Zhangjiang High-Tech Park station is the test point for Shanghai's first commute bicycle rental program. Users can buy a swipe card and add money to it, which is deducted according to the length of time they use the bicycle. http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2008-09-22/035314481036s.shtml http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=374529

The Metro company will be installing sound-proof walls on sections of Lines 1 and 3 in response to complaints by nearby residents. Line 7, which aims to be in operation by the opening of the Expo 2010, will be fitted with noise-reducing track. http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=374576

Ordinary Shanghai city residents are widely known to support so-called "black" taxi and moto-taxi drivers. This is why I was not so surprised, but still amused, to run across a thread on the Zhangjiang Garden BBS:

第一次发现黑车居然也有联盟，还有QQ群！

I just found that black taxi drivers actually have an alliance, and a QQ group!

The QQ group that the poster found had the title "Zhangjiang black taxi drivers, let's get together and share our experiences!". Lo and behold, in the thread's second post it is revealed that the QQ group was actually founded by another Zhangjiang Garden member, who after reading reports of recent crackdowns against black taxis wants to organize a three day black taxi strike to show the city government how vital they are to the city's residents. Further down the thread, other posters show their support for black taxis with comments like:

Great, I think black taxis should be cooperated with rather than fought against!

From Yulan Gardens to the subway station there's 13 stoplights, each trip only a few passengers, and they only make a handful of RMB! Truly an exhausting and bitter road!

I still like black taxi vans
Buses are just black taxis with licenses!
Chengguan are just thugs with licenses!

Black taxis' advantages are convenience, speed, driving non-stop, having empty seats, and taking passengers till 11pm. Besides that, their price and route are the same as the bus.

It's really hard work [to drive a black taxi]!

Just as numerous, though, are wishes that black taxis drivers would drive more safely!

Photo from the Baidu article on black taxis.

Jifeng Bookstore, 10-year resident of the S Shanxi Rd subway station, is coming up for renewal on its contract with the Metro company. Both sides are optimistic that talks on a rent increase for the prime real estate that the iconic bookstore occupies will see Jifeng still open on January 1st. Fan of the store on book site Douban.com have organized a "Defend the Shanxi Rd Jifeng Bookstore" group with over 1500 members. http://cul.sohu.com/20080917/n259599394.shtml

Google Maps in Chinese (ditu.google.com) just added public transportation directions for 81 cities in China. Here's an example of directions from People's Square in Puxi to Century Park in Pudong. The service is Chinese only. http://publish.it168.com/2008/0917/20080917045501.shtml

A Line 1 subway train broke down yesterday morning, delaying passengers for up to 25 minutes. As is customary, stations handed out a pre-printed "Letter of Apology" to passengers which serves as proof of the delay.http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=374176 http://news.hexun.com/2008-09-18/108979879.html

A passenger observed Shanghai taxis switching to smaller wheels on the front of the car, meaning more revolutions per unit distance, to overcharge passengers on trips to the airport. http://www.zj.chinanews.com.cn/detail/985778.shtml

A few pictures of the latest work:

As you can see, the road workers took away the sand bags and plastic that had been protecting the steel rods they installed weeks ago in the middle of Dangui Rd, and all along the planned trolley route. I assume that the installation of electrical poles cannot be far behind.

On an otherwise slow day for public transportation news, the Shanghai Daily has three helpful stories about how passengers can protect themselves from misbehaving cabbies.

• "Suggested fares from Maglev": Passengers who arrive at Longyang Rd on the Maglev are being informed of approximate taxi fares to Shanghai landmarks, fares which are listed in the article.
• "No excuse for refusals": This article outlines the situations in which it is illegal for taxi drivers to refuse passengers.
• "How to report your 'rides from hell'": Explains how passengers can report rogue cab drivers, and the systems that are set up to track them down.

Click through and read those (short) articles because Shanghai Daily content goes behind the subscription wall soon after it is published.

