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The capital finally had its first bout of snow last week, but someone it seems decided to use the fresh snowfall to leave a very strong message. The photo shows the Chinese characters for "six" and "four" written in the snow at Tiananmen Square, a reference to the June 4, 1989 crackdown on student protests. more ›

We posted shots of new army recruits training out in Xinjiang earlier and now we've got our hands on some more Xinjiang military photos -- this time of soldiers border patrolling 5492 meters above sea and at -37 degrees. more ›

All that snow explained! Shanghai Daily has just confirmed that this past month was indeed the coldest January we've experienced in 30 years. more ›

120,000 cubic meters of snow and 160,000 cubic meters of ice cut in massive translucent blocks from the Songhua River. That's what it takes to put together the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, now in its 26th year.
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Woohoo!:

SHANGHAI may experience a rare white Christmas this year as weather forecasters said it will likely snow on Friday and Saturday. more ›

I'll admit, I was skeptical when the weather bureau told us we were in for a white Christmas (season). But lo and behold, unlike last season's paltry showers, this morning we woke up to actual snow on the actual ground - enough to make mini snow men out of! And so I'm taking that as a sign: more ›

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). more ›

Just last week, everybody was marveling at how uncharacteristically warm it was and how nice we ended up having a fall after all (only in early December). Welp, it's over. The weather bureau says that the already chilly weather will drop into the negatives - probably hovering at around -1C in the city and -3 to 5C in the suburbs - and that rain clouds will bring a high chance of sleet and snow. So remember to put on some long johns and a good pair of boots before you walk out of the house. Winter hasn't just come, it's kicked your door down. more ›

I guess someone will no doubt bring up some statistics to prove me wrong, but this has to be the most snow days Shanghai has ever seen in a winter - and today's is a doozy! For the fourth time this year, it's snowed in the city. The first was back in November, then again in early January, once more for the first day of Chinese New Years, and now... in March, it's flurrying up again! If it's like any of the other snows, it won't stick - so reach out of your window and grab some before it disappears into slush. more ›

While our northern cousins might get enough snow to be sick of it by now, those of us who live south of 子午线 (Meridian line) still find it absolutely exciting when it snows. And for the second time this winter, we're getting it in Shanghai. Unfortunately, the chances of this sticking (and therefore allowing us to have snow ball fights and make tiny snow men) is slim to none, but we can dream can't we? In the meantime, take a break and look outside at our new semi-winter wonderland. more ›

Shanghai Daily tells us that earlier this morning, snow sprinkled Shanghai for the first time this winter... just days later than they thought it would. We must've missed it, since by the time we woke up and got out in the street, there was nothing for us but damp sidewalks and dreary clouds. Alas - if anyone took pictures, we'd love to see 'em. But with Shanghai's first snow comes news that the cold front should be passing - temperatures will be rising to 9C and hover at around 10C for the weekend. Yippee. more ›

Though Shanghai's latitude makes it pretty hard for us to see snowfall, northern China has been blanketed by it for days. As it's pretty rare for the area around Beijing to get snow this early in the cold season, the torrents have brought about some complications and tragedies, but also joy. more ›

• Beijing had its earliest snowfall in a decade and - of course - it was because the Weather Modification Office decided to work its magic again, spraying clouds with 186 doses of silver iodide. It was to ease drought. [BBC]
• While labor reeducation camps may have been de rigueur a couple decades ago, now it's kind of embarrassing to admit you have them around. Unfortunately, China has them around. [France24]
• Oh really? NOW China is planning to repair that TVCC tower that was gutted by fire eight months ago. NOW. Allegedly, the building can "be repaired" and it won't be a "complete rebuilding." [WSJ]

Thinking about the Brooklyn Beer we had at Vargas' Bistro Burger last week has got us thinking about the alcohol market in China. With fancy bars and designer restaurants offering all sorts of international beers, it's getting easier and easier to find your favorite in the ever-increasing wine list. But who doesn't remember the days when Budweiser was considered exotic, and the Qingdao Beer Festival a real representation of international beer? So we took a look into the expansion of the alcohol market in china and found some interesting things. more ›

Earlier this week the heat in our bedroom pooped out. The weather on Friday hit a promising 18 degrees and we thought our prayers had been answered, but no such luck. Xinhua has put much of China back on a code red weather alert and it looks like we're head right back to highs in the single digits.

