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This post is a reprint of a post by Kirsti Jönson that originally appeared at Shanghaiist.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – the film version of legendary journalist Hunter S. Thompson´s novel.

If Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas isn’t checked off your list of classic must-see movies, Vienna Café will help you sort this out on Thursday! Johnny Depp styled to the point of impossibility of recognition, an immensely decadent ride through Las Vegas casinos and hotel rooms, one of the most vivid depictions of a psychedelic drug rush and in the same time a crucial part of journalistic history. Legendary reporter Hunter S. Thompson made the journey that became a book that became a movie…

Thompson´s book Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream is one of his key works, rooted in autobiographical incidents. The novel first appeared as a two-part series in Rolling Stone magazine in 1971, was printed as a book in 1972, and adapted into a film of the same name in 1998 starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro.

You will see Johhny Depp as you’ve never seen him before – this is surely one of the movies that shows how broad his acting skill is and if you thought he could never ever be anything than gorgeous, well, you’re wrong. Both the novel and the filmed version:

revolves around journalist Raoul Duke and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, as they arrive in 1970s Las Vegas to report on the Mint 400 motorcycle race. However, they soon abandon their work and begin experimenting with a variety of recreational drugs, such as LSD, cocaine, alcohol, mescaline, and cannabis. This leads to a series of bizarre hallucinogenic trips, during which they destroy hotel rooms, wreck cars, and have visions of anthropomorphic desert animals, all the while ruminating on the decline of American culture.

The main interpretation of Thompson´s work is that it shows his experience of and showdown with the hippie movement and its convulsive attempt to remain as a contrast to conservatism and the soulless search of wealth in a USA who´s illusions had been ravaged by the Vietnam war.

Thompson later referred to the novel as “a failed experiment in the gonzo journalism” he practiced, which was based on William Faulkner’s idea that “the best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism, and the best journalists have always known this”. Thompson’s journalistic style blended the techniques of fictional story-telling and journalism.

The man who put the story under his creative wings and made this excellent movie out of it is former Monty Python member Terry Gilliam. Gilliam is currently in the spotlight for his latest film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and at the moment working on The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, in which we might pair with Johnny Depp once again…???

The Vienna Café screening of this reckless ride will be in English with Chinese subtitles.

Check out what other movies are showing in Shanghai this coming week. Links lead to info about times and venues.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE MOVIES

• Ms. 45: Tuesday this week Sub-Cinema presents Ms. 45: Thana, a shy and mute seamstress, is attacked and raped whilst walking home from work one night. After escaping the attacker, she arrives home only to find an intruder in her flat who then proceeds to rape her a second time. After these horrific events, something changes inside of Thana. Full of hate, rage and disgust for men, she takes to the streets after dark with her partner, a .45 caliber hand gun, to take out her vengeance on any man who crosses her path! Set to a gritty, 80´s New York backdrop, Abel Ferrara´s Ms. 45 lives true to its reputation and cult status.
• Avatar: (阿凡达): James Cameron is back with this super expensive sci-fi thriller in 3D. Follow ex-marine Jack (Sam Worthington) as he explores planet Pandora as an avatar; a human mind in an alien body. On this paradise-like planet, he faces hostilities from exotic life forms and falls in love with a female alien. This movie used ground-breaking techniques and is being shown in 3-D. In English or Chinese depending on the cinema.
• The Spy Next Door (邻家特工): Seasoned secret agent Bob Ho has lived through a number of impossible missions, but he soon realizes that watching his girlfriend´s three kids will be his toughest task yet. Featuring Jackie Chan as the undercover babysitter, the film shows you how complicated babysitting can be, even for a skillful spy. Language TBA.
• Alvin and the Chipmunks (鼠来宝：明星俱乐部): The Squeakquel: Three sensational and oh-so-cute chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore are returning to the silver screen. They end up living with owner Dave’s nephew Toby and meet their equally talented female counterparts, the Chipettes. In English or Chinese depending on the cinema.

