It seems like everyone is talking about the situation of the DVD shops on Dagu Lu. We dropped by the street last weekend and got you some first-hand updates.

“From today till the end of April, we will only sell legitimate DVDs because the authority is checking on us every ... Read more »

Get ready for a sea of green-clad revelers – Shanghai’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade is back for round four. This family-friendly event packs the street with Celtic tigers, marching bands (including the SCIS Hongqiao Marching Band), sporting groups, traditional Irish dancing and more. Be on the lookout for ... Read more »

On the eve of the JUE Festival, its organizers and a host of people involved (plus City Weekend's rock music authority, Dan Shapiro) weigh in on the state of the arts in Shanghai

By Nick Taylor

The JUE Festival comes to Shanghai this month, heralding two weeks of music ... Read more »

➜ 10,000

The number of international and domestic journalists who have applied for permits to cover the Expo as of February 2010, according to Shanghai Daily. That includes nearly 8,000 domestic journalists.

➜ 6,000

The number of animals in the Shanghai Zoo as of January 2010. No, they are ... Read more »

What would it take to get you on a bike in Shanghai? How about 800 rental stands outside Metro station exits and 2,700 more in residential areas in the next two years? Shanghai’s state-owned bicycle company, Forever, is

working together with the government on a ¥400 million quest ... Read more »

The eighth annual Shanghai International Literary Festival (that’s SILF for tied tongues) starts tomorrow! Get pumped and get clicking.

Dario Castagno kicks off book events; get the full list here

Read our interviews with Unpolished Gem author Alice Pung and Country Driving author Peter Hessler, who has unfortunately since ... Read more »

Yup, you heard right. Popular China author Peter Hessler has just canceled his Lit Fest appearance - actually, his whole Asian tour - for personal reasons.

Mypiao is offering refunds / exchanges and contacting those who hold tickets. Refunds can be collected at the Mypiao office or at the M ticket office (the ... Read more »

City Weekend: This year, your World Atlas of Wine will be published in simplified Chinese—what do you think this says about China’s place in the wine world?

Jancis Robinson: I think it's great news because it means that there are sufficient numbers of Chinese are now seriously ... Read more »

In her 2006 memoir, Unpolished Gem, Alice Pung documents growing up in suburban Melbourne as the daughter of Chinese-Cambodian refugees. Her upcoming book continues the themes of transformation and identity.

Please tell us about your forthcoming book.

I am writing a book about a father and a daughter who try ... Read more »

Bestselling author Peter Hessler became an authority on modern China with his books River Town (2001) and Oracle Bones (2006). In his new book Country Driving he goes on a 7,000-mile road trip in search of China.

For expats who have only lived in Beijing or in Shanghai, what ... Read more »

Our picks of the best authors hitting up the Shanghai International Literary Festival this year

There are a staggering 51 authors squeezing their talks and books into three straight weekends from March 5-21 this year (with the exception of seven authors, who are to liven up four week days). Here ... Read more »

➜ 63,000

The amount in yuan raised by volunteer group BEAN and Cotton’s bar at their Drink for Haiti fundraising event on January 30.

➜ 334

The number of days last year that were registered as having excellent or good air quality in Shanghai, 1.9 percent more than in ... Read more »

PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) has ratcheted up its China campaign with this racy ad featuring model Amber Chia. The Chinese-Malaysian model got naked and painted and posed in a jungle to raise awareness. She definitely raised our awareness, but we’re still confused about what the ad ... Read more »

How long have you been fencing?

In China? For about a year. I started back in Germany in 1993, but I

stopped in the middle for about five years.

You must get a lot of weird looks now carrying a bag of swords around Shanghai.

Not any more than with ... Read more »

On March 1, Shanghai will start cracking down on smoking in most public

places as part of a wider effort to clean up the city before the Expo. Similar to Beijing’s clampdown before the Olympics, this latest ban on smoking will extend to 13 types of public venues, including ... Read more »

Jeffrey Wasserstrom may be bemoaning “big picture” China books in the latest edition of Time Asia, but there is one that just came out that everyone ought to read. It’s by Huang Yasheng (above), who teaches political economy at MIT and the Kennedy School and it’s called Capitalism ... Read more »

We didn't just consult that dude with prayer beads hanging outside Jing'an Temple. Meet our astrologist: A Taiwan transplant, Master Zhang Sheng-Shu is the author of 10 books and the purveyor of a five-million member strong website that seeks to explain ancient fortune-telling through modern science.

Tiger (1950 ... Read more »

Since Google suggested that it might leave China this January, Shanghai’s been a-Twitter about the possibility of losing access to the world’s biggest search engine. Other websites have been blocked before, from CNN to WordPress, but the reaction to this has been much different. Why does the potential ... Read more »

➜ 1,550

The amount in kilograms of chocolate used by the Le Royal Meridien Shanghai last year.

➜ 20

The percentage of Expo pavilions that might not be ready for visitors come May 1. The Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination points out that about 10 percent of pavilions didn’t ... Read more »

Eric Arndt, Shanghai general manager of Habitat for Humanity, is organizing a relief gig for victims of the Haiti earthquake

City Weekend: What is Habitat for Humanity?

Eric Arndt: It’s a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating homelessness and poverty housing in the world and to make decent shelter a ... Read more »

We are really proud of our Cover Story that hits the streets today (Wednesday, Jan 20). We’d long been wanting to write about some other aspects to the Expo because, even though most everyone is firmly behind it and very much looking forward to it, there hasn’t much ... Read more »

The hearts of many of us in Shanghai go out to Haiti as the nation struggles to cope with the aftermath of the devastating 7.3 earthquake that hit on January 12.

In Shanghai, events are being organized now to raise money to get supplies and relief workers into the ... Read more »

The government exerts further authority over the Internet with the quiet debut of a domain registration system

As of January, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has ordained that only licensed companies will be entitled to register Chinese (.cn) domain names, as part of their wider crackdown on ... Read more »