On April 17th, former Chinese President and death-defying octogenarian Jiang Zemin was seen scuffling into a Beijing office. On his heels for this rare face-to-face meeting was, strangely enough, slicked-back CEO cutout and Starbucks head-honcho Howard Schultz.
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Results tagged “starbucks”
Jiang Zemin meets Starbucks CEO: Not-so strange bedfellows
US anti-gay group NOM fails to get China to “Dump Starbucks”
The so-called National Organisation for Marriage (NOM), an anti-gay activist group based in the United States, has declared war on Starbucks for supporting a gay marriage bill in its home state of Washington. When support for its "Dump Starbucks" campaign proved to be all too disappointing, the group decided to expand the boycott to countries that it thought would support its anti-gay message -- namely Muslim countries such as Indonesia, Turkey and those in the Middle East, and China.
McDonald's, Starbucks and Pizza Hut raise prices
McDonalds is set to raise prices for the fifth time in two years. Citing the pressures of rising food and rental costs, McDonalds said it would increase the prices of some of the items on its menu by between 0.5 and 2 RMB. With the changes, a 5-piece box of McNuggets now costs 1 kuai more at 8RMB, and a Big Mac 18.5RMB, up from 17.5RMB previously.
Starbucks to Shanghai: We are absolutely NOT spying on you in the bathroom
After a spy camera was found hidden inside the air freshener of a Hangzhou Starbucks last week, Shanghai Starbucks spokesman Huang Yun says "The incident in Hangzhou is just a single case... Our toilets are absolutely safe and we staff also use them." From Shanghai Daily:
Wednesday WTF: Starf*cks, to go please
Circulating wildly now on Sina Weibo and the Taiwanese media -- Starfucks, a shanzhai cafe, located in Liuzhou, Guangxi Province. We dug around a little and found that Liuzhou Laowai discovered this gem in March. Maybe he can give us an update on how it's doing?
Caffeine overload: Starbucks will more than triple its stores in China
Do you think that Starbucks...a) serves crappy coffee at prices that warrant a boycott b) the leading symptom of Western imperialism or c) the embodiment of all that is wrong with globalized society? If you selected any of the above well, you're out of luck because Starbucks has just outlined its plans to more than triple the number of its stores in China, up to 1500 locations by 2015.
Star F*cks: Where grinding takes on a whole new meaning
Heh, while it's been a while since we've seen a Starbucks rip off (it seems that their efforts at litigating the crap out of everyone here weren't in vain) in Shanghai, it seems like they're still popping up in smaller, less visible cities. And this has to be the funniest of them all.
Around Shanghai: Getting ready for the end of holidays
- Ah, fireworks. Here's one more video - this time of Shanghai welcoming in the Fortune God with a city-wide show that made us feel like we were part of The Blitz. Don't worry guys, soon it'll all be over. [Dan Washburn]
- While the last couple days have been bitterly cold, apparently the end of the Spring Festival also means the beginning of slightly more comfortable weather. Tomorrow, just as everyone gets back to work, temperatures are set to rise to about 13C. Sunday and Monday will see the weather get even warmer, heading to a high of between 14 to 16C. [Xinmin]
- Speaking of CNY almost being over, Shanghai is now bracing for the rush back. Wednesday reported a daily transport volume of 750,000 passengers, 70,000 more than on Tuesday. Today's supposed to be even worse, since it's the last day of the holiday. [Xinhua]
Fake Starbucks Coffee vouchers
Hot on the heels of the dubious iTunes vouchers, it seems that less-than-kosher Starbucks vouchers have now hit the streets of Shanghai. This warning was spotted on the wall of the Starbucks in Metro City, XuJiaHui.
Chinese-grown Starbucks coffee: The next big thing?
Starbucks has launched a new brand of coffee grown in Yunnan Province in southwest China called South of the Clouds, the meaning of Yunnan (云南) in Chinese. Martin Coles, president of Starbucks Coffee International, told AP that his goal is to bring Chinese coffee not just to China but to the world: "Ultimately I'd love to see our coffees from China feature on the shelves of every one of our stores in 49 countries around the world."
