Shanghai loves it's ladies, that's for sure. In this town, members of the fairer sex can drink every night for free so easily. The only real problem: there's too many options when you're looking to have a fun night out with the girls. So in this series, we hit up all the 'ladies only' specials around town to rate them. That way you'll know which are worth a sip, and which you ought to skip. more ›

All the things you'd want to do this Monday through Thursday. On the schedule this week: Wine tasting and cocktail making on Wednesday, both free. M1NT's fabulous white party returns and the Fairmont Peace Hotel is conducting a Somerset Maugham literary salon. Read on (or check out our calendar) for more! more ›

French Concession Moroccan restaurant Marrakech will be shuttering its little blue windows come this Valentines Day, according to SmartShanghai. While that deserves maybe a single solitary tear (there just ain't enough Arabic/North African/Mediterranean joints in this city), we're quite excited that the people behind one of our favorite cocktail places, Tara 57, are taking their place. They'll start renovating after the Spring Festival and it'll resume business in spring. more ›

Life is going to become pretty hectic in the next couple weeks, so take advantage of the calm before the storm with these local happenings, from an orchestral chamber music concert to another JUCCCE Green Idea Lab. Of course, don't forget the best way to relax is always over Scrabble and 2-for-1 drinks at the Shanghaiist Happy Hour! more ›

• Ex-Shanghaiist contributor Abe Deyo is quoted to prove why Shanghai bands were silly to wig out over Pepsi's Battle of the Bands contest. [Voxrock]
• Jake Newby then calls the Pepsi English blog out, noting that it was surprising that something all about the Battle of the Bands contest didn't bother reporting on the massive Guangdong stage accident. [Kungfuology]
• Local maritime authorities are restricting the transport of dangerous freight on the Huangpu River to prevent accidents during the Shanghai World Expo. [Xinhua]
• According to this New York Times entry, you can get a first-class ticket between Los Angeles and Shanghai for less than $3,500 USD. WHAT! [NY Times]