[2017]: Best of the Blog

Nothing but hard-nosed lifestyle journalism here, my friends. Here's the best of the SmSh blog reel for 2017. It's raining Pulitzers!
Last updated: 2017-12-19
Take a knee, Shanghai. It's time for the annual barrage of year-end articles. In "2017", SmSh takes a look back at the terrible highlights and wondrous lowlights of city life for the year two-oh-one-seven. It can't get any worse! Can it?

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These are the best of our non-brunch related articles for 2017. Thanks for reading, everyone. Ayyyy, you're alright.

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January


Shanghai"

[Communities]: Futurists of Shanghai



The futuristic city's futuristic group that gathers to predict the future.

I Submitted to the Healing Tides of the Gong Bath



Bang a gong. Get. It. ON. SmartShanghai becomes one with the cosmos via some sweet gong vibes.


February



[Tested]: The Barbie Tour Bus!



Come on Barbie, let’s go party. SmSh takes a trip to the Bund on the Barbie-themed tour bus.

Shooting the City with Andrew Rochfort



An interview with our favorite gonzo architectural photographer.

Outsourced: Your CNY Stories 2017



Tales of triumph and defeat. Here's what our readers got up to for Chinese New Year.

[The List]: Where to Buy Tea in Shanghai



Fantastic tea and where to find it. SmSh takes you through the markets and shops of China's largest tea distribution center.

[10-Year Club]: Martin Kemble of Art Labor



SmSh talks to the Shanghai gallerist about 10 years of hard labor.

[Back of the Queue]: Beijing's Viral Pastry Shop Baoshifu



Standing in a three to four-hour line for a mayonnaise-stuffed cake covered in seaweed and beef. Yum. Find out if it was worth the wait inside.


March



The SmSh (Ultimate) Guide to Shanghai Dive Bar Burgers



A intrepid trek through the dive bars of Shanghai in search for a nice circle of meat between two buns.

[Tested]: EVCARD, The Electric Car Share Service



Driving the shared poor man's Tesla. Can the experience live up to the concept?

[How to]: Be Happy in Shanghai



SmSh asks a social worker, a spiritual counselor, a helpline operator, a mindfulness trainer, and a life coach to find out.

Inside Design Shanghai 2017: Here’s a Photo Tour of the Stuff



Ahhhh consumerism!

Inside Victoria’s Secret Shanghai: A (Drag) Queen’s Assessment



SmSh and Shanghai Drag Contest 2017 winner Miss Mint toot and boot the looks from the newly opened Victoria's Secret Shanghai flagship store!

[The List]: Shanghai's Centuries-Old Restaurants



Ten places that have been dishing local favorites since the Qing Dynasty. Here's our guide into true old school Shanghai dining.


April



We Stood in Line for an Hour for Coco Chanel Coffee and Makeup



Basically, an article about standing in line for an hour for Coco Chanel Coffee and Makeup.

[Tested]: The Xiang Qi Electric Bike



Mobike and Ofo are convenient, but this one you don't even need to pedal.

[In Focus]: Backstage at the New Shanghai Theater



An intimate look behind the scenes of Kunqu Art Week, currently ongoing at the reopened New Shanghai Theater.


May



Touring Jewish Shanghai with Documentarist Dvir Bar-Gal



Join documentary filmmaker and photo-journalist Dvir Bar-Gal for some hardcore Jewish history.

The Great Cross-Cultural Zong Zi Taste Test



A meeting of the minds as two of SmartShanghai's professional Chinese food critics taste test 7 interesting zong zi variations ahead of Dragon Boat Festival.

[How To]: Use DiDi Now That It's In English



The new English-language Didi interface rolled out to us. Another win for cross-seat communication. We try out the Chinese Uber, except in English.


June



The Great (Horrific) 24 Hour Beer Lady Challenge



The one about that time I spent 24 hours at The Beer Lady. Forever drinking towards greatness is our mandate!

KFC’s ‘Chizza’ Chicken Pizza Is Here, Depressing, Humanity’s Collapse



Yeah, sounds like it would be good like Alien vs Predator, but is instead a huge disappointment like Alien vs Predator.

Comic Artist Joan Cornellà Is Disgusted with You



SmartShanghai catches up with darkly amusing, misanthropic comic artist Joan Cornellà to discuss humanity's various problems and how to make them into great works of art.

You Can Get Sex Toys From Vending Machines Now, Hey!



Behind a small door on Wuning Lu is a vending machine that sells sex stuff. All kinds of sex stuff you can buy in sweet, sweet solitude.

[Tested]: Cool Qi Bike, The Marquis' Choice



Flying egregiously close to the sun on wings of chrome. SmartShanghai tests out the Cool Qi Bike. It's the gold one!

Tracing the Best Jogging Routes in Shanghai



SmSh got Martin Nexo, co-founder of RunnersHai, to share his favorite running routes in Shanghai. Then we went and ran them ourselves. Results varied! (Mostly positive!)