Anhui and Jiangsu in east China, Hubei and Henan in central China and Shanxi and Shaanxi in mid-west China will experience snow or sleet, while blizzards could hit the northwest part of Hubei, said the NMC. more ›

Share with us how you see Shanghai, or China! Post your photos on Flickr, tag them with "shanghaiist", and we'll select one favorite image per day. Or you can simply email your photos to photos at shanghaiist.com. more ›

Reuters: China steeled for worse weather as holidays loom more ›

Long story short, the place is a zoo, but what'd you expect. Of course, things are made worse by the weather. Here are some pics from the last few days. From what we've been hearing both in the news and in our apartment elevator, the dastardly weather gods have caused big time cancellations and problems. Despite the crowds of cold people and the massive B.O. from the people waiting inside the subway station, things seem more or less ok. Order has been maintained. Lots of places are already sold out, but order has been maintained, in part thanks to the police and PLA. more ›

More Shanghai Snow photos available from the following Flickr users: more ›

Nasty. Nasty. Nasty. If we didn't have to walk the dogs, we'd just stay inside our (semi) warm living room all day. We know the miserable sleet (or is it freezing rain?) and slippery conditions are forcing some offices to send workers home early today. But winter's icy grip on China is far more serious than some missed work or a slip on the sidewalk. Here's a rundown (and, please, feel free to add to this list in a comment): more ›

A record power shortage hits China:
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China Daily: Shanghai to base growth on service industry more ›

Share with us how you see Shanghai, or China! Post your photos on Flickr, tag them with "shanghaiist", and we'll select one favorite image per day. Or you can simply email your photos to photos at shanghaiist.com. more ›

What if Beijing is right? [IHT] What if the doubters have been wrong all along? What if big government and an all-powerful state are good, not bad? What if the business cycle, hitherto thought to be inevitable, if completely unpredictable, could be repealed? These are the questions that Howard French of the IHT asks in his latest Letter from China.China's 1st lunar probe to reach moon orbit Monday morning [Xinhua] China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1,... more ›

Right: Phoenix Princess or Fenghuang Gege (凤凰格格), the pre-op transsexual detained in Shenzhen for going on demonstration and recently announced that she would soon undergo sex-change operation is apparently very happy with her boob job. She's just uploaded a video of her posing with her entire (it would seem) repertoire of bras, attracting over 407,000 views within a single day. more ›

We finally made it out to Tian Jia, the superlative Japanese restaurant famous for serving only one kind of fish: toro, meat from the fatty belly of the bluefin tuna. Our first trip was right before we left for vacation three weeks ago, and our second was the first night we got back. Yes, we craved it the whole time we were gone. For those of you who were like us and never made a trip but heard all the accolades, now you can add Shanghaiist to the mix: this place is damn tasty. more ›

If you thought mooncakes were only for the old-fashioned, think again. Hoteliers, restaurateurs and even tech companies (yes, you heard that right!) have all jumped onto the bandwagon, creating a bewildering array of mooncakes in the market with ever bolder and imaginative fillings, all in the hopes of capturing a bigger slice of the market. For the sweet-toothed, check out these multi-coloured ice-cream moon cakes from Häagen-Dazs, which you can get now at the Parkson supermarket (at Shanxi Nanlu subway), but if you do decide to go, brace yourself for the crazy queues!
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Jackie Chan, China's most famous actor/singer/producer/cartoon character/matchmaker (whew!) finds himself one sino-franchise poorer this week, as government officials have blocked mainland distribution of his newest flick, Rush Hour 3. E! News reports: more ›