Signs pointing to the fact that it has: The constant shut downs of the OV Gallery, Ai Weiwei's studio being demolished after he stirred up political controversy and Top Floor Circus not getting to sing their satirical Expo song. Okay, yes, we agree that the Expo sucked some of the sense of humor out of Shanghai officials - but we're not sure the city had an "artsy edge" to begin with. The only examples this writer is able to find seems to be from pre-CCP days, which are great, but also don't exactly mean much in this modern context. more ›

The poll for TIME's Person of the Year award is now up and running and... what do we see? Both Hu Jintao and Liu Xiaobo are on it! So which corner are you in - The Nobel Peace Prize winning dissident with visions of democracy or the leader of one of the new old superpower on the block? Or you can skip the controversy and vote for any of their other silly options: Glenn Beck, Lady Gaga or "The Unemployed American." Ugh, does anyone take this seriously anymore? Does TIME even take this seriously anymore? more ›

In case your work or school hasn't given out the sched yet, here's what holiday dates in China will look like in 2010. Like 2009, Chinese people will get 29 days of holiday in total. Once again, National Day and Chinese New Year will both garner seven days of vacation, but cause people to need to work on the weekend either before or after. Why do they do that?! more ›

We make no apologies for professing our love of Han Han: there's something about unbridled angst and resistance to the status quo that really gets us going. Needless to say, that view isn't shared by everyone on the mainland, and we often find Han Han at the center of some controversy, which only makes us more intrigued by him. The most recent blow comes from China Daily's Raymond Zhou, knocking the "rebel without a cause" for his poor interview in Time magazine. more ›

Remember that incredibly entertaining (if somewhat morbid) story about a woman who lost a best mistress contest and then drove her lover and his four other mistresses off a cliff? Well, apparently it might have been complete fiction! Damn it! more ›