Li Yang (李阳) of the Shanghai-based Crazy English movement has been getting a lot of bad press lately, and Shanghai Daily's Wang Yanlin is the latest to chime in, with a hard-hitting piece slamming the self-styled English guru who believes that getting his students to yell out phrases after him combined with hand gestures is the best way to learn English. The media-savvy Li Yang is also a dynamic speaker on stage who clearly understands... more ›

A few weeks ago, an American teenager made headlines by unlocking the American version of the iPhone, which is strictly limited to use on the AT&T mobile network in the U.S. The 17 year old published his work on his blog, forever cementing in place in the annals of nerdery. With the iPhone unlocked, iPhone users can use to phone on any GSM network, as used in Europe and Asia, free them from AT&T's... more ›

The free Metro Express commuter paper has a big front-page spread today on the People's Square metro interchange make-over. The headline announces that "People's Square Three Line Interchange Hall To Open By Year's End", which is old news to those who have been following the progress of the new metro Line 8. Instead, the reason for the story being published today is that the Shanghai Rail Transport Construction Headquarters just released a bunch of numbers on the new station, as well as a map of the planned station layout. Among the numbers: more ›

Shanghaiist is somewhat of a frequent flyer to Beijing, and because he isn't employed by some big multinational but rather runs his own little business, he can only afford to put himself on cattle class and often has to scour the internet for the cheapest available deals. We especially love this nifty little function on eLong.com which shows you the cheapest available flight within a week of your selected departure date. That has worked to our advantage in the past because we have relatively flexible schedules, and we have flown to Beijing for as low as RMB530 (that's RMB400 for the ticket and RMB130 for miscellaneous taxes) on Hainan Airlines. more ›

We’re sure everyone has forgotten due to a lack of media coverage, however, Shanghai will be hosting the 2010 World Expo. In order to prepare for Shanghai’s debut on the world stage, several construction projects are underway. After all, Shanghai has to upstage former World Expo hosts, such as Knoxville in the US, Hanover in Germany, Aichi Prefecture in Japan, and the main rival, the 2008 host Zaragoza, Spain. more ›

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Friday was the first day that Shanghai's ban on honking withing the Inner Ring Road came into effect. Fines range from RMB 200 for prolonged honking, RMB 100 for average offenses, and simple friendly reminders at the officer's discretion for unavoidable toots. The Shanghai Morning Post reports that traffic noise was down on 11 decibels on average at 70 sites being monitored around the city. more ›

We received this email today from a friend (and frequent eater of shengjian mantou): more ›

That's what some people are saying. According to China Radio International, the Shanghai Morning Post reported earlier this week that Spider-Man 3, expected to be one of the summer's biggest blockbuster movies, got the seal of approval from China's censors and will "open in theaters on the Chinese mainland on May 1, even though it won't be released in the United States until May 4." Pacific Epoch also reports this, citing the Legal Evening News as its source. They say the movie will appear "in theaters in Beijing on May 1." If true, moviegoers in China will be the first in the world (aside from those at the Tokyo world premiere on April 16) to witness "a strange black entity from another world bond with Peter Parker and cause inner turmoil as he contends with new villains, temptations, and revenge." more ›

There's a few things in this life that start with the letter M that Shanghaiist doesn't like. Malingerers, marmite, and men with no moustache but full beards (OK, the last one is a bit of a stretch M-wise). Some would say that these are irrational and ill-conceived categorisations, but there is another one on the list that isn't — and that is mosquitoes. And it looks like Shanghaiist isn't going to enjoy our coming summer evenings. more ›

If you've lived in Shanghai long enough, you're probably already accustomed to the laughs and good times that are experienced daily when using public transportation. Pushing and shoving your way onto a crowded car is commonplace, adding to the charm and excitement of Shanghai. For a seasoned Shanghai resident, pushing on and off buses and subway trains is like being in a mosh pit and crowded quarters during rush hour become fun endurance tests for your olfactory system. For visitors, it's enough to go mad. Shanghaiist once saw a foreign visitor break down in sobs after fighting her way onto a Line 1 train during rush hour at People's Square, weeping into her partner's arms, "I can't do this anymore!" Amateur. So what's a civilized commuter to do? As reported today on Shanghai Daily, a new campaign has been started to promote better manners when using the city's public transport. more ›

Shanghaiist was scanning the Shanghai Morning Post and decided, after reading just the main headlines, that we could indeed spare the seven jiao needed to purchase this paper. On the top left hand corner we noticed an ad for 嗨！ 上海 (最 HIGH 的 上海生活门户） which translates to "Hi! Shanghai (the most HIGH Shanghai lifestyle portal)". What we found there was a cookie-cutter portal which tries to be everything for everyone. more ›

Shanghaiist reported the overwhelming success of Tujia pizza, otherwise known as Tujia Diaozha Shaobing (土家掉渣烧饼), in the city a while ago. Started last May in Hubei province, this money machine seems to have hit a dead end. This Shanghai Morning Post report (in Chinese) says most of the franchises in downtown Shanghai are already closed. Seen many people munching on a brown paper bags with oil stains lately? more ›

For those who are in agony like Shanghaiist because of the god awful home karaoke practice that goes on in our neighbourhood, now here is a solution. With the revised Shanghai Environmental Protection Regulation implemented on May 1, we can now all just dial 110 and ask the police to sort it out (if they are not too busy ticketing jaywalkers). more ›

OK, last month we learned about a Dalian factory that turns corpses into art, or at least what some people might consider art. And now the curious have their chance to see, and touch, the real thing (well, it might be the real thing -- some people think the "corpses" are fake). The upcoming “Corpse Exhibition” is going to open in Shanghai on April 28 after touring many major cities in China including Beijing, Guangzhou, Changsha and Shenyang. more ›

We didn't go to the Rolling Stones concert last night. And we have only heard from one person who did go, second hand at that. Here's the message we received today: more ›

Remember what we told you about Mission: Impossible III holding its world premier in Shanghai next month? Um, yeah -- that's not happening anymore. So all you people camped out in front of the Grand Theater can go home now. The Shanghai Morning Post reports: more ›

If you are a non-smoker aged between 18 and 45, and it is determined that your nose is up to snuff, you could very well get a job with the Environment Inspection Center of Shanghai as a human sniffer. Once you're recruited, you will receive training that brings you to a level where you can identify the smells of five items: flowers, sweat, sweet crispy rice (a local snack), ripe fruit and excrement. Yep, we think we can smell all of those right now. Sign us up! more ›

Imagine going to your gym to work out, and instead of being greeted by ladies in smart suits, you find a piece of paper saying something vague like “Due to a problem, the gym has closed.” Sound familiar? This happened at Golds Gym in 2003 and it happened again this morning, just a few blocks away, at Nottingham Gym. Are the gyms in Jing'an cursed? more ›

Shanghaiist is in a fury. No, not because of the freezing weather, but because of a recent thread in a pet website we frequent. more ›

With the large number of unwanted babies in China and the increasing popularity of the internet, we assume this was just a matter of time. But come on, people. This is sick. They even said they'd sell you a boy, which makes Shanghaiist think it must be a hoax. Shanghai police are investigating the case: more ›