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......

Look what we received in the mail today! It seems that Shanghai authorities are taking a creative step forward in helping residents to consume less salt with this nifty package. Encased is a small plastic spoon that holds 2 grams of salt (as seen inverted at the top of the handle) and on the package, it advises residents to consume only 3 spoonfuls of salt a day to prevent high blood pressure. On the flip......

You may have walked past the Holy Trinity Cathedral before and not even known it. The church has been under construction for a couple of years now and protected from public view by the ever-cunning big cement construction wall. But it's still there, awaiting its impending resurrection amid a chorus of jackhammers. Completed in 1869, the Holy Trinity remains one of the oldest western-style buildings still standing in Shanghai. Its stunning design features the......

We want some of whatever this guy is smoking: "Haibao is a jolly, confident and cute kid," said Shao Longtu, 62, CEO of the Jiumuchuansheng advertising company and head of the mascot design team. "Using a human being as a mascot reflects the spirit of human-orientation, while the color blue stands for water, sea, the Earth, life, dreams, the future and technology," Shao said. ... "The mascot is a perfect match for the emblem. It......

We just received news that North Korea has expressed its intention to attend the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. How exciting is that, people! Having attended the World Expo in Hanover in 2000, we just wonder what wonderful propaganda awaits us at the DPRK pavilion in 2010! So we looked up Youtube and found this clip which we thought would be a fantastic example of what would be shown at the North Korean pavilion. Leo......

A China Eastern Airlines jetliner emblazoned with flashy colors and the not-so-flashy "Better City, Better Life" slogan of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai made its maiden voyage yesterday. Here are some photos of it arriving in Tokyo. We have a confession to make: Before moving to Shanghai, we had no idea that World Expos (also known as World Fairs) still took place[1]. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that we are......

It seems the world's obsession with the Western world's "it" language, Chinese Mandarin, extends to our world leaders. And like a lot of politicians faced with a tough assignment, they like to throw a lot of money to solve the problem. In Australia, the former Federal Government's Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone's obsession with learning Chinese Mandarin has been revealed to the public. The public that is footing the bill estimated to be worth AUD$70,000 (RMB430,000......

Yu Li, Shanghai World Expo Employee ...