UTO: Unidentified Terrible Object
So you're walking down that much talked about half of Wujiang Lu that has been torn down and built back up as a blandclean and modern commercial pedestrian street. You notice this section between Shimen Lu and Maoming Lu is bookended by a Costa Coffee on one end and a Starbucks on the other. A Coffee Bean is located in between, just in case you simply do not have enough time to reach the other two places for your emergency corporate caffeine fix. You notice the more homegrown Il Panino has reserved a spot here, and regional chains Awfully Chocolate and Honeymoon Dessert have taken root as well.
Dunkin' Donuts coming back to Shanghai
There might be a recession on the way, but American culture is doing just fine. Although we've said nunca más to Taco Bell, but we got the MLB coming our way, Rambo's back in a way that Rocky Balboa could only dream of, and best of all is the surprising news that Dunkin' Donuts is on its way to Shanghai.
Can we just rename our city Starbucks?
One of the things that makes being on the tube during rush hour even more miserable than we had previously imagined possible is the "film" made by Starbucks and Pepsi showing on the subway TV. Titled 晴天日记 (Qingtian riji), the film is about a young man and a young woman, blah blah blah. Of course the film takes place in Shanghai but most of the scenes take place in Starbucks. We think the whole rationale...
Starbucks' cup brimmeth under
Though never a fan of Starbucks, more because of their bland-ardization of the world's greatest drug rather than due to any kind of deeply held anti-corporate leanings, Shanghaiist nevertheless enjoys supping the occasional hot chocolate from a Medusa-emblazoned mug. With this Monday being particularly harrowing, we were looking forward to a dose of sickly sweet cream-topped womb regression, only to have our fragile psyche strained to within an inch of another long, expensive course of...
Saturday Tidbits: Mont Blanc, one child policy and the ongoing Shi Tao saga
Photo of the Mont Blanc superstore on Nanjing Lu from All Roads Lead to China
Bananas on Halloween
Still looking for something to do for Halloween? Here are a few parties that should be worth checking out. If you are stuck hanging around People's Square head over to the MOCA where you will find (besides interesting art) a wicked Halloween party featuring lots of killer tunes from Bananas Soundsystem. For those who aren't keen on going downtown, head out to Xujiahui where Harley's Bar will host Banana Monkey and more Banana DJ music. At Logo bar 3 bands are going to dress up as the Misfits, Sex Pistols and Ramones and churn out some gnarly tunes. Billed Punks for Monks, all proceeds from ticket sales will go to a charity helping the monks in Burma.
Today's Links: Sex ads, Starbucks cups and the Tiananmen generation
Starbucks Corporation, the world’s biggest coffee shop chain, recalled 250,000 children’s plastic cups made in China after receiving reports of the cups breaking and posing a choking hazard.
This is what the former Starbucks outlet in the Forbidden City looks like now
CCTV-9 news anchor Rui Chenggang should be happy now. Finally, a store that serves not just coffee but traditional Chinese beverages like tea too! After all, Rui was the wonderful guy who sparked it all off with a post on his blog which said that having a Starbucks in the Forbidden City, "is not globalising, but trampling Chinese culture". The coffee chain is "a symbol of low-end US food culture presence" which "undermines the Forbidden City's solemnity' and is 'an insult to Chinese civilisation". His vitriol attracted half a million hits within two days, and eventually led to the ousting of Starbucks from the Forbidden City.
Fresh coffee: From Yunnan to your door
One of the great things about living in China is the relatively low cost of courier services which means you can get just about anything delivered at next to nothing at all. China Herald informs us that now, you can even get fresh Yunnan coffee delivered to your house, for FREE (if you live within the French Concession and the Jing'an area, that is, or if you order over 100RMB). Otherwise, you pay just RMB10 if you live in Puxi and RMB15 if you're in Pudong. Very reasonable!
