Help/FAQ

Add City Weekend's widget on your site to have the hottest events in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou streamed to your site's page. A web widget is chunk of code that can be installed within any HTML-based web page. Just go to the widget page, copy and paste the into your site or blog's HTML template and City Weekend events will automatically displayed on the page. For more information click here.

RSS

>What is RSS? How do I get started?top

RSS

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication that makes keeping up with a website instant and automatic. Rather than checking your posts 10 times a day to see if someone left you a comment, you can simply add the RSS feed into your feed reader and be notified instantly when you have a new comment. This doesn't only apply to comments, there are RSS feeds for events, classifieds, magazine articles and blog posts as well.

Whenever you see a page with an orange RSS icon you can copy and paste the link into your feedreader and be notified instantly whenever something is added.

Feed Readers
If you have a gmail/googlemail account, you already have one of the best feed readers around, google reader.

If you don't have a google account, Newsvine is another a popular online RSS reader.

>What can I subscribe to?top

You can basically subscribe to any page that has the RSS icon on it. Some interesting ideas:

Search for a term (for example "pizza"), subscribe to the results page and get updates in your feedreader whenever something (pizza related) gets added to the site. You can also narrow down the results through filters so that only "pizza" in "wudaokou" shows up in your chosen feed (click on a location filter before subscribing).
You can get updated via RSS whenever anyone adds a comment to a page.
Get the latest classifieds, restaurant and bar reviews and more.

Here is a page of the most popular subscriptions on City Weekend.

Email Update

>What is up with your Email Update?top

To be honest, the email update hasn't changed much in 3 years. But it is our next big project. Expect to find the Buzz-worthiest events in your inbox soon.

>What is in your Email Update?top

Get the latest events in your city every Thrursday morning with City Weekend's Email Update. Events are hand-picked by editors and includes things that may have come in too late for print in the magazine, giving you a heads up on the hottest events happening that week.

>How do I subscribe to the Email Update?top

Subscribe and unsubscribe to the Email Update from your profile page (click on your user name in top right corner of the site when signed in). Click on the Email Update box to subscribe and unclick to unsubscribe.

Logging In

>Why can’t I log into the site?top

Have you registered? If not click here to register.

Have you clicked on the link in the confirmation email we sent you? For more information see below.

Are you sure the password you're using is right? If you forgot, click here to have your password sent via email.

You may have been banned due to possible abuse of the site. Contact an editor by clicking here with your username & email address and we’ll sort it out.

>I didn't get an email notifying me that I registered. What do I do?top

When creating an account, a confirmation email is sent out to the email address you’ve provided. It should arrive within 15 minutes. If the confirmation email isn’t in your inbox, check your spam box (they end up there sometimes). Click the link inside the email to active your account. You're officially registered.

If after 45 minutes you still haven’t received the confirmation email, contact an editor by clicking here, give us your username & email address in the email and we’ll sort it out for you asap.

>I’ve forgotten my password. What do I do now?top

No problem, it happens to the best of us. Click here to send an editor an email. Provide your user name and email address and we will reset your password. When you receive your new password log in here and change your password to something more secure on your profile page (click on your user name in top right corner of the site when signed in).

>How do I change my user name?top

For that, you'll need to email an editor. Click here to send an editor an email with your current user name and the user name you'd like.

>How do I change my password?top

You can change your password on your profile page (click on your user name in top right corner of the site when signed in) then click on "Edit profile" and scroll down to the bottom. Under "Change my password", enter in your old password and new password and you're good to go.

>How do I change my phone number?top

You can change your phone number by first going to your profile page (click on your user name in top right corner of the site when signed in) then click on "Edit profile". Edit/add your mobile phone number in the "Mobile phone" field.

Adding Events

>What do I do if can't find the venue when adding an event?top

If the venue is in the City Weekend listings database, it will automatically appear as you type a name into the location box. City Weekend will match the first letter of the venue against ones in its database, so try typing "The" before the name and see if the venue shows up. Once you find the venue you're looking for hit enter or click on the name, the venue details will load automatically.

IF the venue does not appear, enter the venue name and any contact information in the field underneath. We'll expand venue databases as information becomes available. TIP: You can add a new venue yourself on the Listings page.

>How do I make an event that repeats?top

There are different ways to list your event depending on how often your event repeats. When adding your repeating event, you can choose these options from the dropdowns under the date section:

Occurs daily (for events that occur over multiple consecutive days) - Click the calendar icon and choose the date the event begins or type it manually. Then select when the event ends.

