Curated, Opinionated Shanghai Living

News, updates, everything we've got...
- Free Beer Alert: Big Bamboo and Blind Pig Serve 2-Hour Beery Free Flow With Dinner
  
  Just the facts! An event listing came in over the wire this weekend. Big Bamboo in Hongqiao and the Blind Pig on Nanyang Lu are offering diners two hours of free-flow beer, every weekday, from 4-6pm. It's only their Coronado line, it's only for dine-ins, you have to follow their WeChat, and it's only while supplies last. Considering the drinking habits of the average Big Bamboo patron, we give it thirty minutes to bone-dry. Once saw a guy in a Man United jersey break the top off a glass bottle so he could lick out the dregs, back before it became Blind Pig. True story. Best get in quick for free beer! The best kind of beer.
- Homeslice Opens Its Third Pizza Parlor In Xujiahui
  
  Joyous pizza tidings: very excellent New York-ish pizza chain Homeslice is continuing its journey to the West with a third location on Wending Lu, in Xujiahui. It's open now! As you read this very sentence! Plus, if you follow their WeChat account, you get free samples. That's adorable! Read on
- Qi Baishi is China’s Picasso. He’s Finally Getting a Solo Show in Shanghai.
  
  Thank the Jiushi International Art Center. They are now showing a solo exhibition by Qi Baishi, an ink-and-brush artist who died in 1957 but has been breaking art auction records in recent years, with one piece going for 100 million usd in 2017. He is a beloved Chinese painter. If you’ve ever seen an ink painting of shrimp, frogs, or crabs — spare and elegant — it’s probably by Qi, or a follower of his style. Jiushi has gathered a number of his paintings that have toured abroad but never been seen in China for this show. You should go! Read on
- Secret Cinema Getting Into Some James Bondage For Casino Royale
  
  Adult roleplay, my children. "Secret Cinema specializes in immersive theatrical experiences based on film and television, combining film screenings with interactive performances in purpose-built bespoke sets." Right, adult roleplay. Hours of grown-ups playing make believe in massive, custom-built environments, populated by dozens of actors mingling with hundreds of attendees, stunts, set piece performances, pyrotechnics, plus a screening of the movie it's all based on. In the past, the world-famous London outfit have brought Blade Runner, Dirty Dancing and Star Wars to life. This November, they're starting a four-month cycle based on Casino Royale. Secret Cinema tickets for the first month are already available on SmartTicket. Read on
- Got Skills? Work With Us! SmartShanghai and CreativeHunt Are Both Hiring
  
  Life at SmartShanghai is rosy. We have a cool, creative team of editors, photographers, designers and developers who spend all of their time figuring out how to bring you the best the city has to offer in the coolest way. And we are hiring. Not "expanding" -- no one is leaving. We are growing the company and want new, talented people to help us do that. What's it like to work for us? We strive to create a friendly, relaxed work environment, where everyone has flexible work hours (no clock-punching), standing desks (hey, it matters), up-to-date computers, and a say in how we run the business. The office is close to IAPM right in downtown and easy to get to from anywhere in the city. We have a lot of lunch options. Want to get in on this? Hit the jump to see what positions are available! Read on
  
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- New Italian Restaurant SENSO Serves Horsemeat and Ciccheti
  
  There's a brand new Italian restaurant on the corner of Zhaohua Dong Lu called SENSO. It's by the same people behind SEVE, specializing in ciccheti (basically Venice's version of tapas) and, oh, the occasional horsemeat steak. Clearly labelled! Read on
  
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- Post-Punk Grandpas Gang of Four Make Good on Promise to Come Back, Playing Shanghai November 23
  
  A quick post-punk service announcement: Gang of Four are coming back to Shanghai, after cancelling on us earlier in the year. A date has been set: November 23. They'll be playing 1979's Entertainment album, live and in full, which is honey and marshmallows and angular guitars to a post-punk fan like me. Maybe you too? We have tickets. Get them here.
- Bubba’s Annual Barbecue Cook-Off is This Saturday
  
  Summertime is almost over but BBQ season never ends! Bubba’s 7th Annual Barbecue Cook Off happens this Saturday and will see Shanghai’s top BBQ bosses in attendance, from the former champion Bruce “Big Dog” Taylor to Cages Chef Jason Oakley battling it out for the title of Grand Master of the 2019 Cook-Off. For 100rmb at the door, visitors get two free beers and sample some of the best ‘cue in the city. There will be plenty of vendors serving a good deal of sausages, chicken, pork ribs, beef as well as cold beverages, and live music. Weather forecast shows mostly sunny with a high of 23 degrees. Beautiful day, then. The location is a bit far-off this year, held at Sam’s Club in Qingpu, but they’ll have buses running from Cages at 11am to get you out there. More details here.
- Club Updates: M2 Becomes WANN. Make A Note.
  
