B&Q for KFC

B&Q, one of the world's largest home furnishing retailer, has reached an agreement with fried chicken empire KFC to set up drive-through windows in all of the B&Q stores around China. Three B&Q stores in Shanghai, Wuxi and Qingdao will be the first lucky spots to include these fast-food outlets. Shanghai saw KFC's first drive-thru in 2005.

Taxi Tricks

A Swedish tourist visiting Shanghai for the first time was illegally charged ¥1,480 for a trip that should have been charged ¥110. This clever visitor, after noting the taxi registration number, was compensated ¥4,100 by the Shanghai Transport Bureau. The Bureau has opened 24-hour complaint hotlines: 962000 and 6546-6671 to supervise all taxi services. Of course, you'll need to keep the receipt and report the instance ASAP.

Jingan Pedestrian Street Facelift

We smell a new shopping hotspot. In order to accommodate to the high-end shopping style of the Jing'an area, high quality clothing stores, including luxury brands, are set to take over this street between Jing'an Temple and City Plaza. Built in 2003, the pedestrian street will be closing down old stores that offered an abundance of calligraphy, paintings and antiques for sale, in order to make room for this transformation.

Class Act

A shortage of teachers has led to a new program for education majors at East China Normal University beginning this fall. Tuition fees and basic living expenses for four years (about ¥50,000) will be covered during the student's undergraduate studies in return for a few years of teaching in the under-developed western areas of China. Students who fail to meet this criteria after graduation will have to pay back the tuition and expenses and will receive a black mark on their academic records.

Welcome back, Ayi!

During the Spring Festival, many ayis left Shanghai and returned to their hometowns for the holidays. Those of us scrambling for an ayi to help with pre-festival cleaning were left with scarce availibility and high rates. Good news--our beloved ayis are flooding back into Shanghai, and prices have decreased back to the usual levels, about ¥8 to ¥15 per hour.