Friday night was the first of five nights of racy burlesque performances by the Atomic Bombshells at the Glamour Bar. It was the perfect cure for those "boring Olympic opening ceremony blues", at least until China's own Olympic team paraded onto the screen--at which point nothing could draw the crowd's attention away from the big screen. Luckily that won't be an issue for the remaining 4 nights of shows. The first three nights (including tonight......

Just because we’re on the other side of the world from Ireland doesn’t mean that there won’t be plenty going on for St Paddy’s Day over here in Shanghai. This year, March 17th — the date when all of us are a little bit Irish — inconveniently falls on a Monday but fear not, the Emerald Isle’s Shanghai contingent are celebrating early with a bunch of events this weekend. Ireland Week 2008 has been going......

The dire restaurant choices at Pudong Airport will get a boost when Terminal 2 opens on March 26. Restaurants announced in the new terminal include:1930s style fine dining at "Peace @ The Bund" Cafe Ritazza Burger King Korean fast-food Heineken Baran Italian restaurantHK-style dumplings There are also the requisite Chinese options and a Teppanyaki place. No word yet as to whether the Teppanyaki will feature an all-you-can-drink option for any nervous flyers. More news here.......

RYE WHISKEY AT MARTINI BAR: D&G Martini Bar (1/F, 6 on The Bund) has acquired a limited stock of Templeton rye whiskey, probably the only rye whiskey commercially available in Shanghai. Martini Bar has specially prepared some cocktail recipes featuring this much sought after liquor including "The Horse's Neck" and the "Klondyke Clipper." Should you be a whiskey or Bourbon aficionado, mosey over to Martini Bar and sample one of these delightfully different drops. PUB......

Recently we stumbled across an interesting website that might have finally answered the age-old question: 'What should I do with my visiting friends and family while I'm at work?' ChinaTrackers.com is a company offering MP3-guided tours of Shanghai and we would assume, from the animation on their homepage, other cities will be soon to follow. The Shanghai destinations include plenty of the standard tourist fare (Old Town, People's Square, The Bund), but also has a......

Photos from Christof Schmeisser Shanghaiist reader Christof Schmeisser was partying with his friends at Attica over the weekend and was surprised to meet Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson and his crew. They are apparently in town as part of a business delegation on UK prime minister Gordon Brown's Shanghai detour. His impression of the billionaire maverick was "very open minded and not snobbish at all". Schmeisser added:I said I like the idea of using......

Where to go, where to go: Shanghaiist is still trying to figure out where to carb up for our big dodgeball game tonight (that's right, patches, dodgeball). Pure, the fancy new Japanese restaurant that is part of The Collection at Xintiandi, has been offering their new sushi menu for 50% off since last Thursday. The special ends tomorrow night, however, so if we enjoy ourselves tonight we may find ourselves there tomorrow as well. On......

Or more specifically, Hilton, which was rendered as Hiton in a recent issue of The Bund (外滩画报). They ran some pictures and an interview with Paris Hilton when she was here, but unfortunately, it's only in Chinese. She has some interesting thoughts about dark matter in the universe, which she's been exploring for her upcoming novel. On the other hand, it seems that she won't discuss where her money comes from, or if she's saving......

Lots of news from the House of Blues and Jazz in Shanghai: The latest band featured there wraps up their final few weeks at this revered and relatively long-lived jazz venue; also the club gets ready to move to its new digs over at the bund. Theo Croker and band The current band at the House of Blues and Jazz has been there already for many weeks, and they're doing great. It's a dynamic group......

Oops..we have been sitting on this a few days, all the beers and amazing shows made Shanghaiist a little loopy and unable to sit down and type. The entry below comes via Emily Moy who had a chance to sit down with Talib Kweli and Ozomatli at the Yue Festival press conference last Thursday........ Its 3:30p.m., I’m running up and down The Bund and, I’m LATE. My interviews with Talib Kweli and Ozomatli are to......

Weekenders looking for a break from the usual club and pub offerings should consider these two interesting events this weekend. Saturday, September 8th m97 Gallery "Document/Portrait" exhibition Opening Reception, 5pm to 8pm m97 Gallery consistently showcases China's best contemporary photographers and their upcoming exhibition, "Document/Portrait" brings veteran and newcomer works together for what promises to be a very approachable and honest look at China today. Be on the lookout for works from perennial favorites, Peng&Chen......

Like half of the population of Shanghai, we attended the launch of the Bund Brewery last Friday. Free flow beer, bring it on. Consequently, like half of the population of Shanghai, we were sweating more than the scantily clad men in last Thursday's photo of the day. But, again, free flow beer, bring it on. The Bund Brewery is your beer-hall-about-town, complete with park-style benches, large copper kettles and wood galore. Certain Shanghai loyalists might......

