It’s properly hot it Shanghai now, and there are plenty of events happening, restaurants opening, and news breaking. Here’s another round-up of the latest news and happenings from Shanghai.

1) What’s On…

Finally, the moment Chinese ABBA fans have been waiting for has arrived. A Mandarin version of hit musical “Mamma Mia” opens on Friday July 8th at the Shanghai Grand Theatre. Charting the adventures of a bride who traces her birth father to a Greek island, the plot is peppered with ABBA music, and has won wide acclaim all over the world. The show runs until August 5th and tickets cost 280, 480, 680 and 880 RMB. But hurry, they’re selling out fast!

Another favourite is coming to town in the shape of Sesame Street. The popular children’s television series has been adapted for the stage, and is on at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center between July 28th and August 3rd. Tickets range from 80 to 580 RMB. Tickets available here.

Between July 31st and August 13th the Shanghai Summer Music Festival will take place at the new Shanghai Cultural Plaza (Shanxi Nan Lu near Yongjia Lu). Internationally renowned musicians will appear, including conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim and Croatian pianist Ivo Pogorelich. They will play works by famous composers like Chopin, Beethoven and Liszt.

The Midi festival has already worked its way down to Shanghai, and now the Chengdu Zebra Festival is coming east between August 5th and 7th. The event was announced recently, and will take place at Jinshan beach, about an hour out of town. One of the major headliners is Cantopop king Edison Chen, and the rest of the line-up includes Chinese bands Convenience Store, Pinkberry, a couple of Scandinavian outfits, and some groups from Taiwan and Singapore. More info here.

2) Openings…

El Willy is moving his operations to the Bund, with a new location close to completion. His original spot on Donghu Lu will stay under his management, but will be renamed and reworked.

In other news, the Mixing Room at the Mercedes Benz arena has been taken over by the Muse brand, so we can expect a slew of events over the rest of the summer.

3) Closures…

Sad news from Fuxing Xi Lu, as popular cocktail lounge Tara 57 closes its doors. The most probable reason is rent hikes, as is often the case. We’ll miss its excellent cocktails and Latin DJ nights.

4) In the news… 

A report this week in Shanghai Daily put us off our seafood. Apparently, unscrupulous shops and vendors at the Tongchuan food street have been purchasing dead and decaying oysters, shrimp and octopus to save money. They pile the seafood with seasoning to disguise the putrid taste so that patrons are none the wiser… until they are hit by la duzi(diarrhoea). We’ll be avoiding street oysters for the foreseeable future.

Selling fast… The new Shanghai to Beijing high-speed railway has gotten off to a good start, with 98% occupancy on the route so far. As of now, a total of 400,000 tickets have been sold, and the most popular option is the 410 RMB second class ticket.

Bombs away… In Jiading District on July 4th, a bomb went off in a locker at the Daruifa supermarket. An anonymous tip-off lead to a full evacuation and no-one was injured when the bomb exploded. A man surnamed Qu was arrested in the Huangdu area three hours later, on suspicion of planting the bomb.

A new Xintiandi? Plans have been unveiled for a new Xintiandi-style development in Hongqiao called (you’ve guessed it) Hongqiao Tiandi. Shui On Land, the developer of the original lifestyle hub and its sister in Hangzhou, expect to open their new site in 2013 with luxury shops, restaurants, hotels and office space.

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Keywords: Shanghai watchdog July Music party Shanghai Mamma Mia Shanghai bomb Shanghai