Former Olympic gold medalist hurdler and golden boy for millions of Chinese, Liu Xiang, limped off the track today, taking away with him the hopes of defending the gold and reclaiming his world record from Cuba's Dayron Robles. Within minutes there were already 8000 Chinese commenting on the shocking turn of events. Some understanding, others, not so much. Perhaps among the angry ones are those who placed their bets on Liu and failed to pay......

Now into its fifth year, M on the Bund’s Shanghai International Literary Festival kicks off this weekend and once again has an impressive line up featuring a string of famous names and expert figures from across the book world. Running for the next three weekends, the festival offers Shanghai’s literati the chance to see some of the best Chinese and international writers. With so many great events to choose from (you can buy tickets and......

This World AIDS Day, we witnessed an extraordinarily well-coordinated effort by Chinese media to raise AIDS awareness among the populace and to communicate the resolve of the central government to win the battle against the disease. This small sampling of stories that appeared in state-run English-language media is enough to give you an idea of what went out on Chinese news: President Hu: HIV/AIDS not scary President Hu tells HIV carriers, communities not to be......

This week's Adoptable Pet from Second Chance Animal Aid, Shanghaiist's adopted animal charity. From the SCAA: Name: Peanut Age: 1. 5 years Personality: Cuddles and plays with other social cats and enjoys being around people, although needs a short period of adjustment to a new environment. Favorite hangouts: The bed (and in between foster mom’s knees if possible); the sofa next to foster dad; and anywhere a kitten friend is chilling out. Silly habits: picking......

Shanghai-based Scandinavian photog 2 dogs began yesterday bright and early to bring us the action from the 2007 Toray Cup Shanghai International Marathon which saw 20,000 runners from 46 countries and regions gather here. The run flagged off at 7:30am. Some runners did the full 42 kilometre marathon, others did the 21 kilometre half marathon, and yet others chose to do the 4.5 kilometre fun run. The Toray Cup has been held in Shanghai since......

For the first time in 17 months, China will raise wholesale price cap of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, “to guarantee domestic supply of refined oil and promote energy conservation/为保证国内成品油供应，促进能源节约,” or so says the National Development and Reform Council. Per metric ton of all three refined products will go up 500 yuan, or roughly 10 percent, starting November 1. China has kept fuel price steady even as world oil market continues to set new highs,......

Left: Sabra, a Japanese FHM-style magazine that typically features sexy busty ladies (no nudity) recently conducted a photo shoot in Shanghai featuring Nonama Takizawa (滝沢乃南). Needless to say, it caused quite a stir — and we're not talking about the kind that happens between someone's crotch. Well some Chinese guy got hold of the video, and uploaded it with the most hateful and incendiary speech (too rude to translate here) — and Youku in......

We told you about the lavish homecoming party that was thrown by Pizhou (邳州) in our neighbouring Jiangsu province for its party secretary Li Lianyu (李连玉). John Kennedy of Global Voices Online informs us that Chinese netizens have reacted strongly to the series of pictures we showed you. On one particular forum, 800 comments were received on one single afternoon. Here's a kickass selection of comments that he picked up, followed with his translations:太牛的场面 让我呕吐了好久......

Have you (like us) waited until the last minute to get your Halloween costume even though back in September you promised yourself you'd start putting it together early this year? Not to worry. Shanghaiist has you covered. Here's a list of places to get pre-made Halloween costumes and accessories that we put together last year. We've given them a call and apparently they're all still up and running. If any of you finds any other......

In the local press recently: By year's end, the Zhongshan Park Line 2/3/4 interchange station's single intra-station passageway between the Line 2 and Line 3/4 platforms will be joined by a new passageway added to relieve passenger congestion. Since the opening of the Line 2 extension, passenger traffic on Lines 2 and 3 has been grown markedly and the pedestrian traffic during rush hours is almost unbearable. The new passageway will be located on the......

... and the rumor-mill is running in overdrive. Recent reports suggest that Shanghai Party Chief Xi Jinping's (习近平) recent entry into the race - apparently at senior leader Zeng Qinghong's (曾庆红) insistence - has shaken things up; forcing Hu Jintao to make some last-minute maneuvering. The Jiang Zemin and the Hu Jintao camps both want their own guy to take over the top-job in 2012, and each are doing their best to make it happen.......

Kitchen fetishists, we know you're out there: For those of you who enjoy cooking at home, now you can add sexy cookware to your kitchen arsenal. Pantry Magic, which calls itself Asia's favorite place for specialty kitchen supply, is opening their first store in Shanghai in the middle of this month. From their press release: Pantry Magic carries a complete product line of more than 2,000 items from pots and pans to brightly colored mixing......

Oops..we have been sitting on this a few days, all the beers and amazing shows made Shanghaiist a little loopy and unable to sit down and type. The entry below comes via Emily Moy who had a chance to sit down with Talib Kweli and Ozomatli at the Yue Festival press conference last Thursday........ Its 3:30p.m., I’m running up and down The Bund and, I’m LATE. My interviews with Talib Kweli and Ozomatli are to......

Beijing's housing market bubbles [IHT] Prices for high-end homes in China's capital have been bouncing to record new levels all year, even with dramatically fewer transactions, rental prices flat and many new units empty. Beijing Knocks Down Petitioners' Houses [Guardian Unlimited] Chinese authorities knocked down part of a rundown neighborhood in Beijing on Wednesday where people live, sometimes for months, while petitioning the central government for help fighting grievances in their hometowns. Though water is......

