the Beijinger

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.

Former Beijing-based writer Jennifer Conrad has written a list of "Eight Lesser-Known Places to Visit in China" for Seattle-based travel site BootsnAll. Some of the destinations -- i.e. Harbin and Dalian -- could be considered quite common for the more well-traveled and longer-term China residents, but a few stand out for their uniqueness and relative obscurity:

Japan’s devastating tsunami-quake-nuclear crisis may be old news by now, but the alarming number of super-tremblors that have wreaked havoc around the world in recent years should be enough to make anyone wary of an earth-shattering catastrophe occurring in their own backyard.

China, of course, has seen its share of death and destruction over the centuries – after all, much of the country sits on the “junctions of several tectonic plates, including the Pacific, the Eurasian and the Indian Ocean plates with at least 495 faults crisscrossing its topography.” Scientists recently determined that at least 130 of these fault lines lie beneath major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, but also pointed out that 80 of the are “inactive” (though this may not be so reassuring considering the unspecified nature of the other 40 and this NYT report on how scientists have historically underestimated the power of earthquakes).

Developments in Japan have been distressing, to say the least, and given Beijing's close proximity, it's only natural to worry (albeit at the back of your mind) about any potential fallout risks from the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis here in the Capital. 

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.

ShanghaiDaily.com pontificates on China’s effeminate males
“IT'S surprising but true: In a male-dominated society where many people still want boy babies, boys lag far behind girls academically and they're turning into sissies. Tan Weiyun reports on bashful boys.”

Who says Beijing doesn't have "stunning European architecture"? Our fair city certainly has its share of kitsch, but this development along the banks of the Tonghui River just south of Dawang Qiao takes the cake.

Modeled after the Alpine Swiss town of Interlaken, the "Tonghui International Bar Street" (通惠国际酒吧街) has been under construction for well over a year now, with its iconic bell tower just visible behind the large metal walls that, until yesterday, surrounded the development. Now that part of the scaffolding has been removed, we were able to walk around the perimeter for a peek.

With both the Midi and Strawberry festivals going down this past weekend, hip hop impresario Damon Dash was spotted out and about town taking in Beijing's music scene. 

Renowned for being Jay-Z's first producer and launching the careers of Kanye West, Beanie Sigel and Cam’ron, among others, Dash rose from rough and tumble beginnings in Harlem and amassed an empire that included "a record label, five clothing and shoe companies, a Swiss watch company, a top-shelf vodka company, a television production house, and a movie production company ... worth an estimated USD 50 million," according to the Atlanta Post.

But his fortunes fell in 2004 after a very public falling out with his former protege, Jay-Z (read all about it here). With his marriage, houses and business interests on the rocks, the 38-year-old has been working on rebuilding his empire with a host of creative music, art and business related projects - among them DD172, a four-story art salon-cum-music space in Tribeca, Creative Control (an online TV station) and the BlackRoc project that has paired Ohio blues rock wunderkinds The Black Keys with a who's-who of MCs, including Mos Def, Raekwon, Black Thought, The RZA and more.   

We popped by Sanlitun this morning to gawk at the crowds lined up at the Apple Store in The Village at Sanlitun to buy the iPad2, which officially launched in Beijing today.

As expected there was already a huge queue by mid-morning with hundreds more expected to come over the afternoon.

The usual scalpers are out in full force as well and are selling both the 16g and 32g models for around RMB 3,888 to RMB 4,800 respectively (the 16g wi-fi sells for RMB 3,688 and the 32g is RMB 4,488 in the store).