The Sydney Morning Herald reports on China's plans to reverse the brain drain that has seen one million of its students sent abroad, with two-thirds not coming back:

"It has been a great loss for China - which is now in dire need of people of expertise - to see well-educated professionals leave after the country has invested a lot in them," the official newspaper China Daily quoted one of the report's authors, Li Xiaoli, as saying.

The wearing of jammies in public: amongst people who have been in the city for less than 15 minutes, no issue has better served as a focal point for passion and vitriol. But what of the people who have been here longer? The so-called “lifers” who have lived in Shanghai for 16, 17 and, in some cases, 18 minutes? These have been eerily silent on the issue, avoiding it in public conversation, referring to the phenomenon only furtively from behind closed doors and in darkened back rooms. more ›

Do you remember what you were doing on May 18? Let us help you: You were reading a Shanghaiist post about Sex and Shanghai, a blog started by one "Chinabounder", a British teacher living in Shanghai. In this blog Chinabounder wrote about his sexcapades, as well as scattered thoughts about sex and sexuality in China, Mao, the Cultural Revolution, and China in general. more ›

Our friends suggested we buy an apartment in Shanghai because paying down mortgage is better than paying rent as the money eventually goes back to us (in theory). After some serious consideration, a few rounds puzzling over how exactly we would pay for our own apartment, we decided no go…for now. Why? Well, in this city, even a one bedroom “hole in the wall” goes for at least 600,000 RMB. Shanghaiist needs to borrow money just to come up with the minimum 30 percent down payment. Then, there are the mortgage payments, the interior decorating expenses and the rent we’d have to pony up for another place while our bathroom is being built, among other things.. . Grrrrr. If we bought an apartment, we’d always be thinking about saving money and paying it back for the rest of our lives. No more 58 RMB cocktails at Manifesto. What a horrible life! Well, according to this Sina's real estate analysis (news in Chinese), nearly 70 percent of Chinese citizens agree. more ›