A random internet search brought us to this kinda cool poster from artist Steve Thomas. It's a retro-futuristic advert for the World's Fair in 2474 (we guess) that celebrates Shanghai's "Five Centuries of Progress." We suppose that means the 2010 thingy we're hosting goes OK. Ironically, the Pudong skyline used to represent the future in the poster is already the old Pudong skyline. The best part: Entry to the World's Fair is only four credits.......

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Seen_at_Wal_Mart_China_Undies_for_fat_man_and_for_fatso'; While shopping at Wal-Mart in Wujiaochang over the weekend, we spotted these pairs of XXXL men's underwear in not-so-PC packaging. The Chinese — 特大型 (tè dà xíng) — roughly translates to "giant-sized." But the English chosen is "FOR FAT MAN" and, our favorite, "for Fatso." There is small print on the Fatso brand that reads, "the specialized design will comfot your body, fat ass." (OK, we added those last to words......

If you're wondering where to go on your next shopping trip, look no further. Wen'an Jie in Nanjing houses all your favourite brands and promises to make any jaded Shanghai shopper come alive again. Our favourite one in there has gotta be "Pizza Huh".......

Nope, it's not Shanghai Baby, now it's Shanghai Barbie. The massive 3400-square-meter flagship shop at 550 Huai Hai Lu is set to open soon. The tagline: "We Believe in Girls' Dreams" is perhaps the most disturbing aspect. How does Barbie appeal to a Shanghainese girl's dreams? The wish to have blond hair and a boob job? Shanghai's House of Barbie is the first Barbie flagship worldwide. Two new Shanghai Barbie Dolls (one Asian, one Caucasian)......

SH Mag reports: "The clothes are still made in LA, and so are the wages – staff here receive above the US minimum. ... Small, but packed full of sweatshop-free goodness." And the prices? "Fine jersey T-shirt (¥188); plain tank vest (¥154); knee-high tube socks (¥102); solid rib mod dress (¥307); lamé late night mini skirt (¥328); unisex striped zip hoody (¥461); nylon taffeta jacket (¥553)." We're curious to see how this location performs. Nice......

The newly launched Marks and Spencers on Nanjing Xi Lu is off to a rather inauspicious start — barely a few days after Shanghai shoppers went on a rampage at the store, an Indian national has fallen to his death Sunday evening. Xinhua has more: The accident occurred at around 9:30 p.m. when Shah Harshit, 24,fell from an escalator on the fourth floor of the store in Nanjing West Road, a Shanghai Municipal Public Security......

Marks & Spencer's 40,000 sq ft Shanghai store opened yesterday on Nanjing Xi Lu, as hordes of curious Shanghai shoppers rushed for its lingerie, biscuits and jam, writes The Times.Health officials have announced a more streamlined and centralised blood collection system to be in place in the city by 2010.The dirty, polluted Suzhou Creek will be cleaned up and remade into a "cultural corridor" that will attract businesses and tourists alike.Over 50 karaoke bars in......

Check out John Pasden's helpful tips here (and be jealous that your company doesn't subsidize the purchasing of cool smuggled gadgets).......

From Beijing-based techie Frank Yu: "iPhones for sale in Beijing. 1st Gen 8 gig iPhone USD 735. 2nd Gen 8 gig 3G iPhone USD 1,176. The Older iPhones rose almost 42% since 3G." [Source]......

According to a report released by China Internet Network Information Center, online shopping expenditures in the first half of 2008 total 16.2 billion RMB, with Shanghai leading the way in per capita consumption. Looks like China's netizens are doing more than just stirring up trouble.......

"'As soon as we get it from Hong Kong and bring it over and unlock it.' ... Asked about claims that the new iPhones could not be hacked, he replied: 'The Chinese are very quick at unlocking iPhones. They used to say that the PSP couldn't be hacked as well, but we hacked it,' referring to Sony's PlayStation Portable game console." We believe the price they quote for an iPhone — 3,000 kuai — is......

Following the closure of the infamous Xiangyang “fake goods” Market back in 2006, vendors have scattered all over Shanghai such as Qipu Lu but most have congregated in Pudong. The underground market by the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum remains the largest in terms of variety but we’ve found Rongfu Building （融福大厦）along Pudong Nan Lu, to be more convenient. Located behind Times Square by a busy intersection of malls and restaurants, Rongfu is five floors......

Amelia of ChinaTravel.net draws our attention to this Beijing Olympic keychain souvenir with a live fish in it:I found this picture up at the Beijing Olympics Fan blog and was shocked out of my wits!!! Who would ever buy this??? In 4 hours the fish would be dead, how do you explain that to your 6 year old daughter? I saw some guys selling these on the subway recently, they were claiming that the water......

“Asia is a market we have never really cracked. They don’t think they smell, but people everywhere smell” - Russell Taylor, Unilever - Whilst the UK currently leads the rest of the world in deodorant spending at around 125RMB per person annually, China's average is 0RMB with only 7 per cent of all of Asia reckoned to be using BO basher. It's no surprise then that Unilever (the people who make Axe / Lynx, Sure,......