Hi everyone and Happy FRIDAY AGAIN! It is a long weekend! (for most of us anyhow)
The MidAutumn Festival (referred to as the Moon Festival by some) is upon us. It is a new three-day weekend for the working stiffs among us so let’s all enjoy the extra day off. Some folks are planning trips out to Tai Lake, Moganshan, Nanjing, SuZhou, Hangzhou and other nearby attractions to get out of Shanghai a bit, but personally I have always likes Shanghai as people empty out for holidays; the pace slows down and one can relax a bit more and walk around the city to see more things that usually pass you by. Given this weekend’s cooler than summer weather, it should be a good chance to go bike ride or stroll across town or even meander across the river by ferry-boat to really explore. My tip is avoid the main tourist areas such as YuGardens, Pearl Tower, or even the new Financial Center. There are plenty of other places to check out nearby that can be fun and interesting.
(for more info on the Mid Autumn Festival: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival )

This week has been one of recovery from a week of overtime last week rushing into the Health Fair, which was a real success. Congrats to SOS China and Lifeline Shanghai for putting on a great show for the Expat community to gather so much info about health and healthy lifestyles! This newsletter’s sponsor, DirectWay Biotech, successfully exhibited its full range of water filters to the expat community and many visitors came away with a taste of pure healthy filtered water from the working demo at the exhibit. And congrats to the two lucky winners came away with chlorine filters to wash and bath Chlorine-free! (The organizers have not announced the names so I cannot list the winners at this point.)

The ShanghaiExpat community is still growing. With the latest membership at over 650 members, I appreciate the support of everyone and will endeavor to continue to provide quirkly updated information about stuff in and around Shanghai. As always, your input is greatly appreciated so please send me comments, ideas, tips , etc. Thanks!
Shanghai Fox is back on the air. DJ Skyline seems to have rearranged his work schedule so that the pirate internet station can be on the air Fridays again, so we can all listen while we work… So get your headsets on and connect to: http://61.170.195.130:8000/listen.pls .

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/

Free shows are good right? Well here is a chance to check out some up and comers perform free live music at the China Now festival coming September 14-15 at HuaiHai Park. Admission is free to come see some of China’s up and coming bands perform various genres of music. 3pm-11:30pm.

September 10-14, The Shanghai Art Fair, actually a highly regarded global art fair is being held at Shanghai Mart on Gubei Rd. Renowned masters such as Picasso, Matisse, Renoir and more have been featured in past years’ events. This year new exhibits will debut: “ Chinese Contemporary Ceramics Pavillion”, and an emerging artists section. http://www.sartfair.com

September 12, 10pm-2am – Shanghai Roller Revival – party on skates! 200rmb includes open bar and skate rentals. Will be held at the roller rink at YiChuan Rd. and GanChuan Rd. For more info 13671993664

September 13-14, Saturday and Sunday– The KIC Mid Autumn Festival Carnival will feature Kung Fu performances, family oriented games and activities, pre-family singles party and eating activities and more. Will be held at the Jiang Wan Sports Center at 346 GuoHe Rd near Zhengli Rd. For more info: http://www.kic-jwsc.com/moon2008/index.htm

Sept 19-21 – the 2nd annual Expat Show will be held at the Shanghai Expo Center downtown on Nanjing West Rd, across from the Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel. Details here: http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/MDForum-viewtopic-t-78582.phtml

September 25- October 12, 7:30pm nightly- Aida, the musical is playing at the Majestic Theater through October 12. This Tony award winning stage show is Elton John’s “Romeo and Juliet” set in Egypt. Tickets (100rmb-1080rmb) available through htto://www.mypiao.com 400-620-6006
.
((ad)) Clean healthy drinking water in Shanghai? YES! Come by the DirectWay store at 509 West Beijing Rd to see the Atlantis Drinking Water Purifier in action. BRING A SAMPLE OF YOUR WATER to be tested and see what you have in your HOME.
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))
.
Upcoming shows:

The Shanghai Jazz Festival will be held Sept 19 & 20th in Jing An Park, hosted by Club JZ. For more info: http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/index.php?name=microsites&file=jzclub
The Kanye West concert originally scheduled for September 23 at Hongkou Stadium has been postponed to November 3, allegedly to allow for an added show in Beijing. He will be playing at the Shanghai Grand Stage. Tickets available through China West. (this news courtesy of Shanghaiist)

Diana Krall plays Luwan Stadium on October 9th, and Linkin Park returns to Shanghai Stadium October 12, with local band mayday opening. Tickets for these shows available through TicketMaster 400-707-9999

Weekly events:
Regular events include the Saturday Coffee meeting at Cloud Nine Mall at Zhong Shan Park, every Saturday from 10:30a-12:30p at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; and lunch that follows the coffee meet. Contact me if you have any questions as I do host this event every week.