Simply over the moon
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!
Paul bakery at Xintiandi closed today: Where is my baguette?
As we got up this morning, we were already delighted at the idea that we would have lunch at Paul. We could already hear the sweet sound of the bread crust of their baguette sandwiches, taste the rich butter of their viennoiseries, and see the wooden shelves, behind the counter, full of different kinds of bread. Just like home.
Police Raid Scam-Artist Teahouse
With the amount of shame emanating from the pictured women's body language, you'd think the cop was busting a Shenzhen whorehouse. But no-- this is Nanjing Lu East, and the scam is overpriced tea.
Today's Links: McMuffins, banned horns and bad medicine
"Shanghai is about to become a quieter city - from June 1, drivers of cars, mopeds and bikes will be banned from blaring horns within the Outer Ring Road." We don't see this being enforced.
"Shanghai's Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Wild Animal Park were crowned as two of China's top-grade scenic spot, according to a list today published on the official Website of the country's tourism watchdog." Watching ducklings die = top-grade.
"China's Ding Junhui will be able to play two ranking events on home soil next season after Tuesday's announcement that the inaugural Shanghai Masters will take place in August." The sport is snooker.
"The Starbucks decision actually came down earlier this year, but Brad wrote the post now to extol the fact that Xingbake (after losing to Starbucks) just changed its name and taken down all offending signage."
"And by 'intimate, personal' they mean 'smaller, pricier.' And by 'design-conscious travelers' they mean 'fucking retards.' The article is insipidly subtitled 'to the delight of savvy travelers, boutique hotels are finally sprouting up in Asia.'"
"The Pudong New Area People's Court ruled the store had defrauded consumers because it had turned the best-before date on the imported cookies into the production date on the Chinese-language label."
"Tim Fenton, head of McDonald's Asia-Pacific unit, said in a telephone interview that breakfast is a 'long-term strategy' in China, where the first meal of the day is more likely to include rice porridge with pork or mushrooms than eggs or hashbrowns."
"As the environment ministry said pollution across the country was getting worse, China signed five joint agreements yesterday with the European Union, as the United Nations marked International Biodiversity Day."
"Sculptor Mark Armstrong cuts an ice block in a basement on Huaihai Road Middle this morning. About 40 tons of ice has been transported from northern Sweden to build city's first ice bar, which is scheduled to open next month." At least our third ice bar.
"Shanghai Bites essays to uncover the best of the 'xiao chi' experience in Shanghai, as well as other comfort foods and occasional glimpses at “the other half” of food in Shanghai. "
"About 200,000 people die in China each year from improper use of drugs, Chinese doctors and pharmacists say, and they are calling for greater efforts to educate consumers."
"Buildings in Rizhao, a coastal city of nearly three million on the Shandong Peninsula in northern China, have a common yet unique appearance: most rooftops and walls are covered with small panels. They are solar heat collectors."
"For the second time in weeks, a Chinese drug or food product has been singled out as a threat overseas. ... In both cases, Chinese producers said they believed the use of the chemicals to be safe and knew of no rules regulating their use."
“'Ghost shares' are highly risky, but 'black horses' have beaten expectations. Buying cheap to sell high later is known as 'fighting for the hat', while selling at a loss to avoid further losses is 'meat slicing'."
"The government looks set to back down from its long-held intention of imposing real-name registration for the country's 20 million bloggers following protests from the industry."
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Today's Links: 24, elevator ads and ghosts
Started in 2005, the new project is slated for completion in 2009 and will account for for approximately 30% of Chongqing's total installed capacity.
This happened on the 19th, around 12pm. The train stopped in the middle of the tunnel, and then began to slowly move again, only to stop and start a few more times.
"Wouldn't it be simpler just to leave advertising out of elevators? Fewer bureaucratic headaches, and we'd all be 6 to 8 degrees cooler."
