Strange article in Shanghai Daily today, "Police help poor village cast off shit name" -- who knew SHDaily were allowed to curse like sailors! Aside from the strange editorial oversight that allowed one of the "Big Three" swearwords into a publication that's read by thousands of expat families (though this story was not in the print edition), is the odd story itself. more ›

Hard-hitting journalism of the day, from where else but our favourite city newspaper? Shanghai Daily's Xu Chi has scored a major scoop meeting disgruntled donkey-sized laowais who have confided in her that they never seem to be able to find condoms of the right size in this city: more ›

• After six hours of surgery, a pair of 4-month-old conjoined twins were successfully separated yesterday at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center. The twins shared a liver and pericardium, but thankfully each had their own heart.
• Supposedly somebody somewhere is thinking about extending the 48-hour transit visa length in Shanghai. They wont tell us when or for who or how long, but hey, here's hoping!
• And hey, did you guys know we have a 48-hour transit visa on arrival in Shanghai?

WOMEN who were born before September 17, 1989, and claim to be virgins can enter the Zhouluo Wild Osmanthus Fragrans Festival in Changsha for free. more ›

As if falling glass bombs weren't enough, it seems our chances of death from above are only getting worse: "Officials are to launch a citywide search for dangerous store signs and billboards in the wake of an accident in which 12 people were injured by a falling sign on Tuesday. Most of the injured were in stable condition yesterday, but one person was still critical in a Putuo District hospital. Li Weijun, deputy director of the greenery bureau of Putuo District, where the accident occurred, said officials will complete inspections before the typhoon season in July and August. Inspectors will target store signs and billboards that are old and in bad repair, that are too large, are hung too high or are in places susceptible to winds, the bureau said. Where appropriate, shops will be required to repair signs, while billboards deemed unsafe will be removed immediately, the watchdog added." [Shanghai Daily] more ›

This has got to be the most scandalous MMF love triangle ever, and the most epic visa extension FAIL all rolled into one! more ›

Our favourite paper, Shanghai Daily, is looking for RH negative AB type blood. Apparently it's to save the life of an 87 year old retired Shanghai teacher who has over the years raised more than 5 million yuan to help people in poverty. Did they think this guy was so famous that they didn't need to name him? Apparently so. Below their announcement in full: more ›

Shanghai has seen a 150% rise in cases of hand, food and mouth disease in the first five months of this year, Shanghai Daily has reported. Last Sunday, 14,920 cases of the virus were reported, 156.8% higher than the same time last year. Children have been the worst affected: 9,642 migrant children have been taken ill with the disease, and out of the ninety children deemed serious cases, 71 were migrant children. Over 90 percent of patients are below five years old, and children under three account for about 60 percent of all cases. more ›

A taxi driver died yesterday on Nanjing Road West but not from a traffic accident. more ›

How, um, exciting! Forget queues for the Expo pavilions and prepare for an on-line stampede to download the new Expo app for the iPhone. Shanghai Daily, official media partner of the Shanghai Expo 2010, has launched the app to bring users all the latest info at the touch of a button. Not convinced you want it...? No, neither are we! more ›

While the mayor of Putian, Fujian province's suicide yesterday was certainly shocking, it's been reported that these episodes of officials taking their own lives is part of a growing trend. more ›

Earlier today, Shanghai Daily reported that suicide remained the top killer for local college students in 2009. Thirteen students in Shanghai, including one international student, took their own lives last year. more ›

Oh Shanghai Daily, sometimes you are a gem. In a recent issue (okay, it's from sometime last week - to be fair, we usually read it online), our city's paper of record tackled the problem of obesity, particularly childhood obesity, skyrocketing in Shanghai. It's an issue worthy trumpeting - Shanghainese children are three times more likely than their Chinese peers to be obese - but maybe not in the way Shanghai Daily does it? more ›

Sometimes, when we're perusing Shanghai Daily's website, we find stories that are almost too ridiculous to mock. Seriously, how do you even begin to write creatively about a woman who wants a facelift so she can look like Jessica Alba? We suppose the facts will do: Xiaoqing, a goodhearted, obsessive Chinese girl, broke up with her boyfriend last month, and wants him back. The twist? He was so enamored with Jessica Alba that he made poor Xiaoqing wear a wig and makeup to look like her all the time, even when she slept. more ›

Shanghai Daily reports today that the city's rolling smoking ban has been expanded to middle schools around town. We're not really sure what's more striking: the fact that the ban didn't include schools with young students to begin with, or the fact that people smoke in schools regularly.The new policy will include maximum fines up to 30,000RMB, which we imagine is a hefty fine if you're a middle schooler. more ›