It's that time of the year again — temperatures are creeping up, and we spotted our first shirtless market stall holder at the weekend; summer is just around the corner. For those of us still refusing to crank up the a/c just yet, here is a handy little device that might help you get a more restful night's sleep. It's a plastic pillow made from small tiles, laced together with strong elastic for comfort and......

Depending on where you read your news, the nation-wide boycott of, and protests against, French supermarket chain Carrefour in China were either a well-attended show of nationalistic pride or were over-shadowed by the bargains on offer inside the stores. Angered by events surrounding the Olympic torch relay in Paris last month and by President Sarkozy declining to rule out a boycott of the games in Beijing in August, the protests had been arranged through on-line......

In our ongoing quest to keep you updated on the sugar free food and beverage options in Shanghai (and to keep with our tradition of posting stories that are "SOOOO interesting"), we thought we'd mention that locally branded Coca-Cola Zero — a sugar free carbonated beverage that "unlike the sugar-free Diet Coke, is formulated to taste like Coca-Cola," according to Wikipedia — started being available in Shanghai grocery stores and convenience stores sometime last week......

Fans of tight-fitting non-branded clothing rejoice! Following the much-heralded invasion of H&M and (the slightly less heralded) C&A, dedicated followers of fashion have the arrival of another Western brand to look forward to, after American Apparel announced that they will be hitting the streets of Shanghai in the next month or so. Location details have not yet been released but the chain is currently negotiating a lease for a downtown store in Shanghai, as well......

Photos here and here A cross between Crest and Darlie, everyone's favorite racist toothpaste. Spotted in Qingpu District.......

A few weeks ago it came to our attention that what appeared to be a large price tag-shaped sign was affixed to the front of a building under construction across the street from Zhongshan Park. The sign was under wraps, but the shape alone was enough to conjure up images of Best Buy and many high school hours spent searching in vain for movies and music that they don't keep in stock. Now despite......

On February 11th, a Chinese couple from Zhejiang, while shopping at the famous high-end retail group Galeries Lafayettes on a Paris tour, was accused of using a counterfeit note, then brought to a police station, questioned and searched “insultingly” then accused a second time at the same cashier of using a fake banknote, although it had been proven genuine by a bank expert. The French company duly apologized and offered the couple another Paris tour,......

Got your Chairman Mao figurine? Inflatable Pearl Tower? Spinning top that plays Axel F? Then you'll be needing the next big thing in souvenir tackery. Available in either a Day or Night versions, this motorised marvel displays images of the Bund drifting by for a maximum of 8 hours. Leave the DVDs alone for a while and enjoy the music of your choice (the clip features "Carbon Dating" by the Super Furry Animals) as you......

We're often asked what things we miss most from home. Five years ago, we may have been ready with a long list of items in response. But now, it's a toughie. In many ways, Shanghai is home now, and a lot more Western comforts are readily available here in 2008 than there were just a few years ago. So when people ask the "what do you miss" question, we generally draw a blank on specifics......

Okay, it may be the case that we don't fly enough, but yesterday at the Hongqiao Airport, we were really surprised to see this Virgin bookstore at the departure hall (that Richard Branson has really acted fast, hasn't he?). Does anyone know how long the store has been there? Food and beverage options appear to have widened up quite a bit too. Element Fresh has been there since last summer, located just outside the exit......

Photo by Wee Ling Soh So it's that time of the year when you are heading home in two weeks and you realize you need to get a wedding gift for your good friend whose wedding you had missed last November. And you actually haven't bought her a wedding gift yet (whatever happened to wedding registries?), much less a decent funky Chinese style gift since you happen to be working in China. As we've......

Adding to the flux of design studios and boutique start-ups in the artsy enclave of Taikang Road, we stumble upon yet another new kid on the block. Projection 216 is a design studio/boutique started by fashion designer Jenny Ni who has also rounded up several of her friends including design duo Perk, T-shirt collective The Thing, artist/graphic designer Tyakasha, sneaker designer DK and even a manicurist, Mary to join her in this endeavor. We......

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......

Translation of captions:OPPOSING THE SHANGHAI MAGLEV ONSTRUCTION PLAN: 10,000 RESIDENTS TAKE PART IN THE 'HARMONIOUS WALK' NEAR PEOPLE'S SQUARE On 12 Jan, Saturday, as agreed through signs that had been placed through the various affcted neighbourhoods, people gathered at 2pm at People's Square for the "harmonious walk". At 2pm, over 100 people had gathered by the Urban Planning Museum. There were about 30 policemen and 10 police cars. These were all normal policemen, there were......

By Wee Ling Soh With temperatures looking to dip again in a few days, we see no reason why winter should be spent in jeans and thermals when colored opaque tights are all the rage this season. What more can we ask of opaque tights? Comfy to wear, practical in this bone-biting chill and most people should be able to carry it off (try darker colors if you think your legs are not your best......

Above, dear reader, you will see an example par excellence of lazy journalism. The header to this post is about as hackneyed as they come, but then so is the approach of a new periodical we stumbled across this week, the rubbishly titled SLmagazine. Whereas Dickens spent 500 odd pages flitting between London and Paris, SL pompously sees its "visionary mission" as to provide a cultural link between Shanghai and London (SL - geddit?) in......