• 
  
  Shanghai wants 50 top minds every year
  
  
  “Local authorities are offering lucrative packages to lure leading academics to the city under a new scheme to help boost its competitiveness.”
  
  


• 
  
  Shanghai to launch int’l channel targeting foreigners
  
  
  “The ICS programs, covering news, information, fashion, entertainment, foreign TV shows and movies, will be aired in English and Japanese, with Chinese captions, for 19 hours a day.”
  
  


• 
  
  Shanghai GM to launch Buick LaCrosse hybrid prior to Olympic Games
  
  
  “The move will make Shanghai GM the third joint venture automaker to deliver a hybrid vehicle in China following Toyota and Honda. Toyota Motor Corp is currently the only carmaker that builds a hybrid car in China.”


• 
  
  China Eastern to resume Shanghai-Saipan flights
  
  
  “China Eastern will resume its twice weekly Shanghai-Saipan flights starting Jan. 11, 2006, close to five months after the charter flights were suspended because of the decline of tourists coming in from China.”
  
  


• 
  
  China to survey dialects to better protect them | World | Reuters
  
  
  “A focus will be the Shanghai dialect … ‘As more and more young people in Shanghai use the dialect to communicate online, and as its vocabulary expands, it will be standardised and promoted as a distinct local language.’”
  
  


• 
  
  China’s New Bestseller: The Bible
  “Amity has churned out 41 million Bibles for Chinese believers at its plant outside … Nanjing, including more than 3 million copies last year. (About nine million copies have been exported to Africa, other parts of Asia and Central Europe.)”
• 5 nabbed in whisky sting
  “Police have arrested five people alleged to have duped a Swedish man into paying nearly 5,000 yuan ($680) for coffee and whisky during a recent business trip to the city.”
• Cyclists to race to top of city’s tallest tower on December 31
  “One contestant, Zhang Jincheng, the Guinness record keeper, is a 23-year-old from Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province. His two challengers are 28-year-old Andorran Xavi Casas and 34-year-old Colombian Javier Zapata.”


• 
  
  City tightens protection for historic buildings
  
  
  “The city government issued new rules last week banning road expansion on most of the 144 downtown roads lined with historic houses. The rules also ban tall buildings from being built in conservation areas.”
  
  


• 
  
  blognation China
  
  
  China tech blog worth checking out.
  
  


• 
  
  China Web2.0 Review
  
  
  Another China tech blog.


• 
  
  China: Pollution map of China released
  
  
  “Just over a year since their first mashup was released, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, headed by journalist-environmentalist Ma Jun, has just released its Air Pollution Map, complete with its own BBS and space for feedback forum.”
  
  


• 
  
  Todd Crowned China’s Sole Survivor
  “The 22-year-old flight attendant and world-class schemer outwitted, outplayed and outlasted his competitors for 39 days to be crowned the $1 million winner of the reality show’s 15th edition and the youngest winner in the series’ history.” 15!
• Three Beijing buildings on Time magazine’s best list
  “Three architectures in Beijing are on the list of 10 best architectural marvels (new and upcoming) selected by the Time magazine to be published on the Dec. 24.” None from Shanghai.

It's Sunday! Kick back with Shanghaiist with this light-hearted Survivor-type documentary on three British businessmen looking for their big break in China: cushion manufacturer Tony Caldeira, ex-colonel Peter Williams who's looking to sell his energy-saving device to the Chinese, and controversial kitchen retailer Vance Miller who has built a huge business by undercutting everyone else and selling cheap Chinese kitchens in the UK. These three characters will remind you of people you have met in China. And watch out for Vance Miller. He is our hero. more ›

Here, Shanghai, were your favourite stories for the month of September: more ›

A few months ago, we informed you of the latest information about the 15th edition of CBS' Survivor: China, to be held...in China (surpise, surprise). In a few short weeks, the show will debut after filming its episodes during July and August. As the stentorian narrator in this early promo for the show says, "For the first time, a major American show goes behind the Great Wall to shoot entirely in China. It's a place... more ›

Because we know you had trouble sleeping last night wondering what the latest Survivor China news was, here's what Shanghaiist reader Louise emailed to tell us last week: more ›

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 ›