Ok, whatever people might say about the Bund – tacky, over-priced – most are still damn glad it's there rather than not. It is, after all, the most enduring reminder of Shanghai's decadent international past. Consequently, when the paradigm of this past, the Peace Hotel, recently closed for its US$65m makeover, a few questions were raised about the area's future. For those who don't already know, the Peace Hotel was the property baby of British......

The lovely Anna J's stint doing Wednesdays at the Glamour Bar was interrupted last month when she was injured and put in a big cast for a while. However, she is better now, and ready to rock the Bund once again every Wednesday starting from June 13. Her band is fab as before, consisting of EJ Parker on the upright bass and Steve Sweeting on the piano. The sound is great in the room, and......

Summer is here and everything is heating up. Leading up to this weekend, this is what Shanghaiist thinks is going to be hot today and tomorrow. Today, Wednesday May 30th Texans In Exile Monthly meeting at Bubbas Texan or a friend of Texas? You can meet up with fellow lovers of the Lone Star State during their monthly T.I.E. meeting at Bubbas tonight from 7pm. Call Ken to let him know you're coming. 7pm......

Has the destruction of Wujiang Lu got you down? Need a quick picker-upper? If so, you might think about heading down to Henry's Brewery & Grill for a nice dose of comedy to turn that frown upside down. Does Henry's sound familiar to you, oh dearest reader? That's because it will also be the host of Shanghaiist next Happy Hour. Okay, that's enough self-promoting. This isn't the first time there's been some stand-up comedy on......

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......

It's the beginning of December in China and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" keeps playing in the grocery store (damn you, Lotus ... or should we say Blotus?) so that can mean only one thing: Christmas is quickly approaching! So here you are preparing for the holiday season. You've already purchased your real tree. And, you've been preparing your killer rum apple cider recipe, that turned your last holiday party into a sleepover (good times!). But......

On Saturday, November 11, New York Times Foreign Affairs Columnist Thomas L. Friedman spoke at Three On The Bund as part of the Three Talk Lecture Series which was co-hosted by the Penguin Group, publisher of Friedman's bestseller The World Is Flat (TWIF). When the globe-trotter, Friedman comes to Shanghai, it is clear how much he travels by the fact that he seems to be unsure of exactly where he is, as in one instance,......

Shanghai's jazz scene is definitely deserving of some steady coverage, and who better to document it than someone in the thick of it? Here is how the man behind shanghaijazzscene dot com describes himself and his mission: My name is JQ Whitcomb, and I’ve been living in Shanghai since 2003 playing jazz for a living. In the couple years I’ve been here, I’ve watched the jazz scene in town expand exponentially, with no slowing in......

By now most of you know that the reason you are working this weekend is not because of a wrathful God but because the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is having a big ol' conference in Pudong. However, because of various transportation, security and aesthetic concerns (yes, your silk pajamas) the government is implementing measures that are sure to be a nuisance and inconvenience to many. Here's what we've heard thus far: • A reader who......

Or the better question is: What would you suggest a visitor to Shanghai do if they only had one night to spend in the city? (And, no, your first stop can't be a travel agency so they can extend their stay.) We ask because the June 5, 2006 edition of TIME Europe has a feature called -- you guessed it -- "One Night in ... Shanghai." Three "people in the know" told the magazine their......

We at Shanghaiist know that you have felt something amiss in Shanghai since you arrived, whether you were born here or the day you stepped off the plane. A nagging feeling tugging gently on your consciousness -- a feeling that there is more to this great city than meets the eye. One man, Dave Liang, has taken it upon himself to bring us a taste of Shanghai that might have been lost somewhere along the......

While we were enjoying a candlelit dinner -- seriously, there was no other light source -- at No. 5, we wondered: Is there a bar or restaurant in Shanghai with more comfortable chairs? We highly doubt it. They are almost too comfortable -- we found ourselves nearly nodding off during the main course. There's another question we find ourselves asking every time we go to No. 5: Why don't we come here more often? The......

For those who think that The Bund is a one-trick pony of drinks and fine dining, it might be worth taking a quiet stroll inside the newly renovated Shanghai Municipal Archives for a taste of something different. Shanghaiist recently spent 20 minutes in a stuffy conference room of the new building's 7th floor, learning about the Peace Counts Project. Part of the 7th Shanghai International Arts Festival, Peace Counts is an exhibition of 56 photos......

Shanghaiist wasn’t joking when we said yesterday that the city was crowded. Thousands upon thousands (upon thousands) flocked to the Bund last night for ... well, for no apparent reason. There was no display of fireworks -- that happened on the Friday night -- no entertainment, no access to the riverside promenade. Nothing. Just lots of inflatable hammers. We were also there, though we regretted it deeply. Particularly when our taxi stopped for about 45......

A stunt man playing the role of a man jumping to his death in the Huangpu River nailed the scene yesterday -- right down to the dying part. Police would not provide the man's name, only saying that the man was in his 50s ... and that he was dead. The accident occured near Huishan Dock on the north end of The Bund in Hongkou District shortly after 4 pm during filming of a new......