Yes, this is what we discussed around the table at Thanksgiving. Here is why: The woman in her 20s was diagnosed with a broken ear drum at a hospital in Zhuhai City, Guangzhou Daily reported today. Her boyfriend told a doctor that her left ear cracked while they were kissing. The woman later found she couldn't hear anything with that ear. The doctor, who was identified as Li, told the couple that the inner ear......

God forbid you should ever come across two or more of the Shanghai World Expo mascots in the street, at least now, thanks to Shanghai Daily, you know the proper collective noun to use when describing the furry blue monsters to the 119 operator: Brace. "I am being attacked by a brace of Haibao!" Should there be six Haibao, you would say "three brace of Haibao!" Seven? Good luck. No one has ever escaped from......

On Wednesday the manager of a construction firm in Shanghai's Jiading District was held hostage by a man who claimed he had a bomb. The three-hour drama ended with the offender taken into custody. According to Shanghai Daily, this is the fourth bomb hoax that has been carried out in the city this summer. We kind of think that's enough for this year.......

In the news recently, Shanghai's taxis:"Where's the difficulty in the taxi smoking ban?" The passengers, that's where. Dazhong taxi's "Welcome the World Expo with no smoking in Dazhong taxis!" campaign has stopped taxi drivers from smoking on the job through strict supervision and heavy fines, but drivers are finding the passengers aren't as cooperative: some taxi drivers have even been fined and lost stars due to passengers' complaints of bad service after they were......

The 10 Australian survivors of the Xi'an hostage incident have left China from the Pudong International Airport yesterday. Unconfirmed reports say one member of the group has already employed the services of a celebrity agent to sell her story.The controversial extension of the maglev line will not happen this year, Mayor Han Zheng tells reporters on the sidelines of the National People's Congress.After the long-standing ding-donging of the Disneyland project, it has also been confirmed......

...and we don't mean playing the role of a teacher in a film, we mean an actual teacher. No, really. Most of us know Jay Chou (周杰伦) – the mumbling Taiwanese R’n’B superstar – as that guy who stares blankly at us from Meters Bonwe adverts on the metro, but if you thought he was just another vacant celebrity then a reappraisal may be due, as Jay will soon take up the post of lecturer......

The curved road ramp on the Yan'an Highway by the Bund is getting torn down in an operation that will take 120 days. It is a part of a larger makeover programme that will also see the Waibaidu Bridge dismantled, repaired and reassembled beam by beam. Such a pity! We used to LOVE the view whenever we go down there in a taxi. Now we may never get that view again. Coming in its place,......

By Wm Patrick Cranley The 1907 Garden Bridge (in Chinese, the Waibaidu Qiao) is one of those rarest of historic treasures in Shanghai: an original structure that is still being used for the same purpose for which it was built. Imagine our shock, then, when we read recently that the Garden Bridge was to “vanish.” No need to panic. It turns out that the bridge will disappear for one year for repairs. In fact, this......

In our past life as a public relations executive, we were always surprised at how China's media world appears to be in sort of a pre-Cambrian age with as many publications going out of business as there are coming in. Call up all the journalists you've invited after a press conference and there always be bound to be one or two publications that have folded up. Well it appears we haven't quite come out of......

Nasty. Nasty. Nasty. If we didn't have to walk the dogs, we'd just stay inside our (semi) warm living room all day. We know the miserable sleet (or is it freezing rain?) and slippery conditions are forcing some offices to send workers home early today. But winter's icy grip on China is far more serious than some missed work or a slip on the sidewalk. Here's a rundown (and, please, feel free to add to......

This news just in from Shanghai Daily:FIVE workers were injured in an explosion at a demolished building near Shanghai's landmark Jin Mao Tower in Pudong New Area this morning, Eastday.com reported. Three people were seen flying out of the building due to the impact of the explosion, the report quoted a witness surnamed Meng. The injured, three men and two women, are all in stable condition, the report cited Sun Zhiyang, deputy chief of Oriental......

This is Al-Jazeera's take on the new nationwide ban on plastic bags that begins June 1 this year. Apparently, Australia now also follows China's lead to ban plastic bags. Time to take your own bags when you go grocery shopping guys! Remember, you're helping China to save 37 million barrels of oil each year. Related links CCTV: Supermarkets make plans to take the place of plastic bags [Video] Shanghai Daily: Days are numbered for free......

Poor, poor Sania Mirza. The 22 year old Indian tennis starlet (and world number 31 on the current charts) was caught exposing her cleavage — the one below her waist, that is — on Shanghai Daily, of all places. The unflattering picture appeared on page A14 of the sports section in yesterday's paper. Hat tip to Chris St. Cavish of SH Mag, who we presume was flipping through the papers in search of the latest......

As Saturday, December 29 approaches, Shanghaiist wonders if the addition of three new lines to Shanghai's subway system will do anything to relieve the congestion on the city's metro rail system. Let's ask the Shanghai Daily: Longest wait times expected on Line 6 Crowding expected on Metro 8 Longer hours, bigger crowds on Line 4 Ouch. 'Nuff said. Photo of sardines in a tin by stijn.......

OK, you know we love to slag off Shanghai Daily articles even though we know it's an essentially meaningless thing to do so. Old habits die hard. We just finished reading one about the planned Fisherman's Wharf in Yangpu district, which we are told is Unlike its namesake in San Fransico with sea views and sea lions, the local FW will be built on the banks of the Huangpu River in Yangpu District, according to......

