More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here). more ›

The Suzhou Creek restoration project has reached its third and final phase, and it looks like they saved the best for last. Those of you lucky enough to live on the banks of our recently renovated waterway will be privy to an exciting six-month dredging project, whereby 12 boats will dig up around 1.3 million cubic meters of industrial sludge, sedimentary sewage goo, and possibly a few bombs left over from the Second Sino-Japanese War. more ›

In Cafetique, Shanghaiist reviews coffee shops and cafes around Shanghai that provide the two things our writers need most in life: caffeine and wireless internet. How does your neighborhood hangout spot stack up? more ›

While one of them found a rollicking second life as a haunted house, there are other equally haunting buildings on Suzhou Creek that haven't been put to use. A member of our Shanghaiist Flickr pool, Hey It's William, went by last month to snap pictures of some of the abandoned, surprisingly graffitied, buildings by the water. more ›

The haunting grounds are set in a decrepit 108-year-old warehouse facing Suzhou Creek, and on the long, winding walk there, you feel yourself straying further and further from the safety of a quick rescue. At least that's how I felt when contemplating whether or not to run away from Shanghai Nightmare, now the world's largest haunted house. more ›

Aw heck, just when we'd declared Suzhou Creek ready for sailing, some dicks had to dump their waste into it. The problem surfaced when heavy rainfall over the past few days flushed grease and garbage down through Suzhou Creek. Now sanitation and water officials are investigating which restaurants and barges illegally dumped waste and fuel into the water - though the actual clean up will take a while. more ›

Coming to Suzhou Creek in August: night cruises! Like its cousins on the Huangpu, the Suzhou Creek cruise will show off its beautiful sites - instead of the Bund and Lujiazui, you get to be treated to old industrial factories from the 1930s, high-rise residential neighborhoods, and even parks. more ›

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here). more ›

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here). more ›

A 107-year-old building along Suzhou Creek is alive with spirits. For a creepy experience between now and Halloween, stop by the Shanghai Nightmare Haunted House (1295 Nan Suzhou Lu, a few blocks away from the Xinzha Lu metro station). more ›

Photo from Julien & Gwladys more ›

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here). more ›

The former Garden Bridge was closed to all traffic on February 29th and workers have been hard at work preparing the bridge for tomorrow's trip. At approximately 9:30 in the morning when the tide is at its lowest point, a barge will be positioned under the bridge. Four hours later, the boat will have risen enough to lift the bridge off its foundations and shuttle the structure across the Huangpu to Pudong's Minsheng Dock. Once there, it will undergo 9 months of repairs and maintenance work before being returned to its original position at the mouth of the Suzhou Creek. more ›

Jake Newby's recent post on Shanghaiist hinted at the erosion of Moganshan Lu's art district by new development. Following up, we bring you images from the area and can only hope that the 'development' is to put in riverside parkland around the then preserved heritage architecture, taking the arts district to the next level. And letting Island6 back in once the new gardens are done. We can dream, can't we? more ›

By Wm Patrick Cranley more ›

So the story goes: When Chairman Mao visited Shanghai he asked, 'I know there is a Shanghai (上海：on the sea), but is there a Xiahai (下海：under the sea)?' We assume that this was followed by uncomfortable forced laughter as none present (save possibly Zhou Enlai) had the heart (read: cojones) to tell him that the joke stunk. more ›

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. more ›

Time to take advantage of the start of the new academic year to learn something new at several upcoming events taking place here in Shanghai. more ›

If you’re like us and already feel slightly guilty at how much you will be drinking at this Friday’s Shanghaiist Happy Hour, maybe it’s time to start thinking about how to have an active summer? Whether you’re a cycling veteran or you’re just looking for something to do to these coming months, there are a number of bike trips available to see more of the beautiful countryside (or Suzhou Creek). more ›

The JazzArt concert series got off to a fantastic start with a packed house enjoying two sets of Lawrence Ku's original music on this past Sunday. His group of seven musicians featured the cream of the crop on the Shanghai jazz scene, nearly all of whom are also faculty at the JZ school — including EJ Parker, Alec Haavik, Andy Hunter, Chris Trzcinski, the author of this post, Lawrence himself, as well as the amazing Beijing-based pianist XiaJia. The concert was held at the TwoCities art gallery on Moganshan Lu, and was a perfect room for the band to play in. It's just the right size for that kind of ensemble, because there was no need to use microphones at all. In fact the only amplification used was for the bass and guitar, and it was minimal. more ›