Occurs weekly – (for events that happen every few weeks). For example, with an event that occurs "Fridays, the third week of every month", select “every four weeks” from the dropdown. Click the calendar icon and choose the start date or type it in manually. Then select the day of the week. TIP: You can select multiple days of the week. To remove a selected day, click on the day again.

Occurs monthly on weekday(s) - Select which week of the month then on which day of the week your event occurs from the dropdowns. Click the calendar icon and choose the date the event begins or type the dates in manually.

Occurs monthly on specific date(s) - Select how often on a monthly basis your event occurs. Select the calendar icon and choose the date the event begins or enter the date manually. Then select the date of the event that month. TIP: You can select multiple dates. To remove a selected day, click on the day again.

>I've just added my event, why can't I see it on the site?top

City Weekend editors are frequently checking the site and approving submitted events to make sure information is correct and inoffensive. Usually, events appear immediately. If yours doesn't appear, wait 15 minutes. If it still doesn't appear contact a City Weekend editor.

>What is the difference between a listing, an event and a classified?top

A City Weekend listing is a page for your business/restaurant/bar/organization/club with a description, addresses and contact information. Listings are generally not time-sensitive and not for services.

An event is used for promoting one-off or regular activity which is organized by/takes place at a listing.

Classifieds are advertisements promoting services, personals, real estate ect.

>Will my event make the magazine and email update?top

We choose the best events and include them in the email update and print magazine though there's no guarantee that your event will make print. To improve your chances, be sure to have a catchy description and great photos to attract people to you event. This will catch the attention of the editors and will improve your chances of making the print magazine and email update.

Managing your Listings, Events and Classifieds

>How do I manage My Stuff?top

All your comments, reviews, classifieds, events and listings can be found on your profile page (click on your user name in top right corner of the site when signed in).

On every posting you contribute you'll find an "Edit" option under the Buzz rating as well as the option to manage the images. Click on edit/manage your photos to make your changes.

>What happens to my expired classifieds?top

Don't worry, they're still there. Though your expired classifieds and events won't be visible on the site, you can still view them on your profile page (click on your user name in top right corner of the site when signed in).

Next to your expired classified you'll find the option to renew your ad should you need to.

>How do I edit My Stuff once it's created?top

City Weekend allows the contributor to edit their own events. It's easy. To edit an event that you've uploaded either find and click the posting or visit "My Stuff" on your profile page (click on your user name in top right corner of the site when signed in). You can always access your account by clicking on your name in the top right hand corner of the page after while signed in. All your events, subscriptions and comments are managed on this page.

On every page you submit, you'll see "Edit" under the Buzz rating. Simply click on "Edit" and make your changes.

If you the would like to be credited with being the contributor of the listing/event, register, click here and send an editor the name of the listing/event and your user name and we'll verify and move ownership over to you. As the contributor you "own" that listing and can write the description, edit the information, add photos and events and more.

>How do I have a comment deleted off my posting?top

Keep in mind that City Weekend relies on users to tell other users what is good in the city. That said, there are a few things to keep in mind:

For reviews:
DON'T overestimate the impact of a single negative comment. In fact, in speaking to City Weekend users, we've learned that negative reviews sprinkled in with favorable reviews often act to enhance the credibility of the positive reviews by illustrating the honesty and openness of the City Weekend environment. If you see a trend of negative reviews, you may want to take this feedback and determine if there is a way to make improvements.

DON'T lash out at the people who have written negative reviews about you. Tempting as that may be, we can see that backfiring in some cases as the City Weekend community may up the ante and even engage in "vigilante justice" by spreading more negativity.

For misc. comments:
If the comment contains offensive language, contact a City Weekend editor and we can remove it for you.

>I’ve posted in the wrong category, can I move my event to the right category?top

No problems, to edit an event that you've uploaded either find and click the posting or visit "My Stuff" on your profile page (click on your user name in top right corner of the site when signed in). Select a new category in the dropdown and re-submit

If you've mistakenly posted an event in classifieds or vice-versa, go ahead and post in the correct category and contact an editor by clicking here to have the mis-categorized posting deleted. Let us know which event you want moved and where you want to move it to and we’ll take care of it asap.

>I uploaded multiple photos, how do I make the right one show with my item?top

The first photo you upload automatically becomes the main photo displayed on the listing/event/classified. To have another photo be the main image:

Go to your listing/event/classified
Click on "Manage Images" (under "View all images")
Click "Mark main image" under the the photo you want to be the new main image.

