Just in time for the festive season, Santa Claus (a rather slim looking Asian version) has taken the plunge at the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium in Pudong, to promote saving the ocean and to get people to stop eating shark's fin. more ›

Photos by Stephen Yang. Go here to download your high-resolution images. For prints and framed prints contact stephen.a.yang(@)gmail.com. More photos from the A Very Shanghai Christmas party presented by Shanghaiist and Cotton's coming soon! more ›

At tomorrow's big holiday party at Cotton's on Xinhua Lu, get your photo taken with Santa Claus — or Father Christmas, if you swing that way — between 8:30 and 11:30 pm (Santa likes to hit the bars on Tongren at about midnight). Shanghai-based photographer Stephen Yang will be taking professional portraits (lights and everything) of party guests chilling with Santa in Santa's VIP room (behind the first-floor bar). All party-goers are welcome ... and it doesn't cost you a thing. We'll post the pics on Shanghaiist early next week. more ›

Shanghaiist recently enjoyed a few nonfat egg nogs with DJ El Nomo, who promises to make the Shanghaiist/Cotton's holiday party "the wildest holiday blowout ever held at Cotton's on Xinhua Lu." A tall task indeed. You may recognize El Nomo from such weblogs as Shanghai Bananas. And, of course, he is ranked No. 1 worldwide in the controversial Gothamist DJ Rankings. The following is a transcript of our unfiltered discussion with Asia's very own wizard of wax. more ›

Early weather reports for the weekend are looking quite nice, so it looks like late-December outdoor seating will be a definite possibility at the Shanghaiist/Cotton's holiday party this Saturday at the new Cotton's on Xinhua Lu (pictured). And if the outdoor heaters (and bar) aren't cozy enough for you, head on inside the villa for the real wood-burning fireplaces (and more bars). And DJ El Nomo! more ›

Smart Shanghai more ›

• SFist saw Christmas Day turn tragic after a Siberian tiger escaped from her pen at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and mauling two others.
• Phillyist counted down the top ten items on Philadelphia's New Year's wish list.
• Gothamist looked at the wooden bikes being offered for NYC's first bike share program on Governors Island.

... not Santa Claus! We wonder if the Chairman would be rolling in his grave Mao-soleum if he knew he was on the cover of the latest issue of The Economist, looking all festive with a santa hat. Well, according to them, Mao is a role model of sorts for top Chinese executives even today. The four key ingredients of the Chairman's art of management are: a powerful, mendacious slogan; ruthless media manipulation; sacrifice of friends and colleagues; and activity substituting for achievement. Here's what The Economist says CEO's can learn from Mao's PR tactics:

Chief executives are not in a position to crush the media as Mao did. Nevertheless, his handling of them offers some lessons. He talked only to sycophantic journalists and his appeal in the West came mainly from hagiographies written by reporters whose careers were built on the access they had to him. more ›

Photo by kumo36 taken from 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. more ›

Happy Holidays! more ›

Chinese businesses are definitely into the spirit of Christmas, albeit with some interesting design choices. Shanghaiist assumes that this “tree,” covered not with the traditional pine needles, but with antlers torn from the still-warm skulls of disobedient reindeer, is a stark reminder: Santa Claus ain’t nuthing ta f’ wit. more ›