Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, is almost upon us and so many of us will be taking advantage of this not quite 1 week holiday (not if you include weekends we SHOULD get off anyhow, that is) to get out of town. Ranging from the Harbin Ice Festival, Jilin for Skiing and the like for the cold weather fans, to a week hanging around the beaches of Thailand, Malaysia, Bali and more. For those folks I wish them a fun and safe trip. The rest of us who will hang out in Shanghai will get to experience Shanghai in a way we never think possible. The net population of Shanghai drops over this holiday by the millions so the streets are quieter, so despite the influx of domestic tourists and visiting family etc, there is an eerie calm about the place…just before the BOOM BOOM BOOM of the fireworks that will sound something akin to Beruit in the 70-s -70’s I’d imagine. For those folks who are staying, this newsletter is for you all since those leaving probably wont even read this…

*** Hoping for more sunshine but… A quick weather alert for those around Shanghai these next few days before the holiday: the temperatures are expected to drop significantly starting TODAY as a weather warning was sent out this morning at 11am warning of the fast moving cold front expected to drop average temperatures some 10-12 degrees lower than current so we may be in the negative temps range later tonight and through this weekend. So wrap up, and stay warm folks! ***

Despite what many locals will have you believe, the city does not shut down for the whole holiday. New Years Day will be rather quiet business wise, but you will still be able to get out to eat at certain establishments, so you may need to call around just in case. I’d advise stocking up for a couple days worth of foods though really the convenience stores will be open so the basics (eggs, bread, milk, beer…) can be bought likely throughout the holiday.

By day 3, things will be normal in the big stores. Mom and Pop stores may stay closed for 10 days or more as it takes some of these folks up to 72 hours by train just to go one way home or back. So if you have a local tailor shop or small dry cleaning place or something, do not be surprised if they don’t get back for a while. This is for many of them, their only trip home annually.

Anyhow, despite the holidays, the show must go on, and so theaters will be open in many cases by the 2nd day, and shows of all sorts will be happening. Art exhibits, live music, and of course clubs and such at night will be open likely throughout the holiday.
Tonight (Thursday January 22nd) at Lounge 18, reknowned jazz artist Coco Zhao continues his series of performances, this time joined by trumpeter Xiao Feng.
Romeo and Julliet, as performed by the UK Birmingham Ballet, comes to the Shanghai Grand Theater Friday and Saturday, January 23-24. Tickets are RMB100-1,080.
A Russian themed dance performance is planned also at the Grand Theater on January 26th- the 28th. Performed by the State Academic Choreografic Company, "BERIOZKA," from the Russian Federation a one act dance performace called “Spring”. Tickets available RMB180-880.
If live shows are not your thing, or you are looking for some daytime activities to do how about popping on on some artsy places? Shanghai Sculpture Space is a cool place to stop by for half a day and see a variety of sculptures, grab a cup of coffee or some wine, and just enjoy art exhibited in an old factory compound near XuJiaHui. 570 Huaihai West Lu, near HongQiao Rd

Or try the Shanghai DuoLun Museum of Modern Art, a well situated museum up near the HongKou Stadium and along the famous Duo Lun Rd literary street, this museum and its surrounds warrant a half day visit for both fans of the new and the classics. 27 Duolun Lu, Hongkou near Sichuan Bei Lu.

Despite the holiday, the events will go on, or at least the ShanghaiExpat regular events will. As many expats do not leave town, come take advantage of the timing and join up for a quick coffee or drink at any of the following events:
Saturday Mornings: The Original Saturday Morning Coffee Meet – this event is an informal place where expats and friends can come and meet old friends and new expats, to compare notes of just simply chat over coffee. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at Zhong Shan Park’s Cloud Nine Mall graciously hosts the event and offers attendees a discount on drinks and food during the event, every Sat morning from 10:30-12:30. Informally, many in the group will continue onto have lunch together before splitting off to the many activities of the weekend. A great way to start off each weekend. Feel free to contact me about this event as I personally host this one.
Sunday Brunch at XinTianDi is hosted by ShanghaiExpat at the Coffee Bean there.. This event goes from 12 noon- past 2pm and is also a good place to meet up with those in the community .

