While it's still a little too cool to break out the swim suits and tanning lotion, here's something to look forward to: the artificial beach on the South Bund near Cool Docks & Shiliupu is now open. more ›

Apparently, some Shanghainese are taking umbrage with girls' outfits this summer. Seems like, to beat the heat, girls are wearing less and less, and some people feel the extra skin is a "visual disturbance." In a survey on Xinhua, 55% admitted to being uncomfortable by the ways girls were dressing nowadays, and 62% of men even considered it sexual harassment! Jeez, you'd think with all the buddha belly baring, guys would be a little more open to letting us air some flesh. more ›

Remember how we went to Orange Alert a little while ago? The insanely high temperatures of the last couple of days have shocked Shanghai authorities into changing the color... to red! That's hardly any comfort to anyone walking outside right now, and I'm not really sure what the colors do besides tell us what we already know... but anyway, look forward to rain (but just a teeny drop in temperature tomorrow, and slightly more reasonable temperatures on Monday in time for the Qixi Festival. more ›

As if the 38C all-around Shanghai temperature mark wasn't high enough, apparently it's actually much, much hotter than that. Thanks to the heat island effect of all that concrete, temperatures at areas like the Bund (or heck, probably right outside your apartment) are really registering at around 45C (113F!!)! So for those of you unfortunate enough to walk around in areas with little shade this week, remember to always bring water with you and watch out for heatstroke. more ›

• Ugh, you thought shanghai weather was hot already? Apparently its supposed to have entered the hottest part of summer just yesterday. Also, there will be thunderstorms. Fun. [Shanghai Daily]
• Paul French decries the destruction of old buildings in Hongkou thanks to the World Expo. Sigh, not everybody can have the semi-fabulous fate of Taikang Lu and Xintiandi we guess. [China Rhyming]
• On the upside, 13 of the city's parks are going to be upgraded this year (most likely for the same reason old buildings are being destroyed). On the list are Changfeng Park, Shanghai Botanical Garden and Shanghai Zoo. [Shanghai Daily]

How hot is it in Shanghai? So hot that a car spontaneously combusted last week. At around 3:30pm on July 9, a Volkwagen Passat began smoking and caught on fire at the corner of Changde Lu and Changle Lu, according to Xinmin. By the time the Xinmin reporter got to the car, the fire had already been extinguished. But from the photos of the aftermath, it looks like the fire did a number on the front of the vehicle. The tow company said that the car likely combusted because of circuit failure. As a PSA, perhaps you should keep your car out of the sun. more ›