Shanghaihua, or Shanghainese, the language (or, well dialect, officially) spoken by the city's inhabitants will now enter a new era. From having been a completely spoken language, Shanghai urbanites will now be able to write and type what they are saying. A new software for typing in Shanghainese will be available at four websites including ShanghaiNing.com for free download from the beginning of August:"We have completed the connection between 15,000 Shanghai dialect words and pinyin,"......

For those with little money and fewer scruples, a new business is taking off in town — wedding venue scalping. With this being the popular marriage year of the Olympics and lucky number 8, demand for reception spaces has been at an unprecedented high throughout the city, forcing many to contact the new wedding banquet resale moguls who reserve spaces in advance and charge desperate couples a fee to use them.A Hong-Kong based human......

The corner of Fumin Lu and Julu Lu is a hotspot for expat diners: Nepali Kitchen, Shintori, Guyi, Otto, Coconut Paradise, and Mesa. But smack dab in the middle are also a handful of Chinese restaurants that don't get much mention in our beloved English-language rags. We checked one of them out recently and have now added Hui Yuan Fang (汇元坊) to the list of worthy destinations located within that intersection. We're not big fans......