Curated, Opinionated Shanghai Living

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- Ready To Day Drink: Tastebuds Now Sells Potent Take-Away Cocktails In Plastic Bags
  
  There are worthy endeavors, noble efforts to further the human spirit, and then there's this. In times of gloom and despair, Daniel An (Arch, Atelier, Antique) and his co-conspirators have opened a cocktail dispensary a stone's throw from Xintiandi and Found 158, with the express mission of getting people okay with the idea of day drinking. It's called Ready To Drink (RTD for short). It's possibly — think the math checks out — the cheapest way to get tastefully plastered any time of the day. Read on
- Bye Bye Four Seasons Pudong! Luxury Hotel Pulls Out of Pudong But Will Keep Puxi Location
  
  The Four Seasons Hotel in Pudong will close up its 187 rooms on May 15 — next month — and the company will also pull out of the Four Seasons Place Pudong, according to an internal announcement today that has been reported elsewhere. The note, which appears to come from Rainer Stampfer, President of Operations for Asia Pacific, says that although terms of the pull-out are confidential, it had nothing to do with the coronavirus. Hmmmmm. The building itself, owned by The Shanghai 21st Century Hotel Co Ltd, obviously remains; it just won't be a Four Seasons anymore come this summer. Four Seasons Pudong opened in 2012. The company will remain in Shanghai with its original location in Puxi, which they intend to put under an "extensive renovation program" beginning in June. Hard times for the hotel industry.
- Do Something Nice: Here's How to Donate Blood During the Special Period
  
  If you are looking for ways to help out during the precarious COVID-19 recovery stage, giving blood is a good option. Many regularly scheduled blood donations were cancelled as people were quarantined, and the outbreak has placed a demand on the Shanghai Red Cross Blood Center. “Shanghai is a big city. Even without COVID, there is a large demand,” said Dr. Ashish Maskay of Shanghai United Family and a co-founder of the blood donation community Bloodline. The donation process isn't difficult. Here is how to donate blood in Shanghai. Read on
- Flags At Half-Mast and Air Raid Sirens: China Is Mourning COVID-19 Victims On Saturday
  
  According to shine.cn, China's State Council has declared Saturday, April 4 a national day of mourning for the victims of the COVID-19 outbreak. Flags will be flown at half-mast, and at 10am, there'll be three minutes of silence, accompanied by air-raid sirens. Just a little heads-up so you don't jolt awake in a panic. Maybe take a moment with your morning coffee to think of those who were lost to the pandemic, those they left behind, and the people still on the frontlines here and abroad.
- Mixed Messages as Entertainment Venues (and More) are Ordered to Close, We've Read the Official Document
  
  There's some confusion in nightlife happening as a new government order directs entertainment venues to close, even as a number of venues re-open. The government document, which SmartShanghai has seen, is titled Dispatch 132 and is dated 31 March. Directed at district governments and work units, published by the Shanghai Novel Coronavirus Epidemic Prevention and Control Office, its five articles specifically mention the closing of or tight restrictions on libraries, museums, art museums, cinemas, performance sites (for opera and the performing arts, etc), as well "歌舞娱乐场所", or the very broad category of "song, dance and entertainment venues". It does NOT mention bars, restaurants or cafes. It's unclear what exactly those entertainment venues are meant to be, as a number of live music venues re-open this weekend (albeit without live entertainment), and even certain clubs plan to open again this weekend. Meanwhile, Bar Rouge has put things on hold, saying "during this period, we will be taking some time to remain closed and get ready for a strong opening and future ahead." So, as has been normal during these uncertain times, regulations are evolving and if you are planning on going out to sing, dance or be entertained this weekend, remember to call ahead and confirm your destination is open.
- Deja Vu All Over Again: Tourist Spots Have Re-Closed After Reopening
  
  A bump in the road to recovery; a ton of tourist places have been told to close after reopening three weeks ago. The Pearl Tower, Shanghai Tower, Jinmao Tower, Madame Tussauds, Huangpu River Cruises, Haichang Ocean Park, Changfeng Aquarium and others are closed as of Monday. The plug was also pulled on movie theaters at the last minute, after finally being set to reopen over the weekend. Unfortunate timing with the Tomb Sweeping three-day holiday starting on Saturday. These measures are likely part of the great government responses to the growing number of imported COVID-19 cases.
- Qing Ming Holiday in the Time of Coronavirus: Wanghong Qingtuan, Online Memorials and Expensive Tea
  
  The three-day Qingming holiday is coming up this weekend (Monday off), the traditional mark of spring when people eat qingtuan and go out to cemeteries to clean their ancestors’ graves. But this is no regular year and the outbreak and social distancing measures are changing the 2,000-year-old holiday. Read on
- What China's New Travel Restrictions Mean For You
  
