Man the sails, Typhoon Morakot is heading our way! It hit Taiwan this morning and should be in China by Saturday, according to Reuters. Across the strait, Morakot is a category 2 storm (from a scale of 1-5), meaning it's medium strength, but whether it will stay that way before hitting China still seems to be unclear. more ›

Got photos of this morning's storm or the flooding that followed it that you'd like to share? Email them to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically show up on our Contribute Page. Flickr users, simply tag your photos "shanghaiist". more ›

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. more ›

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Shanghaiist remembers being totally hooked on the second season of the reality TV series Survivor, primarily because we were impressed with the um, substance of one particular contestant on the show. That seemed like ages ago, and we haven't watched an episode since. But we might need to start tuning back in next year, as CBS has announced that the 15th season of the show will be held in China. Originally, the reports indicated that the location would be inland China, one of the few times the show would take place in a non-island setting. Apparently, charming but geographically challenged host Jeff Probst clarified things recently: more ›

In her August 31 appearance on the Taiwanese talk show Red Storm, Meng commented: more ›

While there are blue skies in Shanghai, Typhoon-cum-Tropical-Storm Matsa is bearing down on Beijing, a city that has experienced only four typhoons since 1949. Matsa is responsible for 13 deaths in eastern China. Four people died in Shanghai -- three were electrocuted because of flooding and one construction worker was crushed when his dormitory was toppled. Eighty-four Shanghai streets were flooded over the weekend and so were many nearby farms. Vegetable prices are expected to rise because of it. But Matsa didn't stop people from stealing license plates or going to the Shanghai Book Fair. more ›