Sunday Coffee Brunch is held at XinTianDi’s Coffee bean outlet from noon-3 every Sunday afternoon. More info on that: http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/MDForum-viewtopic-t-28351.phtml

And of course, the Weekly Wednesday Night Mixer at Malones happens on the 3rd floor Loft from 9pm to midnight. Come by to meet new friends and old ones, enjoy discounted drinks, and the occasional lucky draw with cool prizes from ShanghaiExpat’s community sponsors.

Almost forgot to mention that Cotton’s is doing her Sunday BBQ’s again now that its cooler. So stop by her place and enjoy a decent 99rmb BBQ in their nice shady terrace/ patio. May just wake up in time for it this weekend ;).

Regardless of whether you head out of town or just hang out in Shanghai this weekend, I wish you all a cooler relaxing and fun weekend. And don’t forget to devour some moon cakes!

Cheers!

Ed

This is great because who hasn't been refused by a taxi in front of the Super Brand Mall:

CABBIES who refused to take passengers at Lujiazui area were named and shamed by the taxi watchdog yesterday.

The drivers, caught in a crackdown on Tuesday which the watchdog said would become a regular practice, included Li Jingbao and Di Huping from the major Haibo taxi fleet and Xu Zhengjun from the Jinling Taxi Co. The two companies are among the city's biggest taxi fleets.

Shanghai Daily, Cabbies named and shamed in city crackdown.

Photo by Andreas E J on Flickr.

Shanghai is taking a page from Beijing's book and restricting car use by civil servants in the name of environmental protection. Employees of certain civil organs will be barred from driving their car on weekdays according to the last digit of their license plate, 1 and 6, 2 and 7, 3 and 8, 4 and 9, and 5 and 0 for Monday through Friday respectively. The city government encourages affected drivers to carpool, ride a bike, or take... public transportation! http://news.sohu.com/20080910/n259488222.shtml

Lots of news lately, so let's keep them short and sweet:

The shops are back! Most subway station shops opened up in the last couple of days after the city-imposed, Olympic-motivated, month-long closure. http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2008-09-04/045614400707s.shtml http://china.huanqiu.com/roll/2008-09/216988.html

The new 350 km/hr high speed train between Beijing and Tianjin has been operational for one month. When it is extended to Shanghai, it will travel at up to 380 km/hr and cut travel time to/from the capital down to 4 hours. Note that the Pudong Maglev has an average speed of 430 km/hr and a theoretical top speed of 500 km/hr. http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-09/02/content_9758176.htm http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2008-09-03/124714397362s.shtml

Construction on the Lujiazui elevated walkway has begun. Phase 1's 7-meter high circular walkway will connect Super Brand Mall, the Sun Hung Kai project, the Lujiazui Leisure Plaza, and the Lujizaui metro station with a covered walkway able to fit 20 pedestrians walking abreast. Phases 2 and 3 will connect it to other office buildings in the area. http://csj.xinhuanet.com/2008-09/03/content_14296477.htm

The future Pujiang Nanpu interchange station will boast a complicated triangular design that may make it the largest subway station in Asia, according to Metro officials. The station is the planned interchange station for Lines 7 and 12, and will be located in southern Luwan district (I think...). It will have 22 exits, as well as commercial, residential and office space. http://csj.xinhuanet.com/2008-09/03/content_14296520.htm http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=372667

You may have noticed old people swiping a strange card in new purple lanes at subway station entrances or on the bus. This is a new "old people's card" that takes the place of the social security card that the Shanghai subway used to required senior citizens to carry in order to redeem their free rides. http://bank.hexun.com/2008-09-03/108552011.html

A week after Line 9's book lending program started, nearly half of the starting number of books have gone missing. Some passengers claimed to be unaware that the books needed to be returned. The Metro company plans to put up posters to educate passsengers on how the program actually works, but say that the program may be cancelled if books continue to disappear. http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=372446 http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2008-09-04/135116232324.shtml

The Shanghai Metro compay has begun to research the technology necessary to implement driver-less subway trains. The main requirement is an advanced signalling system, which is currently being tested on existing lines 6, 8 and 9. http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2008-09-04/022114398731s.shtml

It took them nearly an extra half year but Best Buy finally opened their Zhong Shan Park branch last week. The building located at a high profile but not-so-easily-accessible corner of the Zhong Shan park area , joins Sunning, Yolo and Gome in the battle for electronics consumers in the area.