Wednesday Night Mixers at Malones has been on going now for four years and running strong. Every Wednesday night, Shanghai Expat and Malones come together to host this mixer as a great place to come for food, friends, and fun. Located on the third floor, the mixer is a private space for Shanghai Expat community members new and old to get together and relax and chat. Runs from 9-12midnight, weekly , 3rd floor loft at Malones, 225 Tong Ren Rd near Nanjing Rd .

It is going to get cold this weekend folks so dress appropriately and be prepared! Hope you all enjoy the weekend and stay warm!

And have a happy and safe Spring Festival!

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Charity announcements:

Help save the lives of babies in need of critical life saving medical procedures. Two of the co-founders of this foundations are friends of mine that I have only the utmost respect for in that they truly work hard for what they believe in, saving children’s lives, one at a time. Please check out the BaoBei Foundation and donate to a good cause… Give the gift of LIFE! http://www.baobeifoundation.org

Helping Hand Shanghai is distributing an environmentally friendly re-usable shopping bag that can be bought to benefit a choice of Shanghai charities: Shanghai Sunrise, Charity Carnival, Second Chance Animal Aid or Roots and Shoots. Just go to the link for more details: http://www.helpinghandsh.com/ .
((ad)) Polluted water from your tap? Bring in a sample to get tested! Directway, proud supplier of water safety products here in Shanghai will happily test your tap water or even filtered water against pure drinking water at the showroom located at 509 Beijing West Rd in Jing An District.

Come in to check out a simple but effective line of water filters good for your home here ins Shanghai. Drink pure drinking water, bathe in chlorine-free softened water today!

DirectWay is a proud supporter of the ShanghaiExpat! Clean drinking water? Chlorine-free showers? Reduced Detergent use for laundry for eco-friendly washes. Preview the whole line of fine Water filters on the web site at: http://english.obusiness.cn/yhhnj/en/water/productlist.jsp ((ad))

crossposted at Facebook group : Shanghaiexpat.com community

A metro map from Shanghai 2020, click for full-size:

My favorite is purple Line 14, the Outer Loop Line.

This photo is from Shanghai in 1980, taken from the Hengshan Guesthouse at the corner of Wanping, Guangyuan and Hengshan Roads. Notice that there are only bicycles and two-segmented buses on the street, no cars.

(From Travfoto's "China 1980" Flickr set.)

Jonna lets loose on a nasty habit:

But I am more or less amazed of the fact that so many people take their nail-clipping to a public place over here? It amazes, yet confuses me, that they carry around their own nail clipper every day, and then at the most crowded place of the day, like the Shanghai metro, they decide to take it out and give their nails a good trim. Why, oh dear god, WHY?!

Another weirdo makes an appearance on the Shanghai subway:

(Via stinson on Twitter.)

Photos by Zhongshan Park on Metrofans BBS.

A long-term expat in his 50s had a heart attack coming out of the Science and Technology Museum metro station yesterday, and passing pedestrians rushed to help him out. Three young men performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation while a woman dialed 120 to seek help. When the ambulance arrived, another young man rode in the ambulance with the victim's wife and child to help interpret for the doctors on board. Unfortunately, all efforts to help the man failed. http://why.eastday.com/q/20081210/u1a510644.html

Following complaints from passengers that the doors on Line 1 and 9 subway trains are being closed too fast, the Metro company has released guidelines to train conductors to leave the doors open for at least 50 seconds at major stations and 20 seconds at minor stations. The previous policy left the time at the conductors discretion, leading passengers to rush the doors in an effort to not get left out. http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2008-12-10/021814854582s.shtml

Shanghai residents continue to debate whether or not giving up a seat to the elderly on the subway is an absolute good. The main players in the debate are young office workers like Miss Ren, who says: “我平时也会主动让座的。可这次我真的很累，而那个老太也不是很老，身体看上去也不错。我不让座有错吗？” ("I normally give up my seat without being asked. But this time I was really tired, and the old woman wasn't that old; actually she looked pretty healthy too. Is it wrong to not give up my seat?"). http://news.sohu.com/20081209/n261106230.shtml

Photo by YiPing@SuZhou on Flickr.