"I mean, how many different ways can Jack Bauer save the Republic from terrorists in 24 hours? Well, one way is to have China, the rising superpower, play a sinister role in this season’s back story."
"These government officials believe in fengshui, gods and ghosts, but not Marxism-Leninism."
"Shanghai Xingbake Cafe Corp. has changed its name to 'Fangyun,' the official Xinhua News Agency said Friday."
"China's showcase east coast city, Shanghai, will soon be home to MGM Studio World, a massive new indoor entertainment complex featuring dining, shopping, nightclubs and extensive entertainment facilities, including a cinema."
"A city photographer has demanded 460,000 yuan (US$59,740) compensation from a decoration company he says flooded his studio, damaging 60,000 photographic plates and the 'priceless' images on them."
"[T]he Chinese province of Zhejiang has taken matters into its own hands. Bars and hotels in the Zhejiang province must provide customers with access to condoms and other contraceptives, or face a $650 fine for non-compliance."
"Wozone 我族网 is a free online social networking service that can also be used on your cell phone."
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Today's Links: Baidu, bullets and stabbed cops
"Video downloads of Guangdong Meng Tong Culture's licensed historical costume drama series "Zhen Guan Chang Ge" were found on Baidu space channel (hi.baidu.com). ... Meng Tone is asking Baidu to pay 440,000 Yuan in compensation."
"The disease has now been officially eradicated in China, but the villages remain partly because the patients were unable to rebuild their lives after being institutionalised for decades."
"Inspectors with the office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said the natural river banks along some sections of the Jingjiang River, part of the Yangtze, could be at risk of collapse."
"Beginning last week, all foreign tourists to Tibet must be approved by the head office of the "Tibet Travel Service" in Lhasa. Needless to say, the PSB is a heavy presence there."
"And coffee grown in China is beginning to climb the quality ladder. Arabica from the southern province of Yunnan is now catching the eye even of specialty roasters such as Starbucks or Italy's Illy."
"Beijing authorities are to raise downtown parking fees by 150 percent to discourage motorists from driving into the congested city center. Motorists will have to pay five yuan per hour instead of two yuan for parking close to downtown commercial areas."
"In Chongqing, a sprawling municipality in central China, so many owners of private cars and trucks are using fraudulent toll-exempt military plates that one toll highway has estimated annual losses at roughly 10 million yuan, or $1.2 million."
"A Chinese policeman was stabbed and wounded on the edge of Tiananmen Square, police said on Tuesday, days after a vandal damaged the huge portrait of late Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong that hangs nearby."
"In an exercise to attract the attention of the world community, Tibetans in exile here will be organising their maiden 'Olympics' from May 15-25 next year."
"Among the hardest hit is Henan province, the country's bread basket, where rainfall since March has been down 70 percent on the average for the last two years, with no significant rain expected this month, Xinhua news agency said."
"The average disposable income of Shanghai urbanites hit 6,795 yuan for the January to March period, followed by 6,676 yuan in the neighboring province of Zhejiang and 5,901 yuan in Beijing."
"The chief surgeon, who removed the rusty bullet, was amazed it had remained in her head for so long without causing major problems." Wonder if this will spark a new wave of anti-Japan protests.
"The Beijing municipal government blacklisted the horror stories calling them 'illegal terrifying publications.'" The book is called .
"But it won't take long for parents to discover that Shanghai, with its many parks, markets and museums, can captivate the younger set."
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Today's Links: Prison Break, rats and robots
"News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS.A) Fox Television denied that it has licensed Beijing based media company Zonbo Media to remake American TV series Prison Break or any related online activities in China, reports Beijing Youth Daily."
"Anheuser-Busch Inc. sued USA Bai Wei Group Inc. in Arkansas' Pulaski County Circuit Court, seeking an injunction to revoke Bai Wei's corporate charter and require a name change."
"Why are these experts, who supposedly know China better than anyone does, so eager to patronize China's leaders, and so reluctant to condemn Chinese repression of dissent?"