  Heads-up, club kids. M2, one of the older baller clubs in Shanghai, riding the ups and downs of Shanghai's nightlife, finally closed back in September because of aah... let's say an environment that made certain names in the nightlife scene unwelcome. All you need to know is that M2 is dead, long live WANN Club. It's in the same space, on the sixth floor of a building on Huaihai Zhong Lu. Same ownership, same table packages, same formulae for revelry, described by our man on the ground as #nightlife plus #lasers. Wannsui.
- (Basically) Free Booze Alert: 3NTRY's Student Party Has An Open Bar Tonight
  
  Mansion lives on in spirit! In rivers of cheap spirits! 3NTRY, the coworking space slash club slash "culture hub" slash... hippie commune (?) is throwing a Student Party tonight, kicking off at 9pm with a 100rmb open bar. Don't even need to be a student! One red note gets you as much ethanol as you can inhale until 5am-ish. Comes to 12rmb per hour. What sort of booze can you get for that sort of money? You figure it out. Providing the soundtrack to the carnage are BOGUTA O2, Fane and Leftfield Avenue. They're selling tickets here. Good luck, animals.
- Studio Ghibli (And Others) Exhibition On at M50 Gallery Right Now
  
  Godsend for anime and manga lovers; Polar Bear Gallery in M50 is hosting its annual Japanese animation and Studio Ghibli manuscript exhibition, gathering around 350 hand-drawn manuscripts from over 20 classic Japanese anime series from the 1970s and 80s: Doraemon, Sailor Moon, Slam Dunk, Pokémon, Crayon Shin-chan, and beloved Studio Ghibli films such as Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Nausicaä of The Valley of the Wind. We went to check it out. In summary? A lot of animation cels! Read on
- Taito Station Is A Claw Machine Utopia
  
  Taito Station, the biggest arcade games chain store in Japan, the creator behind all-time favorites like Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble, has opened its first spot in Shanghai. Not nearly as big as its world famous six-floor game center in Akihabara, it still promises plenty of gaudy, fluffy fun for fans of claw games. We went to pluck victory from the fluffy jaws of defeat with the robotic hand of God. The Claw! The Claw is our master! It decides who will go and who will stay! Read on
- Big Music Instrument Expo Kicks Off, 170k Visitors Expected
  
  It’s not the Sexpo but it’s still pretty hot. Music China 2019 opens today for the 18th time, showing off traditional Chinese and Western musical instruments and accessories, from accordions & harmonicas, pianos and keyboards, to woodwind and brass instruments, electronic and electric instruments. More than 170,000 people are expected to roll through the four-day trade show, which claims to have 600+ concerts/live music shows. There’s also something called The 2nd Original Electronic Dance Music Competition sponsored by the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy, and an International Electronic Music Competition, organized by the Shanghai Computer Music Association (October 12-13, Outdoor Stage S4). Who knew! See here for details.
- Run Up The Jing'An Shangri-La For Charity, You Lunatics
  
  Hey, running fans. Can't help but notice that you seem to have thrown stairs into the mix. Stairs. Who hurt you? Was it the Jing'an Shangri-La? No? Not yet, anyway. The Jing'an Shangri-La is hosting the 2019 Climb for Hope Vertical Charity Run. It's happening next Saturday, Oct 19, kicking off at 7.30am and ending 60 floors, 1,625 steps and a bad case of Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome later, at the finish line on the highest floor. The record to beat is 11 minutes and 53 seconds. It's 298rmb per person, including a starter kit, a gift bag, and a breakfast buffet. Sign-up instructions on the event listing.
- ... Aaaaaand We're Back!
  
  Oh hi there Shanghai. Welcome back. Like you, we're back at work, if you can call it that. We're heating up the brand irons in the content mills and rounding up any listings that strayed from the herd while we slept the deep sleep of an old cow-poke under a starry sky. Expect events, photo galleries, housing, buy-and-sell, ticketing and some darn-tootin' content to come pouring out of the SmartShanghai pens in short order. Yeehaw.
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Mi Casa Es Su Casa

A big Latin party with salsa dance classes, live percussionist Thomas Dyani, and Latin music all night long. Mojitos are BOGO until 11pm too.

Nightlife | Revolucion Cocktail

Ghostbusters

Free entrace & Free popcorn Special burger deal only 88rmb with a beer Happy hour from 6-8pm Movie info: Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler work at Columbia Univ...

Community | The Pearl

Stand Up Comedy Open Mic

Shanghai Comedy Bunker at CAGES Bar and Sports hosts a biweekly open night! All are welcome. Add ShanghaiComedy on WeChat or show up on the day and they'll arrange/provid...

Nightlife | Shanghai Comedy Bunker
Unicorn Party

Are you a unicorn? Every Wednesday free selected cocktails for all ladies till midnight. This night deserves a special treatment transforming Revolucion into a magical my...

Nightlife | Revolucion Cocktail

Ceramics Master Class with Richard ...

A rare opportunity to take a master class with the legendary ceramist Richard Notkin, renowned for his Yixing teapot series and ceramic mural depicting the Hiroshima blas...

Arts, Community | The Pottery Workshop

Safe State

Safe State was founded in 2015 by Florus, Philippe and Ricky as a side project of each other's bands. Hardcore played loud and fast with an old school touch which has not...