A round-up of BBS posts on the Shanghai metro:
• People's Square concrete drying... and drying... Poster SanNiu British Teacakes noticed yesterday that the yellow metal floor protectors place in front of the glass safety doors on the People's Square Line 1 platform have been moved around as the floor is repaired following the safety door installation process.
• Line 7 to perform "double crossing" of Suzhou CreekThe Metro Line 7 will perform a over-and-under double crossing of the Suzhou Creek south of the Zhenping Rd station. Line 7, a north-south line stretching from the outer Putuo District down to the World Expo site in Pudong, will cross the Suzhou Creek southbound through through a tunnel and northbound over a bridge. This is an unprecedented arrangement for the Shanghai metro system. On its journey, Line 7 will also intersect with Line 2 at Jing'an Temple and with Line 1 at Changshu Rd.
• Rumors say Line 4 to be delayed to 2008Rumors say that the structural engineering of ring line 4 will be complete by mid-2007, and that the installation of equipment and testing will take another full year to complete.

After attending the massive NeoSpring Creative Festival on Suzhou Creek, Shanghaiist had high hopes for the so called Creative Box, or Ushigokoro. The concept behind this gallery is displaying art in tiny boxes; anyone can apply to display their works. They currently have an exhibition called "Lost and Found", in which participants bring in whatever they find on the street to add to the exhibition. The rest of the gallery is filled from floor to ceiling with 20 x 30 x 20 cm boxes that display everything from postcards to T-shirts to jewelry. more ›

There are a lot of tempting events coming up this weekend. But please don't invite us, we're saving up for Kenny G. more ›

Last week, we told you about the the big fire at Shanghai's historic 121-year-old Union Church. On Saturday, we went to the church to check on the damage. We were able to sneak onto the roof of an abandoned building next door to get some bird's eye views — and what we saw wasn't pretty. Workers are busy building scaffolding around the remains of the building, so it looks as though the church's renovation is still going to happen. But they've really got their work cut out for them. more ›

The Shanghai Daily ran just a caption with the attached photo. Here is what they wrote: more ›

This weekend Shanghai will be host to its first ever barCamp, the ad hoc tech lifestyle “un-conference” where every attendee is encouraged to participate either as a speaker, organizer, or active listener. The action kicks off at 6 pm on Saturday night with a pre-un-conference social at T-Sens, and continues Sunday with the main event at the Toodou offices along the Suzhou Creek. If you bring a prepared talk, arrive promptly at 8:30 am for breakfast and the planning of the day’s schedule. If you arrive late, be prepared for the possibility of speaking to an empty room in the middle of the night: barCamp is touted as a 24 hour event. So far, topics mentioned have included web programming, open source business, urban photography and navigating the Shanghai bus system. more ›

Yes, we know, we know. Pier One -- so last month. Shanghaiist admits it -- we never went when it was The Next Big Thing. The journey to get there just seemed Biblical in length. Why hike to Suzhou Creek, the Shanghai equivalent of outer Xinjiang, when the loving embraces of Glamour Bar, Time Passage and Mint were just around the corner? Pier One, by the way, is a complex of outrageously pretentious super-chic bars and restaurants in the north of Shanghai, nearby Moganshan Lu. With a Michelin-starred chef and a killer design, it promised to be a great step forward in Shanghai’s nightlife. The drawback -- distance from every other bit of nightlife in town! more ›

If the only railway station waiting room you’re accustomed to in China is the grimy, smoky one with endless waves of humanity sitting on those red, white and blue striped bags of live produce, then you’re going to enjoy the South Shanghai Railway Station for a change. We were fortunate enough to pass through the gleaming, spotless and modern facility last night on our way back from Hangzhou (RMB 44 for soft seat; 1 hour 50 minutes). It’s everything that Pudong Airport is not. more ›

Qian Yun, walker more ›

Joy of joys, Shanghaiist discovered a new beer last night. We were at an opening party for the new tudou.com (formerly toodou.com) office up on Suzhou Creek, and we found a slab or two of Blue Cowrie Beer sitting atop the bar. “Cowrie” as in the shell, which makes the cowboy motif on the label a little difficult to work out. At any rate, here are some of the beer’s vital statistics: more ›