Results tagged “spring”

Shanghai could be looking forward to the earliest Spring in 136 years, if current weather predictions prove to be true. Tomorrow is supposed to reach an astonishingly nice 23 degrees Celsius - that's almost t-shirt weather! That temperature will carry into Friday, though showers should lower it back down to the teens by Saturday. Still, we're all looking forward to breaking out the shorts and sandals as soon as possible. Source: Zaobao Zaobao!

If not for our friend who was scheduled to guest DJ there, we really wouldn't have headed to Springtime Roller Revival. For one, the roller rink appears to be located in the middle-of-nowhere (Yichuan Road near Ganquan Road, anyone?). Factor in the 200RMB cover, probably the priciest we've seen in all of our two-plus years in Shanghai, we weren't quite optimistic if anyone would make the trip there on a Friday night.

The Los Angeles Dodgers take on the San Diego Padres this weekend at Beijing's Olympic baseball stadium. Seating capacity is limited to 13,000 spectators, and sure enough Emma has sold out their allotment of the cheap seats here in Shanghai. We're curious as to the scalper situation in Beijing, but for the risk-averse, other Chinese ticketing websites still have a small number of tickets left. A little internet sleuthing can still get you into the RMB 88 section! As far as the line-ups, San Diego is bringing a mix of veterans and new players to Beijing:

The Padres traveling contingent includes players with substantial experience in the Major Leagues (closer Trevor Hoffman), up-and-coming regulars (Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff) and a host of players who will play in the Minor Leagues in 2008.

The Dodgers seem to have left their star players in Florida in favor of featuring their two Asian prospects:

None of the pitchers on the roster played more than 16 games in the majors last year. Non-roster invitee Chan Ho Park, who is seeking to revive his career, is the most experienced with 11-plus years of major league service, and will be joined by pitchers including Hong-Chih Kuo, Eric Stults and Eric Hull, who spent most of last year in the minors.

That's disappointing for True Blue fans, but the chance to see Joe Torre leading a team in America's national pastime still has us excited to be there. For the unlucky, unadventurous, or just plain lazy, baseball will show its face in our lovely hometown starting next month. The China Baseball League 2008 season runs from early April to late September, with a three-and-a-half month break over the summer for the Beijing Olympics. Shanghai's Special Olympic Stadium, Kangbei Baseball and Softball Field in Pudong, will host the city's Shanghai Eagles in 12 games this season. According to the official schedule posted to the CBL's site last month the Eagles' first home game will be on April 18. Take us out to the ballgame! Major League Baseball Spring Training in China, San Diego Padres vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (split-squad), Wukesong Baseball Field, Beijing, Friday and Saturday, 1 pm. Previously on Shanghaiist
Dodgers, Padres to play in Beijing
Spring training in Beijing
Interview: Gil Kim, US player in the China Baseball League
The 2007 China Baseball League schedule Video, from 2007, about Major League Baseball's grass roots efforts in China.

We dropped by Hamilton House last Friday for lunch, something we should have done earlier maybe. (Actually, we had headed over on Thursday but the restaurant was closed for a private wine tasting event.) So there was a decent lunch crowd – enough to make you want to enter yet not too many people to make you wonder if you’ll need to wait all day to get served – and the lunch menu seems quite a bargain, RMB 90 for 2 courses or RMB 120 for 3.

Shanghaiist was back at Yu Yin Tang after the extended New Year's break. Gigs have been slow to restart after Spring Festival due to announced renovations of their space over by Tianshan Park. Alter-Ego played on Friday and we went down to Saturday's 0093 Rock Showcase.

We think we'd be all right if we never, ever watched the CCTV Spring Festival gala again, but we almost regret it this time because we missed out on some real doozies, like Zhang Ziyi's terrible lip-synching episode and as well as the slight faux pas, made by one of the hosts, that China's south was in the midst of an "abundant spring" even though many of the southern provinces are facing the worst winter weather they've seen in decades.

Spring Festival: The holiday is around the corner, and for the first time in years we'll be stuck in Shanghai, undoubtedly huddled under the covers and looking sorrowfully through our phone's address book for anyone who might also be here to help brush away the loneliness. Since our ayi who cooks our grease-ridden meals will also be leaving us for the holiday, we're going to have to trudge out into the snowy wilderness to eat. If any of you similarly cold and lonely souls are willing to join this Shanghaiist to pig out at places both old and new, here's where you'll find us:

By James Creegan

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):

Air Asia, Asia's first budget airline, has just announced its latest China destination. From now on, you can fly from Hangzhou (which is just a stone's throw from Shanghai) to Kuala Lumpur at a fraction of the price! We just did a quick check on their system and if you plan ahead of time, you can expect to pay around RMB1,115 (taxes included) for the flight. You can even select your own seats on the website if you pay an additional RMB48! Kuala Lumpur being Air Asia headquarters, you can fly onward to a host of other exciting Southeast Asian destinations for that much-needed break. Other Chinese destinations currently served by Air Asia are Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Macau.

It's official. It has now rained in Shanghai 3,173 straight days.

Shanghaiist recently stumbled upon a couple of little, somewhat inconspicuous spots that seem perfect for hiding away from the obnoxious cold of Shanghai’s deep winter. We’re planning on being regulars at these places not because the food is mind-blowing, but because they’re cozy and warm and, well, we’re softies like that.