"This is the cover to Brutus No. 616 (1 May 2007). ... The portrait of Mao wearing Nike is apparently the product of a Chinese artist, though I can’t verify this."
"According to government figures, the overall profit margins in the textile industry are only 3.9% - the lowest of any major industry."
"Some tramcars might be able to run in the Zhangjiang area in Pudong ... Even now, many old local residents in Shanghai still remember such tramcars, which the Shanghai people called 'dang dang che', or 'clanging cars'." Trolleys.
"This first-ever tour is together presented by NBA and the world's leading express and logistics company, DHL. The two will also present other activities in China." Ripped straight from the press release, sounds like.
"The winners will represent China at the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association World Cup in San Francisco on June 13."
"Xinhua News Agency quoted animal husbandry officials in Altay prefecture in northern Xinjiang saying a warm winter had resulted in a 'baby boom' of rats in April, a month earlier than normal."
"Ms. Zhang Xiaohua, marketing director for Forbes China, attributed the cancellation to the immaturity of charity in China. 'Chinese entrepreneurs haven't reached a consensus on charity and therefore it is immature to make such a list,' she said."
"A private businessman has been fined 600,000 yuan (US$78,000; euro 58,000) for breaking China’s strict one child policy, state media reported." But is it really that strict?
"China's largest non-state-owned carmaker, which has export agreements in place in Indonesia, Russia and Ukraine, declined to give details."
"The top 10 countries in terms of number of employed foreign workers were Japan, America, Korea, Singapore, Germany, France, Canada, Malaysia, Australia and Britain." That leaves an awful lot of unemployed.
At Starbucks.
"This is the face of Shanghai these days. Not to be all mean'n shit, but how badly would you like to punch one of these Chads in the mouth?"
"One of Shanghai's "undiscovered" shopping gems is Jim Dandies, tucked away opposite IKEA in the Xuhui District. It sells chic clothes and art by painter Yurika (Eureka) Nakae from Suzhou"
"Located at Yandang Road, the Pudi Boutique Hotel Shanghai offers 52 rooms whose prices range from RMB4680 per night to RMB14000 per night." Ouch.
"It notes that in 2006, the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions surveyed employees in 250 enterprises. The data showed that 50.6% of employees had not received a wage increase in nearly three years."
"A report in Beijing Times...has led to a remarkable photo essay on the People’s Daily society link at People.com. Beijing Times had orginally reported on an unidentifed demolition contractor that had moved in to demolish houses in the Chaoyang District."
"The two websites are Uusee.com and Zol.com.cn. They have been required to publish formal letters of apology on their front homepages. The website owners have also been ordered to remove the offending content immediately."
Does this story seem a bit late to you?
"Excited and emboldened by the wealth of information they find on the Internet, Chinese teens are breaking centuries of tradition to challenge their teachers and express their own opinions in class."
"Working 10 or more hours a day, almost no days off, no regular meals and lack of sleep - that's the life for 70 percent of the white-collar workers in four of China's big cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou."
"The report is named《Analytical Report of Basic Science Literacy of County Level Officials in China 》." Explains a lot.
"Police in southern China have detained a woman after she admitted killing her four-year-old daughter because the child could not count, according to news reports."
"When the 'Chinamen' responded to 'His Excellency' with an open letter ... the result was general consternation, followed by support from a number of leading newspapers, and a consequent flurry of articles and editorials."
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Our new favorite blogger: ?uestlove
This is a little old, but we have a feeling many of you haven't seen it yet. From what we have read and seen (front row last month at Yunfeng Theater) of ?uestlove, drummer for The Roots, we always thought the man also known as Ahmir-Khalib Thompson would be a pretty cool guy to hang out with. And then someone told us to check out his blog on MySpace and now our new goal in life is get invited to one of ?uestlove's cookouts should we ever leave Shanghai and move back to rockin' Conshohocken. His blog is an entertaining and honest glimpse into the life of a celebrity, although it seems as though he's not really sure if he feels like a celebrity yet.
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