CHINESE LANGUAGE MOVIES

• True Legend (苏乞儿): Set at the turn of 19th and 20th century, the story of begins with Su Can, a wealthy man who loses all his fortune and reputation as a result of a conspiracy against him. After being forced out onto the streets, he dedicates his life to martial arts and reemerges as a patriotic hero as he challenges foreign fighters at a boxing ring. The story is loosely based on the life of Su Can, nicknamed Su Qi Er (Su the Bagger), who developed his own fighting style, known as “drunken fist”. This is Yuen Wo-Ping’s first directorial work since 1996 and may also give a major boost to the career of 37 year old China’s born martial-art star Zhao Wenzhuo.
• Hot Summer Days ( 全城热恋): “Hot Summer Days” unites a galaxy of stars in China’s show business, including Jacky Cheung, Rene Liu, Nocholas Tse, Barbie Hsu, Daniel Wu and Vivian Hsu. The romance is slated for release across China in February the 11th. The film consists of six intertwining love stories, all set in a stifling and sultry summer. As Valentine’s Day this year falls on the first day of Chinese lunar new year, the release date for “Hot Summer Days”, February 11th, was chosen to coincide with the big occasion, aiming for a lion’s share of the movie market.
• All’s Well Ends Well 2010 (花田喜事): Director Raymond Wong heads up another all-star Lunar New Year comedy. “All’s Well Ends Well 2010″ stars Louis Koo, Sandra Ng, Raymond Wong, Ronald Cheng, Lam Tze-Chung, and “Ip Man” co-star Lynn Xiong. Plot: Princess Pearl of Flowerland is sent to Midland at a young age to learn her ceremonials duties. Her mother, the Queen Mother misses her daughter very much that the King orders his sister, the princess, to return home. However, the princess has fallen in love with Gerenal Wing of the Midland army and is reluctant to part from him. As their boat approaches the Flowerland border, Pearl & Wing save the life of a girl named Ying, who seeks to throw herself into sea after running away from an arranged marriage. Pearl, Wing and Ying are attacked by pirates and Pearl falls overboard in the ensuing chaos. On arrival in Flowerland, the King mistakes Ying for his sister, while Pearl is saved by Ying’s father, Million.
• Da You Cun Bright Future (大有前途): Da You Cun Bright Future, directed by Deng Zhiheng, may be the best comedy of this movie-packed season. Focusing on a group of people living in Da You Cun, a poor village, the movie tells the story of making dreams come true. The head of the village, Li Biao, who wants to improve people’s lives, comes across a Taiwan hotshot who promises to invest in the real estate market. Unfortunately, all the money is lost and the village becomes even poorer. But the simple but optimistic villagers decide to build back their lives. After a series of battles with city folk, they eventually build a movie base in the village. Da You Cun Bright Future is a good choice for those who just want to kick up their feet and have a good laugh.
• Fortune King is Coming To Town (财神到): This Chinese New Year celebration comedy tells a story that is very similar to “Santa Clause is coming to Town”. Fortune King is Chinese goddess; they come down from heaven to the earth and give money to people like what Santa does for children. Lead Actor Tan Yonglin says the Fortune King also only help people who watch out. “Our film is more than fun. If you do not work hard, the Fortune King will know and refuse to help you. The movie also tells us to open our heart and love others.”
• Qi Shi Er Jia Fang Ke (七十二家租客): In 1970s Hong Kong rapacious landlords try to evict 72 tenants but sworn brothers Ha Kung (Eric Tsang) and Shek Kin (Jacky Cheung) help the group of 72 defeat the landlord (Lam Ka Tung) and landlady (Charmaine Sheh) and coincidentally rescue Pinky (Anita Yuen) from a planned forced marriage. When both sworn brothers fall for Pinky and propose to her she flips a coin “heads or tails” and Ha wins her hand in marriage. In Cantonese.
• 14 Blades (锦衣卫): Daniel Lee´s martial arts epic stars certified Kung Fu badass Donnie Yen in the role of Qinglong, or Green Dragon. He is the best of the so called Jinyiwei, an imperial elite force of assassins recruited from street orphans. Jinyiwei were masters of the 14 Blades, eight being for torture, five for killing, and the last blade being reserved for suicide when a mission failed. When the emperor is kidnapped and the court taken over, Qinglong takes on the mission of restoring the emperor to power. Also starring Vicki Zhao and Chun Wu.
• The Story of Hong Mao Lan Tu Huo Feng Huang (虹猫蓝兔火凤凰): The cartoon has a fan base of millions because of its TV version and tells of the adventures of a Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit. They are sent to witness in the rebirth of the Phoenix, and then the rebirth is sabotaged by the Black Dragon.
• Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf (喜羊羊与灰太狼之虎虎生威): This movie is from the same title Chinese Animated Television series which tell stories of bouts between Family Sheep and descendants of wolf on the grassland. This time, the story happens in the world of snail. There is a serious bale coming to snails. The biological warfare happens between two of bacterial kingdoms, “Black Null” and “White Null”, who exist on antennae of snails. The White Null Kingdom recruits all military force around the country to perish the black-hearted Black Null Kingdom. Sheep Xiyangyang sides with White Null Kingdom, and Wolf Huitailang is siding for the opposite.
• Confucius (孔子): Learn more about the respected Chinese thinker in this film. Directed by Hu Mei, China´s fifth-generation director, the film features Chow Yun-fat as Confucius. The plot depicts the latter half of Confucius´ life, from when he takes up the chancellor position of his home Kingdom until his death. Zhou Xun stars as the beauty Nan Zi in this high-budget . Mandarin only or in Mandarin with English subtitles depending on the cinema.
• Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser (名侦探柯南：漆黑的追踪者): The 13th episode in the Japanese movie franchise starring Japanese detective Conan finally comes to Shanghai. This 2009 anime film follows the prodigious young detective as he solves a serial murder case in Japan. Six people are killed and Mahjong tiles are left next to each victim as a strange clue. Dubbed in Mandarin or in Japanese with Chinese subtitles, depending on the cinema.
• Park Shanghai: Local director Huang Kai’s debut film explores China’s post ’80s generation. The romantic drama follows former lovebirds Dong and Rerei as they meet again at their high school reunion years after graduation. Huang Kai will attend the screenings. Call for more information. Mandarin, Shanghainese and English dialogue with Chinese and English subtitles.
• Amazing Tales: Three Guns (三枪拍案惊奇): This comedy thriller, also known as “A Simple Noodle Story” is Zhang Yimou’s remake of the Coen brothers´ “Blood Simple”. The story begins as a noodle restaurant-owner in the northwest part of ancient China hires a soldier to kill his cheating wife and her new man, a waiter, but the soldier has a plan of his own. Expect heaps of nonsensical humor and a line of A-listers in the cast, including comedian Xiao Shenyang, Zhao Benshan and actor Sun Honglei. Mandarin only.
• Poker King (扑克王): See amazing gambling tricks in this Hong Kong comedy. Louis Koo stars as Randy, who´s just inherited a majority stake in a casino in Macau, but hasn´t yet earned the trust of the casino´s other shareholders. So he joins a gambling tournament and tries to beat all rivals, including the casino´s seasoned manager. In Cantonese or Mandarin depending on the cinema.