>Why is my photo cropped?top

While we do allow photos up to 2mb to be uploaded, the ideal dimensions are 840px480p. The photo you uploaded was probably either too tall, wide or both. Re-upload a smaller photo and see how that goes.

Buzz

>What is buzz and how do I improve my events?top

Great question! Instead of traditional ranking, Buzz is what City Weekend uses to help reveal what's popular in the city. With Buzz we can measure how popular things are on the site are relative to one another. And with Buzz, we can also measure how popular upcoming events are (it's not fair to rank an event that no one has viewed/reviewed yet). We look at Buzz when deciding what to promote on the site and what to put inside City Weekend magazine. You can affect an item's buzz by simply interacting with or promoting it. See below.

>How can I increase Buzz?top

Buzz is based on many factors, most have to do with how much activity the item has on the site. Here are some easy tips to get Buzz higher:

Add some photos
Share it with friends
Most importantly, make your content as interesting as you can so others do the same

For Business Owners

>My business has been reviewed on the City Weekend website. Now what should I do?top

(And yes, we totally ripped this off from Yelp).

Congratulations! Now you're inside City Weekend. We recommend getting personally involved in the City Weekend community - primarily as an individual and also as someone actively putting your business' best foot forward. We've come up with this simple list of DOs and DON'Ts for business owners, and we hope you'll keep us posted on what works best.

First the DON'Ts:

DON'T review your own business anonymously or get your friends to do the same. (see below for alternatives)

DON'T overestimate the impact of a single negative review. It happens to even the best businesses. In fact, in speaking to City Weekend users, we've learned that negative reviews sprinkled in with favorable reviews often act to enhance the credibility of the positive reviews by illustrating the honesty and openness of the City Weekend environment. That said, if you see a trend of negative reviews, you may want to take this feedback and determine if there is a way to improve your business.

DON'T lash out at the people who have written negative reviews about you. Tempting as that may be, we can see that backfiring in some cases as the City Weekend community may up the ante and even engage in "vigilante justice" by spreading more negativity (see below for alternative).

Now the DOs:

DO register on City Weekend yourself, as an individual, and engage with the community (write some reviews, upload a picture, etc.). As a business owner or manager, you are a real human being, and City Weekend is the right place to show that.

DO add photos to your business page and make sure your business information is correct. Click on the 'Update Business Info' link if you want to make changes, and be sure to note that you are the business owner when submitting the info.

DO review your own business – clearly stating that you are the business owner. Full disclosure is important here, and will be critical in earning the respect of the City Weekend community.

DO use City Weekend private messaging to thank reviewers for writing about your business – but consider waiting 48 hours before responding to any negative reviews as a cooling-off mechanism. Be sure to put yourself in the mindset of your customer, and recognize that your tone may come across as defensive, so tread lightly.

DO take the feedback to heart… but remember that each review is just one single opinion, and it's the entire set of the City Weekend reviews together that really matters most.

>My business has been added to City Weekend, can I make changes to the listing?top

Yes, once the ownership has been moved over to you. With ownership you can write your own descriptions, make changes to the contact information, manage your images, promote your events and more.

If you the would like to be credited with being the contributor of the listing/event, register (if you haven't already), click here and send an editor the name of the listing/event and your user name and we'll verify and move ownership over to you. As the contributor you "own" that listing and can write the description, edit the information, add photos and events and more.

>How do I get copies of City Weekend for my business?top

To get City Weekend delivered to your business or office contact:

Beijing: Justin Liu, 8610-65281840 ext.6346 justin.liu@ringier.cn
Shanghai: Fairy Qu, 8621-63620022 ext.8876 fairy.qu@ringier.cn

>How do I advertise on City Weekend?top

While posting events, classifieds and listings are free, you can always get more exposure by purchasing ad space in our magazine, on our site and in our email updates.

Advertise in City Weekend:
Beijing: 8610-65281840 ext.6338 advertise@ringier.cn
Shanghai: 8621-63620022 ext.8825 shadvertise@ringier.cn
Guangzhou: 8610-65281840 ext.6339 shell.liu@ringier.cn

General

>Who made this website?top

City Weekend is comprised of a rag-tag crew of foreigners and locals who put together a free entertainment listings magazine in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. City Weekend is dedicated to adopting advanced publishing technology to better serve its readers and supporters. Find out more about us here.

>What is your comment and review policy?top

We love comments and reviews, they’re as important as anything we write ourselves. Well-written reviews help readers decide what is good or bad in the city. They all add to the knowledge and community that we have here. But inevitably, some comments and reviews spiral off into flame wars. We’ve combed the web for guidance on online posting and in order to make our comments and reviews useful and interesting, we’ve come up with the following guidelines.

