributes just yet. Which reminds us, you should read what ESNW has to say about the ballooning weibo rumor mill. more ›

As is the way with unsubstantiated rumors, people are now coming out to (also anonymously) come to the defense of the maligned party. The Shanghainese Tiger Wife who hired thugs to beat up her cheating husband may not have had a cheating husband at all, according to something that popped into our tips box: more ›

Well shoot. The Factory, the art/food destination that only just opened in late April and played host to a multitude of interesting art/food events is now "termporarily suspending its activities." According to its recent blog post, they'll be closed until November while they undertake "a strategic review to refocus and further develop its creative core." We'd heard rumors of them having trouble paying chefs, causing some of the founding members to leave - does that have anything to do with this? more ›

With major companies all hoping to attract China's massive customer base, especially the burgeoning middle class, the Chinese next-gen phone market is getting a bit crowded all of a sudden. more ›

As is the tradition, each year Google creates a rumor or a hoax that is designed to give the internet community a bit of a giggle. This year Google rehashed an old theme especially for us Chinese "fools." more ›

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 operation will remain on the original 28 of December, or be pushed back to December 29. Whenever it is, on that day Line 6 will begin shuttling Pudong'ers up and down their side of the river, Line 8 will bring civilization to the northern boonies we call Yangpu, Line 9 will make quarantining those rowdy university students out in Songjiang that much easier, Line 1 will become twice as crowded as it already is, and Line 4 will mess with our sense of direction by abandoning the concept of terminal stations. more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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 listening to a few of their songs, they might make you want to kick some dude (any dude) in the balls. This, in case you didn’t know, is a big thumb’s up for a metal band. For those who don't really like kicking (or possibly being kicked) then check out the Lulo Reinhardt Latin Swing Quartet at the Melting Pot on Friday or on Sunday at Labella's Cafe. We have heard rumors Lulo Reinhardt is an amazing Jazz guitarist and we are looking forward to seeing him play. Antidote, one of Shanghai's favorite monthly parties is holding an exhibit of party posters and videos from the past 2 years at the Source gallery and will hold a party at the gallery, tonight. more ›

And in Shanghai...
• John Pasden talks about his (Chinese) wife freaking out over his fever.
• Swiss James of ISpyShanghai recommends the Ganzhi Blindman Massage on the corner of Beijing Lu and Shaanxi Lu.
• Marc van der Chijs (of Tudou fame) shares with us the inconveniences that the cancellation of a recent China Eastern flight brought him and how he was handled.

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... more ›

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... more ›

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 Marky Ramone set which was all the more exciting by the presence of Joe and Dave of the Queers on guitar and bass. The Queers are excited about a China tour that might happen next year. more ›

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. more ›

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 pants a little each time we think about it. more ›

Video of Blind Stereo MV more ›

Yeahhhhh, boyyyyyyy! more ›

As much as you want of the above for 150 kuai. more ›

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. more ›

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... more ›

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 rumors that the Duke Brothers might be behind the rise, others believe that the demand for pork in an increasingly wealthy China is outstripping supply of the animal. In the past year pork prices have risen 70 percent, a record level. more ›

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. more ›

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! more ›

Image of Yang Huiyan, now China's richest person, from China Daily. more ›

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 story labeled "exclusive" that started out like this: more ›

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 of the Suzhou Creek south of the Zhenping Rd station. Line 7, a north-south line stretching from the outer Putuo District down to the World Expo site in Pudong, will cross the Suzhou Creek southbound through through a tunnel and northbound over a bridge. This is an unprecedented arrangement for the Shanghai metro system. On its journey, Line 7 will also intersect with Line 2 at Jing'an Temple and with Line 1 at Changshu Rd.
• Rumors say Line 4 to be delayed to 2008Rumors say that the structural engineering of ring line 4 will be complete by mid-2007, and that the installation of equipment and testing will take another full year to complete.