This post is a reprint of a post by Catherine Lewis that originally appeared at Shanghaiist.

Photo courtesy of World Expo Blog

Last May we were introduced to the kookaburra “Peng Peng”, Australia’s cheeky mascot for the 2010 World Expo. Shortly after, a whole gaggle of pavillion mascots started popping up: the Francophile feline “Léon”, the stinkin “Durian Star” from Singapore, the turd-like “Yabi” from Taiwan, the not-so-gentle Giant “Tai” from (you guessed it) Thailand and everybody’s favorite blue gang “the Smurfs” representing the shared Belgium/ EU pavilion.

This week, the folks at World Expo blog got a sneak peek at Spain’s representative: a blue little critter named Miguelin.

We are unsure at this point if the um, “thing” is a boy or a girl, but something about that stylin’ polka dot ensemble and distinct wavy black hair tells us Miguelin is a Spanish senorita. This would make her the first female mascot amongst the crew of boy critters represented thus far. Unless of course you count “Tai” who’s pink jewels got him pegged as a possible katoey. Regardless, there’s a good reason why our man Haibao’s standing so close to Miguelin in this photo…and we think it’s more than their obvious shared appreciation for the color blue.

This post is a reprint of a post by feer that originally appeared at Beijing > Articles .

Date: Feb 9th 2010 3p.m.

Contributed by:
feer

Scitech Plaza
Most brands are offering 40 percent discounts on winter collection, and shoppers who spend over RMB800 can get a free lucky spring gift bag, packed with stuff for celebrating Chinese New Year, including home decorations and small accessories. Until Feb. 12

The Place
In celebration of Chinese New Year, The Place is offering a lucky bag, valued at RMB1,300, for just RMB288. Inside you’ll find shopping and dining coupons, as well as a tiger cushion. Shoppers can get a number from the service counter to pick up the bag on Feb. 14. Until Feb. 14

Ginza Mall
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, any shopper who spends RMB398-898 will get a pair of cartoon mugs, or cushion set for free. Couples who spend over RMB2010 will enjoy a fine dinner at Jia Jing Xuan restaurant for just RMB1. Until Feb. 14

