In what we hope will be the first of many, the inaugural Shanghaiist Happy Hour will take place Thursday, January 19 from 6 pm to 9 pm at the brand new Cotton's (pictured) on Anting Lu. We just visited the place yesterday, and it looks fantastic. The (heated!) outdoor drinking garden is even bigger than the one at the old venue. And the old home that houses the bar/restaurant -- someone told us that a Shanghai mayor once lived there -- is impressive (lots of fireplaces). Should be a cozy evening, and a good chance to meet new people or hang out with old friends.

Anybody knows when will this flower show be held? By the way, is Easter a high season for Yunnan? Will they increase the rates/prices? Thanks!

Hi all

After we have cruised the Li River we would like to cruise the Yangtze river, so could someone let us know how to get from  Guilin by bus and / or train and would it be easier to get to Yichang or Chongqing from Guilin?

Thank you for your time :) 

Blah blah, PLA still the largest army in the world blah blah.

What I want to know is what happens to those 200,000 disgruntled militarily-trained types.  I guess when you do this kind of thing, you just have to make sure that they're laid off in small groups far away from each other, so that they don't get the chance to band together somehow.

Can anyone recommend a tour company for a 10-14 day trek that includes Tiger Leaping Gorge..thank you

Does anyone know a good web site to book accomodation in these cities?

Can anyone recomend a good hotel that is reasonably priced and close to the city center?

Can you book hotels and train tickets with a single company to gain discount?

What: La Traviata performed by Northern Ballet Theatre

When: Jan 25-27 at 7.30pm.

Tickets: RMB 180-880

Telephone: 6551 6930 or 6551 6906.

only children’s play to be held in the vast Capital Gymnasium, featuring an ice cream cake large enough to break a Guinness world record and, no doubt, an earnings goal to match.

There is a giant ice cream mountain. There are bears on this mountain, fifty of them, of all colors and sizes. There is an evil alien bear, a heroic young baby bear, lessons about love and friendship, and finally, at the end of the show, the audience gets to eat the ice cream cake. Which, in the interest of exactitude, will measure four meters to a side, one and a half meters in height, and weigh in at ten tons.

Do yo know the french : José Bové in China ?

A long and very well written article from Harpers about China talks about China stereotypes, a bit of the reality of the sweatshops and factories that supply Walmart and IKEA, the migration to the cities, the water supply, power generation, and gives an interesting comparison with the United States.

Some quotes: 

Pile all the rocks in one place and you'd have the pyramids.

On the one hand, [China] must keep growing fast enough to absorb all that restless labor - the newspapers are already full of reports about college graduates unable to find jobs, and then there are those people pushed out of work in the vast and useless state heavy industries. And on the other hand, it must keep resource and energy use enough in check that China doesn't simply crash and burn.