Nightlife | YYT
20/40: Comedy Sketch Show

20/40 aims to deliver 20 hilarious sketches in 40 minutes, with the audience deciding what comes next, be it a sketch, song, mime or magic trick. If the performers fail t...

Nightlife | Shanghai Comedy Bunker

Cocktail Cinema | The Shining

COCKTAIL CINEMA is back with the uncut version of Stanley Kubrick’s classic: THE SHINING (1980). As usual, we'll be mixing three bespoke cocktails inspired by the movie...

Community | SmSh Territory

Redic Shanghai Chapters Exhibition ...

A multi-sensory inspiration experience in the historic building next to the Sukhothai Hotel. 48rmb early bird tickets before October 25, 78rmb online, 88rmb on the door. ...

Arts | The Sukhothai Shanghai
Fear On The Bund Halloween Party

BEVEX, the event organizer behind Beernanza, Mixnanza, Shanghai International Beer Festival and more, invades the Bund with a weekend of "Fear on the Bund Halloween Party...

Nightlife | The Cool Docks

Heavy Metal Halloween - Live

Heavy Metal Halloween! There is no Halloween without some serious Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. The Pearl Red Stars rock through a huge catalogue from Ozzy, Sabbath, Dio and...

Nightlife | The Pearl

Inferno Costume Competion

INFERNOS going balls to the skeleton covered walls, with its annual COSTUME COMPETITION! Like really, they got a freaking electric guitar as first prize along with a shit...

Nightlife | Inferno (United Valley)
5 Part Lecture Series: Part 2 - Bus...

Each lecture will be approx 90 minutes long and include a Q&A session. The lectures are held by Mandarin Community and presented by Orlocity. Pre-booking is required and ...

Business, Community | Mandarin Community

The Freakshow Halloween Party

Big Halloween party from MVP Events at the 92nd floor of the Park Hyatt, "transforming the floor into a frightening house that will leave you terrified." Boo! Dj Tuto & T...

Nightlife | Park Hyatt Shanghai

Yuyintang Halloween Tribute Concert

It’s huge. It’s mental. It’s back! Shanghai’s biggest Halloween Tribute Show is happening on October 26 at Yuyintang Park. Now in its 14th iteration, the annual c...

Nightlife | YYT
Rocky Horror Halloween Show

Give yourself over to absolute pleasure this Halloween at The Rocky Horror DRAG Show: an outrageously sinful, gender-bending reinterpretation of the ultimate smutty cult ...

Nightlife | The Pearl

Fear On The Bund Halloween Party

BEVEX, the event organizer behind Beernanza, Mixnanza, Shanghai International Beer Festival and more, invades the Bund with a weekend of "Fear on the Bund Halloween Party...

Nightlife | The Cool Docks

Heavy Metal Halloween - Live

Heavy Metal Halloween! There is no Halloween without some serious Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. The Pearl Red Stars rock through a huge catalogue from Ozzy, Sabbath, Dio and...

Nightlife | The Pearl

ALL EVENTS

GALLERIES

- October 16, 2019
  
  Sinner Saturday
  
  @ UP Shanghai
- October 12, 2019
  
  Gregor Salto
  
  @ Bar Rouge
- October 5, 2019
  
  elrow Enchanted Forest
  
  @ TAXX
- October 5, 2019
  
  Rolex Shanghai Masters Players Party
  
  @ Bar Rouge
- September 20, 2019
  
  Revolucion 3rd Anniversary
  
  @ Revolucion Cocktail
- May 30, 2019
  
  SCIS Events
  
  @ Shanghai Community International School (SCIS) Hongqiao Campus
- May 30, 2019
  
  SCIS Campus
  
  @ Shanghai Community International School (SCIS) Hongqiao Campus
- May 28, 2019
  
  BISS
  
  @ British International School Shanghai (Puxi)
- March 22, 2019
  
  WISS DP Art Exhibition
  
  @ Western International School of Shanghai
- November 23, 2018
  
  Wellington Winter Christmas Bazaar
  
  @ Wellington College International Shanghai

SMARTREVIEWS

21 Oct 2019

Xixi's revival another reason to visit Xintiandi

jeffo on Xixi Bistro

In the first ten years I lived in Shanghai, I don’t think I ever said, “Let’s go eat in Xintiandi.” This is the area of throngs of flag following tour groups, and where you are likely to trip over the tourist in front of you who just had stop mid-stride to get a picture o... Read more
20 Oct 2019

Found member deserves its spot

anitaeatsshanghai on Hooked (Found 158)

I love taking people down to Found 158 for the first time. Always the same reaction of a raised-eyebrow with a pouted lip followed by, ‘woah you’d never know this place exists!’. Its true. Strolling down Julu Lu you wouldn’t have a clue that this giant fish bowl houses a ... Read more
19 Oct 2019

Reliable Yunnan chain mostly located in malls

eatingglace on Yun Hai Yao (Xujiahui Lu)

Here’s the low-down on the latest action- The Beef: Yunnan cuisine is one of my favorite Chinese cuisines, so I never miss a chance to try a new spot that serves up the sour and spicy flavors. Yun Hai Yao has been around and has quickly expanded – with more than 20 stores in Sha... Read more