Huayu Fashion Shopping Center
Huayu is having a holiday sale, with discounts up to 70 percent. Shoppers who spend over RMB700 can get a shopping coupon valued at RMB100 for free. Until Feb. 14

Grand Pacific Mall
Shoppers who spend over RMB100 can get RMB20-60 off at clothing counters. VIP cardholders who spend RMB1,000-6,500 will get free gifts like bowl sets, electric pots, electric ovens and microwaves. Until Feb. 14

Glory Mall
Glory’s Spring Festival sale extends to all brands in the department store, with discounts up to 70 percent. There’s also an accessory sale on the first floor. Shoppers who spend RMB100 will get to have their photo taken for free and hang it with a wish on the wishing tree. Shoppers who spend over RMB500 will get a free gift bag. Until Feb. 19

Joy City
During Spring Festival, any shopper who spends RMB99 can join in a lucky …

This post is a reprint of a post by Elaine Chow that originally appeared at Shanghaiist.

We already know that there’s a pretty great amount of resentment towards the rich – not to mention, a wide perception of corruption – here in China, so it’s probably not surprising that a People’s Daily poll recently discovered that over 90% of people think the neo-rich got their wealth by networking with government officials.

The poll found that 74% of people felt the key to success for nouveau riche – usually private entrepreneurs and especially those people that feature on lists like Forbes’ 400 Richest in China and Hurun’s categorization of the same – was “being good at networking with officials.” Only 16% were willing to attribute fortunes to “wisdom and hard work of family members.”

Even with a good one-eighth of pollsters admitting that rich people might have spent some effort getting where they are, only 3% actually had “OK” or “very good” impressions of the upper class. 69% were inclined to think “badly” or “really badly” about the newly rich.

But as much antagonism as the new rich bring, especially with their unabashed flaunting of their money and their tendency to do stupid things like run over poor people in their luxury sportscars, perhaps all that anger would be more useful if directed at much more insidious, and actually provably corrupt figures: SOE bosses.

Says Cai Jiming, director of the Center for Political Economy at Tsinghua University, “It is natural to understand the public’s anger but we should also be aware that the wealth and deals of bosses in State-owned enterprises are more lacking in transparency.”

Citing that same study suggesting that 90% of China’s fortunes were held by 0.4% of the population that officials quickly denied last year, Cai pointed out that many of the rich on China’s richest people lists were “unknown” and were likely obtaining their wealth through abusing industry monopolies or public rights. Incidentally, The Sydney Morning Herald’s John Garnaut has an interesting take down of how SOE officials/bosses end up cheating the public out of tons of money. While most their methods tend to be complicated machinations involving off-shore accounts and manipulating markets, Garnaut (or, more specifically, his source) provided a simple example of how they can use connections to make money as well:

“My friend uses his dad’s connections to persuade the port authority to allow particular ships to load,” says Lee’s business partner. “Ships would rather give the money to my friend and the port officials than waste it out at sea. If they don’t pay a ‘bonus’ then there’s no way they can load their stuff in time. That’s why port officials can earn a BMW per day if they want to, or at least one per week. And that’s why smaller or foreign companies can’t make money because there’s no way for them to get their ships loaded efficiently and cleared to leave.”

Yeesh, compared to that, the nouveau riche are annoying but generally pretty harmless. As Cai states, “While for the private entrepreneurs, I believe they need more guidance, but generally speaking, the booming of the private economy is doing much more good than harm to the nation…” Hmmm, we suppose that’s as long as you’re not getting the worst of both worlds – like Huang Guangyu of Gome and his Guangdong official partners.

This post is a reprint of a post by Elaine Chow that originally appeared at Shanghaiist.

Ah, the beleaguered state of show promoters here in Shanghai. According to China Music Radar, Ticketmaster’s China operations were “officially shelved” last week. The company had only just bought high-profile upstart Emma Entertainment in 2007. That merger, Emma Ticketmaster, managed to screw up safety at an Avril Lavigne show, failed to bring Oasis, did an okay job getting John Legend here and then spluttered to a halt in May 2008. CMR has a history lesson on the soap opera antics of its foray here in China which is well worth reading… and a lament about the state of ticketing/promoting now that this option, as messed up as it was, is gone.

This post is a reprint of a post by siennapc that originally appeared at Beijing > Articles .

Date: Feb 9th 2010 1:44p.m.