Subway riders eager to experience the glory of Shanghai's new line seven on Saturday were treated to a surprise: a man pitching a tent in the subway. No, we're not talking about your typical rush hour perverts: we literally mean he had a tent and pitched it, right in a subway car. more ›

We find a lot of interesting things in our daily romps around the internet. Some of them are more exiting than others, but the ones that really get us pumped are interesting Chinese language blogs. We usually just browse through sites like nciku or ChinaSmack's glossary for kicks, and we've certainly enjoyed the literal translations of Chinese phrases from Those Crazy Chinese, but we hadn't realized that Shanghai Daily has it's own word blog until recently. Check out some of their pretty great content: more ›

Oh boy, what's news is news (we suppose), but Shanghai Daily still manages to crack us up with its solemn and hard hitting reportage from time to time. Ever litter off a high-rise building just because you can with absolute impunity? It seems that people who live closer to ground level are starting to complain about the steady flow of garbage falling from the sky: terrace-tossers are becoming a serious threat to public safety and sanity. Hit us with a poignant example, Shanghai Daily! more ›

If you've found yourself commenting to your friends, family, or coworkers on the prolonged warm weather, you probably wouldn't be surprised to know that Shanghai's summers are actually getting longer by the year. A lot longer, in fact. Shanghai Daily reports that since 1970, the length of summer has increased by 50%, from a measly 100 days back then to a whopping average of 150+ days a year. So if you crunch the numbers, that means summer takes up more than 40% of the year. more ›

Zeng Shaoxuan, a wildcard entry from China, upset Dudi Sela yesterday in the first round of the Shanghai Masters. Zeng, ranked 396th worldwide, defeated the 44th-ranked Israeli in an come from behind victory. Sela, who has reached a semifinal and two quarterfinals so far this season, started off strong with a five-game win string, but faltered through the second and third sets. Zeng said the enthusiasm of the crowd helped him win, and we cant' blame him: we imagine it was quite an uproar. Photo:Shanghai Daily more ›

The Boston Globe? Hanging on by a thread. more ›

Shanghai police were able to recover the body of the mechanic who had been missing since a helicopter serving China's Antarctic exploration ship, Xuelong (雪龙）, fell to the sea. Fishermen discovered remains with ID belonging to 56-year-old Yang Yongchang off the muddy banks of Changxing Island. Final confirmation, done through a DNA match, is still needed. The helicopter was carrying four men when it crashed into the ocean off of Shanghai only one minute after taking off from Snow Dragon. The three other passengers suffered minor injuries. Source: Shanghai Daily more ›

Hundreds of parents set to the streets on April 15th in a peaceful march, begging for help in finding their missing children. Originally reported by the New Express (translated by Danwei), the parents claim that about 1,000 children have gone missing from the Dongguan area since 2007. At their wits end, they've set out to draw more attention to the apparent, widespread abduction problem. more ›

Shanghai officials have issued a warning against taxi drivers that may be using black market devices to scam passengers. The gidgets, which can be had for "several dozen yuan" either make the meter tick faster or increase the distance traveled. more ›

Minhang commuters and residents have been enjoying free bike rides for the last two weeks. No its not a rash of bike stealers - in fact, it's actually a new government sponsored program partially intended to curb theft. more ›

Remember that incredibly entertaining (if somewhat morbid) story about a woman who lost a best mistress contest and then drove her lover and his four other mistresses off a cliff? Well, apparently it might have been complete fiction! Damn it! more ›

A 26-year-old Shanghai woman died in New York after being run over by an allegedly intoxicated off-duty police officer. Her family is now preparing to fly to the U.S. to handle funeral arrangements. The officer has now been charged with vehicular manslaughter, assault and driving while intoxicated. A woman identifying herself as the officer's mother blamed the victim, telling the New York Daily News that “It was her fault... my son went out and had a couple of drinks. He deserves to have a good time now and then.” Uh... worst mother ever? Source: Shanghai Daily more ›

... and before you start scoffing, it's all from a very reliable and authoritative source of course — no, it's not AC Nielsen and neither is it Taylor Nelson Sofres — it's a doctoral student from Shanghai University by the name of Ni Lin. Never heard of her? Well neither have we, but if the Shanghai Daily starts quoting her as proof of its popularity among expats in this town, then she must be something right? more ›

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. more ›

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 such an encounter alive. Please note that, like "fish" and "zucchini", the plural form of Haibao is also Haibao, making them even creepier. [Via apgalbraith on Twitter] more ›