  Rules on international travel are changing swiftly. In the last day, China has closed its border to almost all foreign nationals, foreign airlines are limited to one passenger plane into China per week, while domestic airlines are cut back to one passenger plane from each foreign country per week. Hotels are still mostly accepting foreigners, with restrictions, but there is some confusion. Details after the jump. Read on
- China Will Temporarily Suspend Entry For Foreigners On March 28
  
  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a statement announcing that foreign nationals holding visas and temporary residence permits, including holders of port visas and visas granted under the 24/72/144-hour visa-free transit policy, will no longer be allowed entry into the country. The suspension comes into force at midnight (00.00 on the 24 hour clock) on March 28. The announcement says it is a "temporary measure that China is compelled to take in light of the outbreak situation and the practices of other countries," though no end date is mentioned. Find the full statement after the jump. Read on
  
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- Movie Theaters Re-Open on Saturday, Extra Spacing Between People
  
  Two hundred and five movie theatres in Shanghai will reopen on 28 March, according to an official announcement. More locations are a pending-to-reopen list. Theaters have been closed since Spring Festival. They return this weekend with strict reopening rules and special seating arrangements: tickets will only be sold for every other seat or every other row. Movies in the first batch of releases include: Green Book, Capernaum, Better Days and Ne Zha. And there's a discount! Taopiaopiao will give 20,0000 10rmb off tickets out every day.
- Gain One Lose One: New Tacolicious Opens, Yi Zhang Hong Closes
  
  Life is a finite resource in the F&B cycle, and when one rises, one must fall. It is the way of things. Tacolicious has opened its new Yuyao Lu outpost. It was supposed to open a while back but, you know, the thing. It's way bigger than their compact location on Taojiang Lu, with seats for 120 people and probably like 500% more cilantro. Bringing hard shell tacos inside soft shell tacos to the residents on the banks of the Suzhou Creek. On the flipside, Yi Zhang Hong takes a knee after several years of reliable Sichuan food on Wulumuqi Lu. It was a neighborhood (and beyond) favorite but it's cooked its last mao xue wang. R.I.P.
- This Former Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Has Opened His Own Private Studio
  
  The last time we checked in with Guillaume Molko, he was the concertmaster of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra on Fuxing Lu. Now he’s doing something different. Molko and his wife Mengchen, a concert pianist, have opened their own music studio for one-on-one classes with international-level pianists, cellists and violinists. The sixth floor studio in Xujiahui has three private rooms and a sizeable recital room with a grand piano for chamber music practice. If you want to practice or learn from some serious, serious multilingual musicians (Molko has perfect pitch and got into the Paris Conservatory when he was 17), maybe check them out. They are offering 149rmb trial classes at the moment though long-term study — kids or adults — is going to cost more. They teach all levels. Click here for the full listing.
- This Year's Fashion Week Will Be Available To Everyone, Online
  
  Shanghai Fashion Week is mostly an invite-only event, open only to the chic, connected and good-looking. The rest of us have to hover around the periphery, peeking around the hoarding or snapping photos of models and designers as they come and go from the tent in Xintiandi. The regularly scheduled Autumn Winter 2020 shows held at Xintiandi and other arty locales around the city were cancelled due to epidemic, but have been brought back as digital live streaming events starting tomorrow. That means this year, Shanghai Fashion Week is open to the masses. Read on
- A Cautious Spring: This Week in Special Period Living
  
  Today is the first day of spring, on the Chinese calendar, and life is starting to come back to Shanghai. Xiangyang Park has re-opened to the delight of the old-timers and strung-out parents with kids, though guangchang wu is resolutely banned. It's a fitting description of Shanghai in the third week of March. We can stroll but we can't dance just yet. Read on
- Rest in Peace: Two More Downtown Restaurants Call It Quits
  
  The restaurant purge of 2020 continued this week, as two more dining rooms on Nanjing Xi Lu went dark. At Taikoo Hui, it was Zizzi, an Italian chain from the UK who was hoping to follow in Pizza Marzano's footsteps. They never quite resonated. I ate there once. The corporate food might have had something to do with it. Down the street, Phipp's Steakhouse also called it quits after several years of trying to be China's "affordable" Peter Luger, the famous Brooklyn steakhouse. It was an ambitious comparison; it never stuck. But they made a damn good Philly cheese-steak that, in their last year, they sold for 58rmb including gooey plastic cheese and delivery. A chef's secret, that one, and now just a sandwich-shaped memory. Seeya later, guys.
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