Contributed by:
siennapc

Although entering through a labyrinth of glass partitions inspires a temporary awe, neither the waitstaff (outnumbered and dismissive) nor the dishes (ordinary and unimaginative) adequately explain why Zi Xia Men’s so packed with Korean expats. While the signature jumbo fresh beef (¥108), was perfectly marinated, the pork belly (¥46) didn’t have much to say for itself. The manager personally recommended the “seven typical Korean dishes with cake rool” (¥36), but the measly portion failed to justify the price tag. The cheese egg roll (¥28) was too bland to bear. The steamed mackerel (¥36) was the highlight, but unfortunately not enough to warrant a return.

Michael Engstrom

Find it: 5/F, Zhongfu Baihuo, Bldg 201, Nanhu Dongyuan, Wangjing, 望京南湖东园201号楼中福百货5层, Tel: 8478-2323

This post is a reprint of a post by WSJ that originally appeared at WSJ.com: China Real Time Report.

It may seem like the stars are aligning for China to let its currency rise, but recent tough talk from the U.S. may make such a move less, rather than more, likely.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s talk last week of monitoring exchange-rate policies may be welcome in Washington, but counterproductive in Beijing. Rather than encourage China to let the yuan, or renminbi, rise against the U.S. dollar, Obama’s tough stance may discourage China from budging, especially when ties with the U.S. are worsening over Google, Taiwan and Tibet.

As Credit Suisse economist Tao Dong put it Friday in a research note, “movement in the RMB exchange ultimately is a political decision, and the Chinese leaders will want to avoid being seen domestically as bowing to foreign pressure.” ING Financial Markets economist Tim Condon said Thursday the government “tends to freeze economic policies when political tension increases, which we think reduces the likelihood of any move on the renminbi in the current environment of elevated US-China political tension.”

The reasons for exiting the policy of keeping the yuan steady versus the U.S. dollar–one in place since July 2008–have become more solid in the past few months: Exports rose in December from a year earlier, after dropping for 13 months, and likely rose further last month; economic growth soared above 10% in the last three months of last year; and Beijing still wants to rely more on domestic demand for growth, which an appreciation of the yuan would encourage.

But relations with the U.S. have been worsening since the start of the year as both sides bicker over a wide range of issues: trade of chickens, electric blankets and other products; U.S. arms sales to Taiwan; Obama’s scheduled meeting with the Dalai Lama; and Google.

Beijing’s been unusually assertive, saying, for instance, that it’ll punish U.S. companies involved in Washington’s plan to sell weapons to Taiwan. Beijing may grow yet keener to project strength by maintaining the currency status quo amid the wintry political climate. After Obama’s remarks, state-controlled China Daily, an English-language newspaper, said in a front-page article Friday that Beijing “won’t fold on RMB,” while Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said at a semiweekly briefing Thursday the exchange rate has never been a major cause of bilateral trade imbalances and outside pressure won’t help resolve the issue.

None of which is to suggest that China is resisting a movement on the currency just to spite the U.S. It has reasons for caution. Were the December export data a blip or a trend? Is inflation really getting out of hand? Still, the domestic debate over exiting the “stable yuan” policy had begun to intensify by early January. A researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recommended Beijing strengthen the yuan by 10% in one go, while Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said Monday the currency should remain “basically stable” but could be given more room to move if conditions are right.

With bilateral ties deteriorating, however, the economic arguments against, rather than for, letting the currency rise, may look more appealing to the politicians in Beijing.

– Terence Poon

This post is a reprint of a post by WSJ that originally appeared at WSJ.com: China Real Time Report.

From the WSJ’s Real Time Economics blog:

Yellen

A top Federal Reserve official said Monday U.S. monetary policy is too hot for China and Hong Kong and explained any trouble those nations ultimately face because of this situation arises from their own foreign exchange policies.

“Because both the Chinese and Hong Kong economies are further along in their recovery phases than the U.S. economy, current U.S. monetary policy is likely to be excessively stimulatory for them,” Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen said. “However, as both Hong Kong and the mainland are currently pegging to the dollar, they are both to some extent stuck with the policy the Federal Reserve has chosen to promote recovery,” she wrote in a bank Economic Letter published Monday.

The central banker said that if China wants to prevent U.S. policies from overheating its economy and driving inflation, it will have to do something about its foreign exchange policy.

“Increased exchange rate flexibility could mitigate growing inflationary concerns, and also act toward easing global imbalances and encouraging the development of the household sector, a shift the Chinese government now officially says it wants,” Yellen said.

