Mickey Sets a Course for Shanghai

by Josh Lew on

Mickey Mouse has been planning to bring Disneyland to Shanghai for some time now. Details have been sketchy and the project has been put on the shelf several times.

But people in one village are banking on the billionaire rodent to eventually get things off the ground.

According to Shanghaiist, business people and home owners in Jinjia have been building on to current structures and establishing new businesses. These would-be entrepreneurs are not hoping that Disneyland will be built nearby so that they can sell food and souvenirs to the theme park’s clientele. They are betting that Disney will want to buy them out so that the park can be built directly on top of the village. The new constructions and additions are an effort to make property seem more valuable in the eyes of Disney so that the buy-out prices will be higher.

However, the mouse has not yet chosen the exact location of the park. The residents of Jinjia are acting on pure speculation.

Disney is currently negotiating with Chinese officials in an effort to iron out the details, which allegedly include some sort of profit sharing scheme (Mickey sure knows how to get things done in China) There is the small matter of the 2008 Olympics, which are probably causing a bit of distraction amongst area bureaucrats.

While most people could care less if there is another Disneyland in the world, one village, a handful of Chinese government officials, and one shrewd mouse are waiting for ground to be broken with bated breath.

Photo of the day (07/01/08)

by Grant Martin on

Today’s photo of the day is dedicated to my friend Jarod, who I was supposed to visit in Shanghai this weekend. Unfortunately, I got tied up in a junket for work, so now Jarod has no drinking buddy for his first few weeks in China.

Submitter Willy Volk (why does that name sound familiar?) took this shot of stones engraved with the symbols for Destiny, Peace, Faith and Accomplishment in San Francisco’s Chinatown. I wish Jarod all of the above in the real Shanghai.

Are you a Flickr user who’d like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling’s Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!

Photo of the Day (5/11/08)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

I’m a sucker for a good sunset. Aside from being beautiful, the lighting conditions are also perfect for some great photography. Flickr user matt.hintsa has the right idea in today’s photo. Matt’s shot of Shanghai captures a little bit of everything. The silhouettes of the two ancient Chinese buildings do a great job of framing the ultra-modern skyscraper in the background. And the top of the skyscraper is bathed in that beautiful light you can only get at the very end or beginning of the day, when the sun sits low on the horizon. Nice work.

Think you’ve got a great shot of a Shanghai sunset? Or maybe just one from Springfield, Illinois? Add it to the Gadling photo pool on Flickr and we just might feature it as our Photo of the Day.

World’s longest sea bridge opens today near Shanghai

by Iva Skoch on

Here is another one to add to the list of China’s Best, Longest, Tallest and Who-Knows-What-Else.

This afternoon, the 20-mile Bay Bridge started trial operation as a motorcade of 180 sedans and 22 buses drove across the world’s longest sea bridge, Shanghai Daily reports. The bridge begins at Jiaxing, near Shanghai, and ends at Cixi, about 40 miles from Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. It will reduce the 250-mile drive between Ningbo and Shanghai by 80 miles and shave about one hour off the trip. Time is money, even in China.

With a design life of 100 years, the 11.8-billion-yuan (US$1.69 billion) bridge has six lanes with a designed speed of up to 60 miles per hour. The bridge is expected to help boost economic development in the Yangtze Delta Region.

I want know is how the heck they managed to shoot the area with blue skies? The colors of the sky I remember from Shanghai were the same color as the river.

Björk offends Chinese over Tibet independence

by Anna Brones on

The status of Tibet is a touchy subject. Abroad, China‘s 58 year occupation of Tibet is seen as controversial, but most Chinese see Tibet as a part of their country. Speak of Tibetan independence is therefore seen as divisive, which is why at Björk’s recent Shanghai concert, she managed to push some serious buttons.

At the end of her Declare Independence song, originally dedicated to Greenland and the Faroe Islands which still have formal links to Denmark, the Icelandic singer shouted “Tibet! Tibet!” clearly indicating her feelings on the controversial issue. Although her statements were greatly appreciated by the Free Tibet Campaign, Björk can probably plan on not being invited back to China anytime soon.


Via Boing Boing