Sichuan has reopened 17 tourist destinations province-wide after the devastating May 12 earthquake — just in time for the National Day holiday season. Among the 17 destinations is Dujiangyan, one of the worst-hit cities in the province, and home to the collapsed Xinjian Primary School and Juyuan Middle School where many students and teachers were literally buried alive.......

Of the more than 500 children who lost their parents in the May 12th earthquake, only two have been adopted, the Washington Post reports. According to China Daily, however, only one child has been adopted. As many as 88 children are in temporary care, while the rest have moved in with relatives. Despite the earlier outpouring of grief and adoption enquiries after the earthquake, many of the children are unable to find adoptive parents because......

1,000 Jews cannot be wrong [YNetNews] "Descendants of centuries-old Jewish community in China's Kaifeng rediscover Jewish heritage after near complete assimilation in local community"I have nothing more to lose [Electric New Paper] " THIS legless dissident did his bit during the Olympics by doing nothing. Mr Fang Zheng, 42, stayed clear of any trouble in Beijing just as the Chinese government hoped he would. Now, he's waiting to see if they will fulfil their promise......

Anyone who's ever seen one of those fancy digital SLR cameras probably knows that professional photography ain't child's play. Right? Well, maybe not. Some friends of Shanghaiist marched into rural Sichuan a few months ago, and started up the Malafi Photo Initiative by handing out reloadable point-and-shoot cameras to a small army of volunteers. Oh, sorry; when we say small army, we really mean 14 little kids. And when we say reloadable cameras, we mean......

Several tomcats in Sichuan province have started to develop fur-covered wings and while their owners have attributed the strange growth to the hot summer spell and stress from having too many female cats desiring to mate with them (!), scientists think otherwise. The cats have caused a sensation, attracting large crowds of people to behold the unusual sight. More from The Telegraph:Although the growths appear fluffy, they contain bone. But veterinary experts say that despite......

The U.S. Geological Survey, via Reuters newswire, reported that a potentially destructive 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, China, at 0949 GMT (that would be 5:49 Shanghai time) on Tuesday. The temblor was centered 30 miles north-northwest of Guangyuan, China, at a depth of 6.2 miles. USGS said a shallow quake of that magnitude is capable of significant property damage. AFP reports no casualties have been reported as yet.......

According to the NGO Human Rights in China, Liu Shaokun, a teacher from Sichuan Province has been sent to labor camp for having published photos of collapsed school bulidings in the quake hit area. After the earthquake, Liu photographed the damaged school buildings and posted his photos on line. He also expressed his anger over the low quality of these buildings in a newspaper interview. Liu was detained on the 25th of June for "......

Photo by Langoustine More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here).......

Yesterday we heard that authorities in Sichuan were offering hush money to parents who lost children in the May earthquake. The story has been circulating widely, and more details about the government’s attempts to placate parents have come to the fore. Not only are officials apparently going door to door offering pay outs of around 60,000 RMB, they’re sweetening the deal by adding more incentives to keep up the harmonious front. The list includes pensions,......

As the Chinese government goes about in its last minute preparations for the long-awaited Olympics, elsewhere in Sichuan Province, local officials are pressurizing parents whose children have died in the May 12 earthquake to accept hush money. Sign a contract to get a cash payment plus pension or risk further trouble from the authorities? Very, very disturbing. [Source]......

Earthquakes with magnitudes of 4.8 and 5.5 hit Sichuan yesterday afternoon after an early morning tremor struck the region. The first counts report the quakes left at least one dead, 17 injured and 360 homes flattened. The tremors are just the latest in the string of over 12,000 aftershocks the region has suffered following the May 12 disaster, 25 of which have measured greater than 5.0 on the Richter scale, classifying them as moderate quakes......

An earthquake measuring a moderate 5.5 on the Richter scale struck southwest China just before four a.m. this morning, hitting the area 48 kilometers northwest of Guangyuan that was devastated by May's massive quake. Unlike this spring's 8.0-magnitude disaster, there are no reports yet of major damage or casualties. [Source]......

For this week's edition of Opinionist, we present to you some of the thoughts of Ho Kwon Ping, founder and executive chairman of the Banyan Tree Group which owns and operates a chain of award-winning premium resorts, hotels and spas, surrounding the great Sichuan earthquake. Ho, who owns resorts in Lijiang, Shangri-La and Sanya, had a close shave with the earthquake as his flight from Chengdu to Hong Kong was almost taking off when the......

Cisco announces a three-year $45 million (RMB300 million) commitment to helping rebuild in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake that left nearly 5 million people homeless. The memorandum of understanding signed by both Sichuan Governor Jiang Jufeng and Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers was the result of several weeks of meetings between the Cisco team and officials from all levels of the Chinese government to gain a better understanding of the current situation. Corporate......

A Date With Lu Yu《鲁豫有约》is one of the most influential talkshows in China which has been known to constantly push the envelope and to broach topics previously considered too hot to touch. One such episode is the one below which features two homosexual men from the Sichuan Province — who, long before the word "gay" had entered the Chinese lexicon — married each other, adopted a son and have been together for 21 years. VIDEO......

A pig who survived for 36 days after the Sichuan earthquake on May 12 has been heralded as a hero and symbol of the will to stay alive. The pig, who has since been named "Zhu Jianqiang" or "Strongwill Pig," managed to live on a diet of charcoal and water while buried under rubble. It was discovered last week in Pengzhou city, having lost two-thirds of its weight and now "thin as a goat," a......

