Forums > Living in Kunming > Other cities have sites like "GoKunming"? Shanghaiist blog has just been shut down!
From Telegraph.co.uk:
Expats in China have been mourning the loss of a popular offbeat news website and blog which was abruptly taken offline by its US parent company.
Shanghaiist, which was set up 12 years ago, was closed by New York-based Gothamist network, along with a string of websites which carry out street-level reporting in major cities across the world.
The decision came after reporters and editors in the combined Gothamist and DNAinfo newsroom in New York opted to unionize.
The company said that there were a range of factors which had caused it to “discontinue publishing”, while chief executive officer Joe Rickets blamed the general business environment.
“DNAinfo is, at the end of the day, a business, and businesses need to be economically successful if they are to endure,” he said in a statement that has been posted at the Shanghaiist’s web address.
Just realized the shuttering of DNAInfo also means the end of @shanghaiist, easily one of the best resources for China news & information
— Connor Sheets (@ConnorASheets) November 2, 2017
Mr Rickets also said that the company’s websites have 15 million visits each month by over nine million people.
Shanghaiist has more than 200,000 followers on Twitter. It also reportedly has four million views per month and more than five million fans on Facebook.
News of the website's demise prompted an outpouring of sorrow on social media.
We’d like to warmly welcome @shanghaiist to our sad club. It was the granddaddy of all #China blogs. Sad to see it go.
— The Nanfang (@thenanfang) November 3, 2017
Dan Washburn, who set up the website in 2005, said in a Twitter message: “In an instant, a huge, important, chunk of my life gone, vanished, erased. And what for? Heartbreaking.”
A former worker said: “When I worked at Shanghaiist, I assumed I'd eventually push it too far and taken offline or censored. Never imagined it would come from US.”
When I worked at Shanghaiist, I assumed I'd eventually push it too far and taken offline or censored. Never imagined it would come from US
— Erik Crouch (@erikcrouch) November 2, 2017
Fans of the website took to Facebook to express their sadness.
“The Shanghaiist isn't running anymore!!!!! This is so sad...I love reading this!!!! =(,” said one comment.
Another said: "Noo - we'll miss you! Really sad the site is down.”
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk/[...]
China hands out happy city awards, Kunming sad
发布者@dolphin
China isn't like most places. With the highest rural-urban migration the world has seen, the Mainland's pronounced income inequalities among its citizens are visibly magnified via the internet-breaking WeChat revolution...
it's one thing to see The Kardashians partying from Bora Bora to Ibiza, another to see your rival siblings, coworkers, and/or best friends there without you.
China hands out happy city awards, Kunming sad
发布者@JanJal
Good points all around. The reason why I brought up China's heavily skewed income gap is because it's human nature to compare oneself relative to others.
For example, if say, your monthly salary was only 3,000rmb, but all your friends & acquaintances in your Wechat friend circle earned half that amount in addition to divorcing & being laid off, you may be content with your current situation.
On the contrary, if your income was 6,000rmb, but everyone on Wechat are constantly sharing photos of lavish family vacations aboard w/children, buying luxury sedans and villas. while you're stuck living alone riding Ofos, your happiness scale may perhaps tip the other direction.
Beyond "civil liberties and democracy," my point is that the vast majority of disgruntled Chinese rural-to-urban migrants (who've missed the wave of rising upper middle income class) are experiencing similar standard of living discrepancies in inner cities. All more conspicuous in the age of social media and selfies where mostly the good are boasted while the bad are not revealed. This illusion of relativity takes a toll on one's perceived happiness.
China hands out happy city awards, Kunming sad
发布者@JanJal
On an international level of comparison, China is ranked 79 on the World Happiness Report 2017 for the UN high meeting. Trailing countries like Serbia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Kosovo. Despite China's relative higher GDP, the income gap between the rich and poor is ocean's apart.
Recent trends show that more Chinese rural migrant workers, who came to the cities for opportunities, are now heading back home. It's difficult to be happy when you're barely scraping by, which is why if you're economically able, pack some gratuity red envelope for your apartment cleaning lady this coming Lunar New Year. I'll give mine 100 yuan. At the very least shine them a smile from time to time to show your appreciation.
Bye-bye for now Kunming narrow gauge railway
发布者Agreed, these local tidbits are a blessing.
Tengchong: Southwest China's gateway to undiscovered natural beauty
发布者Cool new layout,! Good reporting PS.
Probably one of the most famous and natural hot springs in China is here. Well worth a visit.