Spearheaded by drummer Al Gordon, this new club is the latest addition to the Shanghai live jazz and blues scene. It’s a funky little club, literally one room, but it’s a great space and the band is solid. As the name implies, the place is not trying to be another jazz venue; rather they are concentrating on blues, funk, and soul music–and are starting and ending much later than most other venues. Most nights the......

So this is what the new street signs look like! What do Shanghaiists think? Before the good old green street signs become collectors' items, we are running off to make our very own Shanghai street sign! Photo from meckleychina. Share with us how you see Shanghai, or China! Simply 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......

People who made the news this week Zhao Yan (赵岩), the Chinese journalist jailed in 2004 while working for the New York Times is expected to be freed this weekend. Zhao was charged for revealing state secrets after a Times report was published that correctly predicted the retirement of Jiang Zemin (江泽民) as president and Communist Party chief. He was also accused of fraud for taking RMB20,000 from a village official. Prior to joining the......

This latest ad from the British Council (h/t to Danwei) should appeal to the scores of English teachers in Shanghai who are looking for a change in environment, and the pay looks good too! --The British Council/Foreign and Commonwealth Office English language project in the DPRK aims to deliver quality programmes in teacher/trainer training and to develop the curriculum and related materials as well as assessment systems at leading institutions in Pyongyang. This high-profile project......

As a past visitor to the Chinese consulate in New York for visa related headaches issues, we are quite familiar with the quaint corner where the consulate stands, 12th Avenue and 42nd Street. So, it was with great gusto and anticipation that we arrived at the Majestic Theater (one of the oldest theaters in the city) for the China premiere of 42nd Street. Unlike some of the previous musicals that have taken the stage in......

This week's Adoptable Pet from Second Chance Animal Aid, Shanghaiist's adopted animal charity. From the SCAA: Jill is an adorable three-month-old brown tabby. She was just a few days old when she and her sister, Jackie, (now adopted) were discovered by two children playing just outside their compound. Their family already consisted of a cat, dog and a new baby, their mother contacted SCAA for help to bottle feed and rehome the kittens. Unfortunately, the......

Pigs are back in the headlines once again, and with a vengeance. Here is an interesting juxtapose of three pig-related news stories found via the informative China Digital Times. We first read on the Beijing News that a "Zero-Profit Pork Alliance" consisting of about 150 supermarkets in Chongqing that came together on Aug 10 in a bold move to slow down and reverse rising pork prices has all but collapsed: The participating stores did surprise......

What's happening now: The Thai Food Festival is currently running in Shanghai through September 9th at four Thai restaurants that have received the official "Thai Select" designation from the Thai government. Organized by the Commercial Section of the Royal Thai Consulate General, Baan Thai, Lan Na Thai, Ma Boon Krong and Simply Thai will aim to present dishes that represent the four regional cuisines of Thailand. Shanghaiist is a little curious about the aforementioned "Thai......

Due to multiple requests (total of two, and one was me) here is more golden week festival news. The previously mention Hop Festival has gotten an official name...so....let it hence forth be referred to as the Yue Festival. Ticket prices are set at 140rmb for students, 280rmb advanced purchase and 360rmb at the gate. Rock-ing has also released their ticket prices and they range from 280-880 depending on how special you want to feel. For......

China Herald introduced us to ChinaOnTV, a website that shows English-language programming online. From their website: ChinaOnTV.com is a U.S. based online video network, with all content presented in English. The mission of ChinaOnTV is to continually increase the public’s awareness of China’s history as well as contemporary Chinese life and achievements, in order to foster international trade, business ventures, cultural understanding, travel, peace and good will between the peoples of all nations. Our attention......

China should be an obvious beneficiary of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Scheme, which seeks to provide robust $100 portable Internet computers to children in developing countries. Behind the headlines of double digit growth and urban prosperity, two thirds of Chinese still live in the countryside and two hundred million people earn less than a dollar a day. Still, the Chinese government has not signed up to this project. The OLPC XO-1 laptops are......

We don't know how it happened, but it did. No, wait a minute. With the driving/riding etiquette of people around here, we're actually surprised it didn't happen more often. This woman, presumably hurrying her way to somewhere (the Chinese would say 赶去投胎, which literally means running off to her next reincarnation) couldn't stop in time when the lights turned red, and rammed her electric bike into the back of the bus. As a result, both......

Gil Kim is a professional baseball player from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, which we are sure you all know is the home of Yuengling Lager (and is not too far from Bloomsburg, which we are sure you know is home to the Bloomsburg Fair). After graduating from Vanderbilt University, where he was "primarily a role player," Kim spent 2006 playing with the Omron Pioniers, a minor league team in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2007, he was signed by......

Two weeks ago, we told you about this unlucky pickpocket in Fuzhou that got beaten up in a bus, this time it's a robber in a bakery. The video on the right shows a young man in Fuzhou entering a confectionary, pretending to buy something, then crossing over to the other side where he beat the hell out of the poor girl manning the counter before running off with the cash in the till. Needless......

Back in the late 1980s, we were of the opinion that the Oaktown (Oakland, California, USA) was a fetid, hopeless, de-industrialized, white-flight created shit-hole, but all of that was changed sometime around 1990 with the arrival of Oakland native MC Hammer onto the music scene. If America had gorged itself during a whole decade on the fashion excesses of pop stars, Hammer was like the long belch after the meal, but even if we had......

Imagethief recounts his "scorchingly bad experience" at Bubba's in his latest post BBQ-less 4th of July and the naughty waiter of Hongqiao. Here's a very short sampling of the very long post: The first sign of trouble came when it took half an hour to get a waiter to take drink orders. To leave a party of twenty-one hanging dry for half an hour is a restaurateuring felony on the order of cockroach croutons. In......