One week after last month's deadly Sichuan Earthquake, we brought to you the heartrending story of Chen Jian (陈坚), a young man who was pinned under the rubble for 73 hours, but unfortunately didn't make it after rescuers managed to extract him after working on him for six hours. Today, Zhang Qian (张倩), the reporter who was by Chen Jian's side in his last moments still breaks down whenever she thinks of him. In this......

For those of you that have been complaining about the wet weather in Shanghai here over the weekend, our friends in southern China have been having it far worse. Heavy rain in Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces are causing water levels in rivers further downstream in in Jiangxi, Guangxi and Guangdong provinces to rise. Of course all this is doubly bad news for Sichuan which is still reeling from last month's earthquake. Over 1.27 million......

A month after the tragedy in Sichuan you’d be forgiven for feeling a little compassion fatigue. Whilst the focus of the recovery process has changed from the desperate speed of the first few days, there is still a lot of work to be done repairing damage both physical and emotional. On that theme then, tonight sees an event hosted by a group of Shanghai’s creative arts and fashion crowd called Heartbeat in Putuo. The organisers......

Fiery episode of 《针锋相对》on Phoenix TV hosted by Hu Yihu (胡一虎) discussing whether Fan Meizhong (范美忠), teacher at the Guangya School in Dujiangyan, was "morally corrupt" for being the first to run away when the earthquake struck (If you missed this story earlier, read this backgrounder by Danwei). Unfortunately, we won't be able to translate everything said in these four videos, but a few things are worth pointing out. First, Fan starts by saying that......

Fons Tuinstra of China Herald suggests that lots of hotel rooms, in particular 4-star rooms, are still available during the Beijing Olympics. Is Beijing really expecting 500,000 foreigners in August?Latest visa rumour from Richard Brubaker of All Roads Lead to China: Anyone born after 1983 will no longer be offered a Z visa.The Opposite End of China informs us of a Uyghur attack on a police station last week in Sangong, Xinjiang, which is right......

The previously bustling city of Mianyang (绵阳), Sichuan's second largest city and an important military and nuclear base with a population of 5.7 million, is now nothing but a ghost town. As of June 5, Mianyang had a death toll of 21,963. Another 167,742 were injured, and 8,743 people missing. The remaining residents have been evacuated as the nearby Tangjiashan quake lake threatens to burst anytime soon. Meanwhile, prime minister Wen Jiabao (温家宝) continues to......

Tonight (Tuesday, 3 June) "Hip-Hop" group the Black Eyed Peas are playing a hastily arranged benefit gig for around 700 people at the Shanghai Concert Hall. Although previously set up as a brown-nosing corporate show for Chivas and Pernod Ricard the invite-only show will now apparently help victims of the Sichuan earthquake in some way. "We will invite our VIP guests, main customers in China, along with media to the concert"says Chivas spokeswoman Vanessa Wright......

A powerful, evocative and sombre collection of photos taken by Shanghai-based Canadian photographer Chad Ingraham who has been spending time in Chengdu and Dujiangyan over the last few days.......

A group of about a dozen celebrities including Andy Lau (刘德华), Sammi Cheng (郑秀文), Joey Yung (容祖儿), Gilbert Lam (林韋辰), Joey Meng (萬綺雯), Grace Cheung (張家瑩), Bowie Lam (林保怡), Astrid Chan (陳芷菁), Zhang Guoli (张国立), Chen Daoming (陈道明), Feng Xiaogang (冯小刚) and Jiang Wenli (蒋雯丽) are part of a contingent of celebrities taken to visit the earthquake zone in Sichuan Province and to rally the troops that have been serving non-stop in rescue operations. Pop......

The next time you are at Shanghai Centre Element Fresh, be sure to check out what's on the walls as you wait for your order to arrive. Shanghai-based Canadian artist Jeffery Robert Bleazard has donated six of his artworks to the Sichuan Earthquake Charity Art Auction organized by Element Fresh and the paintings will be on display at Shanghai Centre Element Fresh until June 8. Quite appropriately so, four out of the six paintings......

Chinese official, on his knees, begs parents of children killed in quake not to protest [AP] "The image was startling: A Chinese official on his knees, begging. The Communist Party secretary of Mianzhu city pleaded with protesting parents — whose children were killed in a school collapse during China's recent devastating earthquake — not to complain to higher authorities, the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper reported Monday."China finds escaped quake panda [Reuters] "China has recaptured a......

Selena Hsu of Current TV visits the Jiuzhou Stadium in Mianyang and discovers that while some parents have lost their children and everything else in life, they are more than willing to adopt someone else's child orphaned by the earthquake. [h/t to Danwei] Related link If you're thinking of adoption.........

Has Sharon Stone been drinking too much lately? You be the judge. Here's what she said on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival when asked about the earthquake that has devastated the Sichuan Province:Well you know it was very interesting because at first, you know, I am not happy about the ways the Chinese were treating the Tibetans because I don’t think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And so I have been......

Yes, you heard that right. Just when we thought it was all over, another one has struck. This was the strongest aftershock since the deadly quake, but for such a strong aftershock (6.4 on the Richter scale) which managed to topple 70,000 houses and leave anothor 200,000 in danger of collapse, the death toll was pretty low at two and another several hundred more injured. Our friend, Jane Voodikon, editor of Chengdoo magazine informs us......