Following up on yesterday's post about China's new holiday lineup for 2008, we now have the official official list of dates, so now everyone knows what Saturdays and Sundays they might be asked to work (and that nonsense starts soon). Here we go:

Well, then: Oops. What last month we said was going to happen, this month was made official. China has scrapped May holiday, one of its three Golden Weeks, and turned three traditional festivals into national holidays. Here's how your official 2008 Chinese holiday schedule now looks:

Migrant workers—let's face it, you either love 'em or hate 'em. There's just no in between. It seems that lately, they've been getting some love from the people, what with Chongqing's official Migrant Worker Day and now with the recent announcement by none other than Premiere Wen Jiabao himself that the popular "Migrant Worker Song" (or "Ode to the Migrant Worker" as we prefer to translate it when we're feeling poetic), a song written by workers and popularized over the internet, will be performed at the annual CCTV Spring Festival show.

Normally the water itself here in China is enough to make your skin start to blister and peel and fall off, but in a shallow pool at Dianchi Chuntian, a wonderfully relaxing (and affordable) hot springs spa in Kunming, Yunnan Province, it's swarms of hungry fish that seek out your skin — the dead stuff, we were assured — and ingest it. It's meant to be healthy, for you and the fish.

OK, we've never heard of East Star Airlines before, but it has just become the first private airline in China to be authorized to operate international flights. A Xinhua report tells us that under Civil Aviation Administration of China regulations, new airlines may apply to operate international flights only after three years of operations. East Star has been in business less than two years, but it beat rivals Okair, Ueair, Juneyao Airlines and Spring Airlines to be the first. Hmm... we wonder what made them bend those rules!

This video just came in from a reader (Thank you meckleychina!). Apparently the Shanghai-based budget airline Spring Airlines now makes its passengers do in flight exercises. From what we see in the video at least, everyone is taking it very seriously. Now nobody wants to be one of the unlucky few to die of deep-vein thrombosis(DVT) in the air, right? Smaller Chinese boutique airlines have been trying ways and means of injecting more "fun“ into the flying experience lately. Shanghaiist has been flying Hainan Airlines (which is partly owned by George Soros by the way) a lot more recently, and they typically have a little auction game where tickets are given away at below rack rates. Erm still not quite our idea of fun, but you have to give them marks for trying. Does anyone else have interesting experiences with other airlines to share?

We honestly have no idea (really, honey[1], we don't), but some guy named Professor Goya recently had this to say to a reporter for Japan's Shukan Taishu:

With 2005's film version of Memoirs of a Geisha, Chinese people across the world had more reason to hate Zhang Ziyi and foamed at the mouth yet again saying, We’re not Japanese. You would have thought that by now the West would have cottoned onto the message.

Popular Italian sports and casual wear brand Paul & Shark launched their Spring/Summer 07 line across their 30 China stores with a beach themed bash in Hong Kong earlier this week.

Spring has well-and-truly sprung. According to word from the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau, we are now entering the earliest summer for 100 years. Get ready for a hot time.

While April is Alcohol Awareness Month in the States (some of you might be in the dark). If you are living in China, it might as well be Promoting the Gay Agenda Month Online Gay TV Awareness Month with news of the arrival of three online gay TV shows. Earlier this month, we reported about China's first online TV show about issues relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities within China. Aired...

Shanghaiist lost count long ago of the number times we've thrown very unladylike expletive-laced fits in the middle of sidewalks when the umpteenth cab driver we've tried to hail has taken one look at our adorable, amazingly well-behaved-in-cabs pups and sped off. Seeing this China Daily headline ("Taxi wants to serve your pets") got us all excited before we realized it was not a service available in Shanghai. The pet-centered cab service is run by a very sympathetic (and savvy) entrepreneur in neighboring city Nanjing:

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to...

For those who left the country during Spring Festival, or like us, those who can't afford living in an expensive high-rise compound, video and photo sharing websites allow us to join in on the action (or, if you were trying to sleep during the fireworks, relive the nightmares). We especially enjoyed the the above video of the Yangjiang Fireworks Festival in Guangdong — it's almost 17 minutes long.

Olympic Games.

A meteorologist says that it wasn't the mist from firecrackers and fireworks that caused the cancellation of 190 flights at the Beijing airport.

Shanghai residents don't mind celebrating Chinese New Year with "foreign foods" such as pizza and hamburgers.

(Useless) factoid: In January 2007, Shanghai imported an average of 3.2 billion USD worth of foreigns goods per day.

The Washington Post on China's internet addiction treatment centers.

Continue reading "Afternoon Links: Antiques, swimmers, and civic indices"

A charity event in Nantou in central Taiwan featured famous calligraphy artists painting characters and Spring Festival couplets (春联）on the bare backs of female models and then "signing" their works with lipstick and a kiss.

Hopefully, the shoe thieves and pickpockets have all gone home for the Chinese New Year: "Oh Daddy, another stolen Motorola phone? You shouldn't have!" Two people we know have been the victims of pickpockets in these last few weeks leading up to the Spring Festival, and we've even seen some at work by the train station.