Hao Hao ReportThe best China news and blog posts

Steven, Lost Laowai's newest writer, has some excellent tips on how to make sure this Chinese New Year is brought in with the appropriate usage of fireworks. A great read for us expats, and for the locals as well!

A quick overview, and some pictures and video, of the new line 5 recently added to the Beijing subway.

Bingfeng wonders with Golden Week approaching, how does one keep unwanted guests away from hearth and home. The solution: Western food to go. Funny stuff.

An excellent post by Rachel, Lost Laowai's most recent (and most active) writer, details the malady of catching SRS - Sinofication Reflex Syndrome - that horrible illness that hits all us expats as we make our annual trek home and end up starting every sentence with "Well, in China..."

BEIJING (AFP) - China's Communist Party on Sunday endorsed Hu Jintao's new economic model for the country, while opening the way for a top leadership reshuffle that will likely see the president consolidate his power.

Following the end of its five-yearly Congress, Hu, 64, is almost certain to be given a second term as party chief on Monday alongside a revamped line-up of leaders in the nation's most powerful political organ.

Chinese Taikonauts want to start a chapter of the Communist Party in space. And they want to join the International Space Station. ImageThief is all over this one.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - The leader of Taiwan’s new ruling party promised Monday to seek peace and economic engagement with China ahead of his trip to the mainland to meet President Hu Jintao.

Wu Poh-hsiung, chairman of the Nationalist Party, is making the six-day trip at the invitation of China. It’s the first mainland visit by the head of a ruling Taiwanese party.

The trip comes less than a week after Nationalist Ma Ying-jeou took office as Taiwan’s president.

Lost Laowai now has its own official group on Facebook. If you’re a member of the popular social networking site, be sure to join the group of fellow lost laowai!

Come see who else is a member, put faces to names around the China blogsphere (yikes!), ask questions if you’re new to China, or post complaints if you’re not.

Meg over at Violet Eclipse gives us this recent photo-post that shows the eerie side of the off-season in Chinese amusement parks. Funny stuff.