Non-stop gridlock, crowded subways and a dearth of cabs have got Beijing authorities scratching their heads for practical solutions – now comes news that salvation (or at least a partial solution) might come in the form of the “Young-Man JNP6250G.”

According to Chinatechgadget.com, the Zhejiang-manufactured bus measures 25 meters (as opposed to the standard 18-meters), has five doors, 40 seats and is capable of holding 300 passengers – making it about the size of a small commercial airliner.

It’s very much a seller’s market for taxi drivers in Beijing these days — a dearth of vehicles, epic traffic jams and the cold weather have made catching a cab a free-for-all on the streets.

The problem has reached such epic proportions that now the Ministry of Transportation has been obliged to step in. China Daily reports on new rules aimed at preventing cabbies from arbitrarily refusing to pick up passengers:

For the full story on the new taxi regulations see agendabeijing.com.

If you’ve got writing chops and editorial experience and are keen to be a part of Beijing’s best English-language media team, check out the following positions:

Managing Editor of Agenda
Beijing’s premier English-language business and lifestyle magazine is looking for a motivated Managing Editor. Click here for more details.

Dining Editor and Contributors
If you love discovering new restaurants and never tire of talking about food, this is the position for you. Click here for more details.

The Global Times reports that commuting times for Beijingers averaged 43.6 minutes from 2005-2010 – 5.6 minutes more than the average time clocked back in 2005.

The statistics were based on a survey of 6,000 Beijing residents and revealed, among other things, that “women take a little longer than men” and people in their 40s spend the most time on the road.

For the full report on Beijing's commute, go to agendabeijing.com.

Has hours of gridlock and blaring horns got you stressed? Share your worst or funniest Beijing traffic jam nightmares for a chance to win a relaxing escape at Hummingbird Spa. The contest ends Monday. May the best story win.

Birdy Namnam are no mere knob twiddlers - the four-man French DJ "band" take an instrumentalist's approach to turntables and collaborate to create beat-laden compositions out of sampled sounds and instrumental parts pressed on vinyl.

Taking their name from a Peter Sellers film (The Party, 1968), the group met as members of DJ crew Scratch Action Hiro (winner of the 2000 World DMC Team Championships) and went on to take the title themselves in 2002. Four years later they dropped their self-titled debut album and have since released three others, including their most recent LP Defiant Order.

Former BeijingKids columnist and renowned Panda Dad Alan Paul has officially announced that the movie rights to his book Big in China, about his experiences living and playing music in Beijing, have been purchased as an option by Ivan Reitman's (Animal House) Montecito Pictures.

For Alan Paul's take on his book and movie to-be, see the full post on beijing-kids.com.

Ghost stories, legends and tales of the supernatural abound in China - here is a rundown of some of the more interesting ones as All Hallow's Eve draws near:

The Painted Skin
Part of a collection of supernatural tales from Qing dynasty author Pu Songling's (1640-1715) book Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi), this creepy and gruesome tale is one of the the main prototypes for a ghostly meme found throughout Asia - the vengeful female spirit (most recently depicted in the Japanese horror classics The Ring and The Grudge). In this tale a scholar takes in a mysterious young girl in his home and lets her stay in his studio, only to discover a terrible secret about her all too late. Illuminatedlantern.com has an excellent translation of this classic Chinese ghost story here.

A penny for you thoughts: We're putting the final touches on our reader survey for the year and we've got a bunch of additional prizes to be given away to randomly selected people who respond over the next 48 hours - so if you haven't done so yet, give us your two cents and you may walk away with one of the following prizes:

Steve Jobs may be officially retired but there’s no stopping the Apple juggernaut in China, especially with rumors and speculation swirling about the impending release of the next generation iPhone 5 this fall.The exact date of the official launch is still anyone’s guess, but according to AppleInsider‘s Josh Ong, Apple is gearing for a late November launch in China (the US launch is rumored to be happening some time in mid-October).

To read more on this story, visit the Agenda site.

Photo: Machackpc.com

When asked “what makes people happy?,” one colleague of mine answered “food, sleep and sex.” Assuming that she’s correct, a combination of two of those three could only be a good thing. Enter Shake ‘Em Buns, a Hong Kong burger chain bringing sexed-up patties to Beijing. With names like “Debbie Does Dallas” and “Happy Threesome,” Shake ‘Em Buns will have you blushing as you order. We went along to the official opening last night, partook in the finger food – and were thus spared from needing to ask the server for a “Philly Willy.”