Hao Hao ReportThe best China news and blog posts

Only after 2 days of school, 4 Shanghai middle school students have already jumped off buildings to commit suicide. Netizens blame the kids, education system, parents, society...

"...luckily they had read from the a Shanghai guidebook which stated that a taxi into the city should cost about 150RMB and he negotiated that price. Of course, that is rarely the end of the dramatics in China. Once they reached the city, the taxi driver conveniently 'forgot' where the hotel was and demanding more money because he would have to drive around-keep in mind this was a hotel very close to the Bund and Nanjing road, the tourist centres of Shanghai. Although tired, my friends got out of the cab and walked away..."

Ever wonder what the numbers and stars on those Shanghai taxi driver IDs mean?

In alphabetical order, here are almost four places that hail that opened in Beijing during the last six months and hail from Beijing's sibling city to the south: Shanghai. A report card on Blue Frog, Element Fresh, Enoteca, and Klubb Rouge.

Pointer to 'The Shanghai Daily's' new portal to Shanghai - Live in Shanghai.

(also testing a 'HaoHaoThis' script for MT3.2.x)

Want a glimpse into the big money of Shanghai? This is it. Take some time out and read it with a clear mind.

From the story...

“Living here takes a decade off our lives,” sighs our taxi driver, looking into the black smog ahead. We are in the town of Gongwusu, where Ningxia province meets Inner Mongolia. The driver often takes motorway 108 or 109 to destinations on either side of the border. “Everywhere the sky is full of black fumes, like storm clouds. You can’t see the sun; even in the daytime you need to put your headlights on.”

Xiao Nao is a single university graduate working as an ad copywriter in Shanghai. She has a year of work experience and could probably go elsewhere and live better, but she stays, and survives, on 1,000 RMB per month.

Shanghaiist translates here story.

This was the longest snowfall in the past 16 years in Shanghai in late Jan 2008. Here are some images to give you a feel of Shanghai in a snowing winter, and how people in Shanghai "celebrate" the snow.