The big blue building first had identifiable signs that it was going to be a Best Buy store back in Chinese New Year when the Geek Squad and Magnolia graphics went up visible to the outside world. There was a recognizable Best Buy logo covered in an orange cloth for this whole period, but to anyone who knew their brand, it was obvious. And yet it sat deserted and empty for nearly half a year. Then recently, Best Buy employees started to be seen heading out to lunch locally and then just 2 weeks ago announcements on the building went up and the store logo was revealed.

So now its open. The second store to open for this US based chain, and another one waits in LuJiaZui as well to finally open. This Zhong Shan Park location is a bit more challenging for the average metro-bound customer to get to than its competitors' stores in the area, as it requires crossing a few streets and has no direct access (yet), but it is an attractive destination store and worth stopping by to check out. This store is located at the block surrounded by YuYuan Rd, Ding Xi Rd and Chang Ning Rd, and just across from the entrance to Zhong Shan Park.

The United States' rail system has the potential to get a boost from an Obama presidency, or more precisely a Biden vice-presidency. Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden rides Amtrak trains to work in Washington DC from his home in Delaware, and has been a consistent source of support for Amtrak federal subsidies over the years. A direct rail connection from the USA to China, however, would probably have to pass through the territory of Republican presidential candidate Sarah Palin, governor of the state of Alaska. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/01/AR2008090102391.html

Photo by J.C. Freakshow on Flickr.

Via The State of it All.

Vending machines are operational again, and shops in Shanghai's subway system are gearing up to re-open their doors on Thursday, September 4. The Metro company has also spoken out to dispel rumors that some shops will be required to close: the company respects existing contracts and trusts the market to produce a healthy variety of independent and chain stores in Shanghai's subway stations. Furthermore, the Metro company has credited each shop with a month's rent as compensation for the month of forced closure. http://finance.sina.com.cn/china/dfjj/20080902/00015260034.shtml

An Anhui man studying law in Shanghai was given a 6-month prison sentence for using family connections to scalp railway tickets during the Chinese New Year, as a way of paying off his student loans. http://news.sohu.com/20080902/n259321922.shtml

Hongkou District is set to become the testing area for a network of improved bicycle lanes that will connect the district's cyclists to the subway and light rail stations. http://csj.xinhuanet.com/2008-09/02/content_14285722.htm

The new schedule for Line 6 is having the desired effect: more frequent trains are leading to shorter waits and less crowded station platforms. The only drawback is that non-functional platform LCDs and different weekday/weekend hours are confusing passengers as to which trains are main-line only and which go on to the southern and northern extensions. http://www.sh.chinanews.com.cn/pageurl/2008921044207.html

The bus industry association plans to phase out the city's last public double-decker buses from line 911. According to the association's spokesman, the buses are not cost-effective and are also difficult to maneuver in the city's complicated traffic. http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=372303

Not exactly public transportation, but... the water-drop shaped Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal welcomed its first group of passengers last month. The terminal is located on the north side of the Huangpu River as it loops around the Pearl Tower. The owners of the Terminal will rent floor space to luxury restaurants to welcome cruise passengers with a nice view of the Bund while they eat. http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=372132

Stores located in Shanghai subway stations are due to re-open this coming week. Employees are now cleaning and returning merchandise to the shelves. The shops were closed during the Olympic Games over safety concerns. The Metro company plans to pare down the number of shops in some stations, as expert say that overly crowded commercial space impedes fire evacuations. The experts suggest that shops valuable to passengers should be kept, such as shops selling food, newspapers, and cellphone recharge cards. http://news.qq.com/a/20080901/000538.htm

Photo of the Cruise Terminal development (on the left) by Fai C on Flickr.