The environment Shanghai Daily: People's Square set to shine with solar power Xinhua: Chilling effect from Great Hall of the People China Daily: Shanghai running out of cemeteries New York Times: A Shanghai Hotel Goes Green China Digital Times: More Than Four in Five Chinese Glaciers Retreating - People Online China Digital Times: Deal With Global Warming: Try Not to Divorce - China Youth Daily Travel AFP: China produces first home-grown bullet train: report......

From Shanghai Daily:SHANGHAI issued an orange alert for heavy fog this morning. It was the first orange fog warning since winter began early this month. The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau issued a yellow alert for fog at 1am and upgraded it to orange about 5am. The alert was lowered at 10am this morning. Four international flights, with a total of 835 passengers, were diverted from Pudong International Airport and landed at Hongqiao Airport due to heavy......

We want some of whatever this guy is smoking: "Haibao is a jolly, confident and cute kid," said Shao Longtu, 62, CEO of the Jiumuchuansheng advertising company and head of the mascot design team. "Using a human being as a mascot reflects the spirit of human-orientation, while the color blue stands for water, sea, the Earth, life, dreams, the future and technology," Shao said. ... "The mascot is a perfect match for the emblem. It......

Not too surprising, we suppose. They broke ground on this at the expo site today, More from the Shanghai Daily: The structure is named as "the crown of the East" as its most distinct feature is the roof. It will be made of traditional dougong brackets, which have a history of more than 2,000 years. ... China Pavilion's design was chosen from 344 entries submitted from all over the world and revised by experts, the......

Today is the 70th anniversary of the start of the Nanking Massacre which took place in 1937, and more than 8,000 people were gathered today in the Nanking Massacre Museum this morning in a memorial ceremony as you see in this picture from Shanghai Daily. The number of deaths that resulted in the six weeks of atrocities after the fall of Nanjing continues to be debated. It ranges, according to Wikipedia, from "some Japanese claims......

... and going with strange girls who want to practise their English to coffee shops is STILL a bad idea, folks. Yet another chump — this time a Swedish guy on a business trip — has fallen for the time-honoured scam by following a pair of temptresses who were "dressed like university students" (so wearing mortar boards, presumably) to the Manabe coffee shop on the 3rd floor of the Brilliance Shimao Plaza, Shanghai Daily reported......

Chronic pain. Debilitating illness. There's little fun to be had from these subjects. So hats off to Shanghai Daily and its over zealous/under zealous/possibly nonexistent subs' desk for throwing a hyperbole cherry bomb in to the toilet bowl of one individual's suffering. The following, which featured in Friday's paper, is best if you imagine it's being read by Peter Cushing: STABBING. Gnawing. Burning. Severe pain can rip your life apart and make you pray for......

Workers clearing China landslide discover bus in the rubble; 29 believed dead [The Canadian Press] The bus was found three days after a landslide tore a 50-metre gash in a mountainside Tuesday heightening concern that the massive reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam, was wreaking ecological havoc in the region.US studios sue Chinese website for film piracy [AFP] 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney, Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures and Universal Studios have filed a lawsuit against......

Ex-convict/drunk driver/pornstar Heiress/socialite/singer/designer Paris Hilton — fresh from her modelling gig with Fila Sportswear in Seoul — is now in Shanghai for the first time to attend Friday's 2007 MTV Awards and Style Gala at the Shanghai Grand Stage. Apparently, she didn't think the Hilton hotel would make her feel at home here, so she decided to check into the Grand Hyatt at the Jinmao instead. Shanghai Daily, believe it or not, has the scoop:......

The 3rd annual Shanghai International Creative Industry Week is going on through Wednesday the 21st. We went to opening night last Thursday and were able to get a sneak peek into the 1933 building mentioned a few posts back, where some of the exhibitions were still being touched up at the last minute. One of the purposes of the SICIW is to bring together art and design entities from all over the world into one......

We told you previously of China's great vision to be a "harmonious society" by 2020 — yes, that year when paradise will come to earth if nations around the world all accomplish their visions. Now, it looks like there is even a "harmonious ranking" to help us measure how "harmonious" we are, and it has been created by Shanghai's very own East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) [华东理工大学]. Out of a possible 100,......

“Above is heaven, below is Hangzhou", as the Chinese saying goes (上有天堂，下有苏杭), but if you're unfortunate enough to be a wild boar in the lake-endowed city, you may find yourself snuffling up to the big trough in the sky sooner than you hoped. Yes, after indiscriminate killing so effectively solved the feral dog and water logged rat infestations China has suffered of late, open season has been declared on Hangzhou's tuskiest residents. Apparently, the not-so-wee......

Earlier this week, we told you that a Chinese state owned bank is in talks to buy a stake in US investment bank, Bear Stearns. Apparently, we got some bad info, well actually Dow Jones Newswires got some bad info. See what happens when Rupert Murdoch gets involved? Anyway, today, we learned from a much more reputable publication, Shanghai Daily, that the deal is off, or something like that, here is the quote The bank......

Chinese property tycoon buys "Shanghai Island" in Dubai [IHT] Hu Bin, a Chinese property tycoon said Wednesday he has paid US$28 million (€20 million) to buy an artificial 40,000 square meter island in Dubai — which he plans to call "Shanghai Island" — is part of a development called "The World" that includes 300 islands made from reclaimed land in the shape of a world map. China Summons U.S. Envoy to Protest Dalai Lama Medal......

Looks like we spoke too soon. Just when we told you that Chinese media were getting the hang of the art of spin, look what we found in today's Shanghai Daily. Not one, but two pieces of pure, unadulterated propaganda that would make any Xinhua editor blush. Oh wait a minute, they actually came from Xinhua. The first piece, entitled Multi-party systems far from perfect in delivering stability to people, started off: SOME people say......