We did it. Several Shanghaiist readers did it. And you -- you admit you did it too! But the award for Most Scientific Controlled Study in this category goes hands down to Adam Minter of Shanghai Scrap. And he has lived to tell the story. more ›

As far as demolition, construction, and restoration projects go, China tends to top the list for sad and wasteful. Adam Minter over at Shanghai Scrap has been chronicling yet another victim in Shanghai's ever continuing demolition of its history. This time it's a 135-year-old Carmelite Convent in Xujiahui. But the bizarre twist here is that instead of high rises or shopping complexes, they've instead replaced the convent with... the convent, only one fifth smaller. more ›

Speaking of the Expo, since it's ending on Sunday, we can expect a lot of overwrought opinion pieces on it come Monday morning. Before that though, Shanghai Scrap has gotten the jump on every other Expo closing thoughts piece by interviewing one of the Expo's biggest critics, Malcolm Moore of the Telegraph. Has his opinion changed in these six months? Let this quote give you a hint: "In terms of what it tells us about China, I would say the Expo confirms, once again, that the Communist party will do almost anything not to lose face. That’s also not news." more ›

Bringing us 36 snapshots of Expo snoozers, Shanghai Scrap highlighted the habitual napping of World Expo visitors on the southern end of the Expo Boulevard. But is catching some very public shut-eye in the middle of the 500,000 people-deep Expo really that common? A quick search around the Chinese blogosphere confirms this trend, as a series of napping snapshots have popped up on several sites. more ›

Adam Minter is an American writer in Shanghai, China, where he covers a range of topics, including the Chinese environment, religion in contemporary China, trade, sports, and cross-cultural issues between the West and Asia. Minter’s work has been published in The Atlantic, Slate, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, Mother Jones, Scientific American, ARTnews, and other publications. He blogs at Shanghai Scrap. Today, he shares five Expo-related reasons he's looking forward to 2010 (in no particular order/ardor). more ›

Shanghai Scrap has a great analysis of the differences in mentality between recycling in China and recycling in the West. While in Europe and North America recycling is a moral act done almost as a penance for overconsumption, in the developing world it's done because it's economical. more ›

"China has surpassed the United States to become the world's largest Internet market by number of users, a research firm said on Thursday." more ›

For those of you that found that video of that Guangzhou train station stampede too gruesome to watch, then please, DO NOT click on this video (h/t to Global Voices). The clip contains images of dead bodies, and in fact it's so gory we're surprised that it hasn't been removed from Youku yet. more ›

If you visit Contrasts Gallery on Jiangxi Lu now, you will find lots of migrant workers have actually made it their temporary home, but that is not some avant garde artist doing his latest exhibition. Here's a note from reader Arjen van der Schoot who loaned one of his paintings to the exhibition that is currently being held hostage by the workers:

Contrasts Gallery on Jiangxi Road opposite Hamilton House over a disputed RMB 1 million renovation at the gallery. About 20 workers have squatted in the gallery for nearly a month now, desperate to go home for Chinese new year with money they claim they are owed. The workers are sleeping on makeshift beds on the floor and the walls are lined with mounds of rubbish, mostly empty lunch boxes. Electricity has been cut off leaving most of the gallery submerged in icy cold darkness. The workers are also keeping about 25 works by well-known artist Qian Gang hostage. The 25 works represent two years worth of work, and Mr. Qian is anxious to have the issue resolved and his paintings, some of which are on loan from private collectors, returned. The gallery’s staff is taking turns to keep an eye on the workers.

If you have friends and family from overseas who are planning to visit for the Olympics, you may for their own sake want to subject them to a friendly frisk before they board their homeward flight. According to reports picked up on by Shanghai Scrap, the World Customs Organization is going to leave no stuffed panda unturned in its fight against counterfeit Olympic goods. The head of the WCO, Christophe Zimmerman, seems to be out for scalps, saying that: "Even if you are found with the smallest item, even just one item, you will face at least a fine. Of course, if you stock up then it will be more serious." more ›

Photo of a Shanghai demolition site from Montrasio International more ›

... with SCAA's Christmas gala which happens this evening at 6.30pm at O'Malleys! RMB 100 at the door gets you a glass of Champagne, two standard drinks, comfort food, lots of free gifts and one Holiday Raffle ticket for a chance to win over 100 prizes totaling more than RMB 150,000! For those of you on the hunt for Christmas trees but don't know where to get them, Smart Shanghai has the answers! 'Tis the... more ›

Adam Minter of Shanghai Scrap describes his uneasiness at finding a medicine vending machine on the edge of "the city’s best (if not largest) fake market". Honestly, since Xiangyang was torn down, we're not too sure which other fake market has taken over as "the city's best fake market". This is a really kickass machine, and Adam's got some great close-ups too. Hop on over to his blog for some ‘Cold and flu medication,’ ‘Fever... more ›

The Peking Duck: Is the rush to study Chinese a time-wasting fad? more ›

Yet another diplomatic tussle looms large between Beijing and the Vatican in the days ahead. It all started when the Catholic News Agency sent out the following really short story a few days ago, alleging that the Bible is "among objects prohibited at the 2008 Beijing Olympics":

Organizers of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing have published a list of “prohibited objects” in the Olympic village where athletes will stay. To the surprise of many, Bibles are among the objects that will not be allowed. more ›

Typhoon Wipha might have been a no-show, and even though Typhoon Krosa was not expected to be as big as Wipha, the whistle it whipped up on our seventh floor apartment did mean we were hardly able to sleep all night (although the rain does appear to have stopped for now). more ›

People who made the news this week more ›

Thou shalt not collude on pricing, the regulatory god said unto the Moses of industries in most countries, including China. But the instant noodle cabal either did not hear it or turned a deaf ear. In late July, noodle makers joined forces in raising prices by about 20 percent, and as much as 40 percent for some products.After less than three weeks of regulatory pressure, media assailing and public discontent, the industry backed down, apologized and initiated an across-the-board price cut. Is this a triumph of consumer rights and regulatory protection? Yes ... hmm maybe. 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 ›

PLUS brolly-toting Premier Wen and X-ray of Homer Simpson's brain! more ›

Image from Shanghai Scrap. more ›