Gone Fishin' (Under Some Scary Power Lines in Pudong)



SmartShanghai goes to the Luyuan Fishing Leisure Center in search of real big fish. Oh, you didn't know you could go fishing in Shanghai?


July




[The List]: Salsa in Shanghai: 6 Nights a Week



SmSh puts on its dancing shoes to check out the salsa hot spots around town—and oh dios mío, there’s one every night!

Sweet Dreams Are Not Made of This: An Afternoon at Family Dream Park



Relive your childhood disappointment for under 250rmb at this new amusement park in Fisherman's Wharf.

‘Body Is Body’: Inside Ren Hang’s 'Beauty Without Beards' Solo Show



Bridge 8 gallery Modern Art Base (MAB) hosts 19 prints of Beijing photographer iconoclast Ren Hang in a memorial exhibition. Final representations of idealized forms.

[Tested]: ‘Venus Body Shaping’ Fat Blasting Machine



Looking for a few easy answers at the Dragonfly. SmSh getting that bikini bod with the latest technology.


August


Shanghai"

[In Focus]: Metamorphosis



Metamorphosis is a collective of international dancers that meet annually to put together a piece of experimental modern dance. This year they’re in Shanghai and we went to take pictures.

We Talk To Mamahuhu About Their Comeback, What They've Been Up To, And Staying Relevant



Comedy video troupe Mamahuhu have made their return to the internet after a two-year hiatus where they got jobs as Uber drivers, foot masseurs, and bums living in the mountains.

[In Focus]: China Throwdown 2017



Professional athletes and mere mortals from across the city faced off this weekend in over 11 cross training, power lifting, and bench pressing challenges. ‘The Battle on The Bund’ bigger than ever before...


September


shanghaitower

The Top of the Shanghai Tower Has a Fantastic Swinging Vulva and Plays Avatar Music



SmartShanghai takes the super duper 680rmb VIP tour of the world's second tallest building. This is what we saw, heard, experience, felt, lived.

Introducing Feibao, Two Guys Making Recycling a Little Easier in Shanghai



Hey you, don’t throw that old monitor in the trash! You can recycle it by texting Feibao.

When All Else Fails: Depression from the Inside and What to Do



Recommendations on who to seek help from in Shanghai from someone who's been there.

[Tested]: The Secret(ish) Nighttime Yu Gardens Bike Tour



Ever seen those groups of bikers riding around at night with the light-up bunny ears? We finally figured out what that's all about.

[Outbound]: Riding Slow With The Sheep & Yaks of Qinghai Lake



A template for traveling around China's northwestern region. Food, culture, experiences, yaks, lakes, rainbow mountains, all that good stuff you're missing.


October


Shanghai"

[In Focus]: Comic Con 2017



Here's a photo gallery of Shanghai Comic Con 2017. Punch it, Worf!

[The List]: After School Activities for the Renaissance Kid



School’s back in session, and it's time to foist your unrealistic expectations onto your child! Here are some things your kid can get into after school.

The Haunted Hotpot Is Scary Bad. Or Good? Y'Know. Whichever.



I don't feel equipped with the critical tools necessary to honestly assess this thing! MUHAHAHAH!

[Undercurrents]: Snap! - the New Gay Scene Moguls



Ahead of their one year anniversary, SmSh sits down with the Snap! gents, stirring things up in Shanghai's gay scene.

[Net Worth]: Rich Fernandez on Breaking Communication Barriers at Google



Ahead of his leadership workshop in Shanghai on November 30, SmSh talked with CEO Rich Fernandez, about his time in Executive Development at Google and how the leadership institute he now leads, was born there.

The Ultimate Happy Hour Guide Map



From your favorite sports pubs, to low-key lounges, to impress-your-clients Bund deals, get to drinking, now faster and easier that ever before!


November


Betty

What Remains: Eye Witness to Shanghai's Ever-Changing Decades



Ms. Betty Barr has lived, as she likes to say, "50 of my 84 years" in Shanghai. She's got stories. We asked her how many of her old haunts remain. Quite a few, it turns out.

Shanghai Famous: British Consul General John Edwards



A day in the life...

[Communities]: Shaving in the Dark: Drinking, Drawing, Prepping for the Apocalypse



The artsy comic-loving community is making waves with their zines, events, and over all adorkability.


December


Shanghai"

Grim Fairy Tales: A Trip to Andersen Park



SmartShanghai spends the day at Andersen Park, a bewildering amusement park with a Hans Christian Andersen theme now open in New Jiangwan City.

Inside Starbucks Reserve Roastery: A 2,700 Square-Meter Manufacturing and Cafe Instrument of Armageddon



SmartShanghai gets a look inside Starbucks Reserve Roastery. Coffee grandes at the end of the world.

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Thanks for reading! Excelsior!

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