The current stance of Federal Reserve monetary policy is very aggressive by any measure, with short-term interest rates set essentially at zero. The Fed also will until the end of March be buying mortgage assets to help keep borrowing rates down. While a recovering economy is driving the Fed to think about ways to unwind its current policy stance, there are questions whether mortgage buying will continue beyond March. Meanwhile, most economists don’t believe the Fed will rates rates until much later this year.

China’s economy is recovering more rapidly than the U.S., and there have been widespread worries that its economy may be growing at an unsustainable rate. Fed rate policy and what it does to global borrowing patterns plays a part in that scenario. Fed officials, however, have downplayed the matter and said that they must set U.S. policy to deal with U.S. economic realities. They’ve also said Chinese policy makers are responsible for dealing with their own economy.

The bank said Yellen’s comments were adapted from a report by Yellen based on a visit to China and Hong Kong on Nov. 15 to Nov. 21, 2009.

–Michael S. Derby

This post is a reprint of a post by Elaine Chow that originally appeared at Shanghaiist.

Recently we were at a party when the topic of contemporary Chinese art came up. “It’s a shame we don’t see any more from Wang Xiaojin right? His works sold so well,” someone tittered to us. Who? was our reply. “Do you think Xiao Lu has any future past her shock value?” another one asked. Buuuh, we gave as an answer. If only we had ArtSpeakChina to quickly wiki an opinion – or at least a hint about what was going on – up.

ArtSpeakChina.org is a new collaboratively-authored bilingual encyclopedia of Chinese contemporary art. Online at both www.artspeakchina.org and www.tanyishu.cn, the guide provides hundreds of in-depth articles on Chinese artists and what’s going on in China’s ever evolving art world.

As they put it:

ArtSpeak China now contains well over 300 articles and a multi-media timeline of historical and arts events since 1949, and is growing by the day. Articles can be explored by category (artists, curators, critics, museums, galleries, collectors, etc.); by searching on a specific name, topic or text; or by following articles’ internal links.

ASC operates not only as a direct reference source, but throughout its articles provides context-specific links to other definitive sources, including Asia Art Archive, the San Francisco Art Institute, AW Asia, Artzine China, and the Asia Society Museum. ASC also provides previously unavailable information, including a real-time view of the most accessed artists’ entries by number of page views and location, revealing for the first time such shifts in community interest and involvement. With more than 10,000 page views a day prior to its official launch this week, such rankings and other statistics constitute a meaningful indicator of developments and trends in contemporary Chinese art.

And most importantly, it’ll give us something to go on so we’ll feel less silly when we’re amongst our artsy friends again!

This post is a reprint of a post by Catherine Lewis that originally appeared at Shanghaiist.

Photo from OS Universe

On Friday we reported that Tai Shan’s return to his Chinese roots might create a “normal” panda environment for the furry guy—one that would focus more on breeding and less on the panda cams and fan clubs of yesteryear. Well guess who just scored a corporate sponsorship, oodles of money and even more of a lifetime guarantee of fame and fortune?

A mere few hours after Tai Shan’s arrival into China on Thursday, the famous panda bear has won a gig as the new “image ambassador” to Sichuan Auto Industry Group. Oh snap, this bear moves fast.

The Chinese automaker reportedly offered one million yuan to sponsor the 4-year old panda for life. Although there was no elaboration on what exactly a furry, 184-pound“image ambassador” does, the corporate sponsorship guarantees that all Tai Shan’s daily food, health care and basic panda needs (like the mass production of life-size posters with his face on it) will be taken care of forever.

We should have guessed that a bear who blows into town on his own Boeing 777 freighter, with private language tutors and a dinner menu of fresh bamboo shoots and ’wotou’ steamed sorghum, would see the opportunity for “image ambassador” as the natural next step.

But for all the animal lovers out there and the legions of Tai Shan fans (who actually purchase those Tai Shan mugs, shirts, key rings and license plates) you can be rest assured that the beloved panda remains in good care despite his new claim to fame. Tai Shan will continue to live at the Bifengxia Panda Base in Ya’an City as part of China’s extensive breeding program. Moreover, Cao Guodong, the automaker’s deputy general manager, told the Washington Post that the company does not even expect Tai Shan to leave the panda base to do things such as, say, attend product launches.

But wait… No product launches? That means no parties. Sheesh. Next thing you know they’ll be skimping on the daily caviar snacks and Swedish massages too.