We reserve the right to delete any comments or reviews that:

are not "on topic", or are not responding to other comments, the content in the listing, article or blog post.
insults or defames the writer of the article/blog post or other commenter/reviewers.
contains personal information (addresses, phone numbers, etc) about the comment's author or others.
threatens, invites or encourages violence.
are intentionally misleading or make false statements.
offers to sell any product or service e.g. spam.
were posted by competitors slandering a rival business.
violates, plagiarizes or infringes the rights of third parties including, copyright, trademark, trade secret, confidentiality, contract, patent or rights of privacy.
is generally vulgar, hateful, obscene or profane. Keep it civil folks, it's a family website.

City Weekend does not accept responsibility for information posted by users.

Please note that once you post a comment to the City Weekend website, it becomes part of the public conversation. Our policy is that we will not remove a user's comments or reviews unless they are in violation of our Comment and Review Policy except in very extreme circumstances.

We hope we never have to, but if a user repeatedly abuses our Comment and Review Policy, we delete all of their comments on every post without warning, disable their account and ban their IP address.

When posting long links, try to use Markdown syntax with descriptive text that tells the reader where the link is going and what it is about.

>Who do I contact when I find a bug on the site?top

Keep in mind that we are constantly updating the site so there will be bugs and nuances but with your help, we can correct them quickly to make the site better for everyone. Help us out by reporting bugs here.

City Weekend Mobile

>How does “send to mobile” work?top

Who wants to carry heavy listings magazines around anymore? Now together with Guanxi, City Weekend puts its entire listings directory into your mobile phone! Whenever you need that restaurant or bar address, or to show your taxi driver directions to your favorite spot in the city, you can use CW Guanxi to get the information instantly on your mobile - the first and largest English entertainment listings mobile directory in China. Here's how it works:

1. Save our phone number into your mobile phone. 1066-9588-2929.

2. Then just send an SMS in English, Mandarin, or pinyin from your mobile phone to search for a listing in your city. For example, send an SMS with "City Weekend" to CW Guanxi and you'll instantly receive this message:

CityWeekendBeijingOffice
HualiBldg, No.58JinBaoStreet
Tel:6528-1840
Reply 'C' for Chinese

>Why am I getting results for another city when searching with my mobile?top

To give you the best results for your city, Guanxi will search only for the results for the city where your mobile phone is registered. So how do you search for listings when you travel? Simply enter in the city's initials (BJ for Beijing, SH for Shanghai ect.) before the search. For example, when searching for an American restaurant in Guangzhou on a Beijing phone number, you would SMS "GZ American restaurant" to Guanxi.

>I got multiple results, how do I choose the one I want?top

If there is more than one matched listing in your search, you will be sent a list of matching listings. Pick the one you want by replying with the number of the venue from the list i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4.

>Can I get the results in Chinese?top

To get information in Chinese, just reply to the SMS with 'C'. It's that easy. CW Guanxi also allows you to search in Chinese or pinyin, with the replies in the language that you used to search.

>Will I get spammed if I give you my mobile number?top

Rest assured, we will never give your information out to any 3rd parties.

>How much does it cost?top

1RMB per request.

Detailed How-Tos:

>Add a listing:top

Below is a step by step explanation of how to submit a listing on City Weekend

Go the “Listings” page and click "Recommend a new place".
Select a category for your listing.
Write in the name, phone number, website, contact email, phone number and hours of operation.
Indicate whether or not there is free WiFi, if international credit cards are accepted and if it's family friendly.
Select what area you're in.
Write in the address and directions how to get there.
Enter in a rating for your listing.
Write a short description to appear with the listing. You have 2000 characters (approximately 500 words). You don’t need to include contact information here, what you have written above will automatically appear. A well-written English description attracts more readers and raises your event's ranking.
Hit "post it". -You have the option to attach a photo to your listing. Adding photos not only improves your rankings, but attracts people to your listing. You can also skip and add a photo later. -You have option to share you event with friends, enter in the email addresses for the people you want informed. -Your listing is now online!

>Add a classified:top

Below is a step by step explanation of how to submit a classified on City Weekend

Go the “Classifieds” page and click "Post a new classified".
Select a category for the event. (The information you enter will be different depending on what category you choose)
Write a short title for the classified. A well-written English title can attract more readers and raise your event ranking.
Write a short description to appear with the event. You have 2000 characters or (approximately 500 words). You don’t need to include contact information here, you can enter that below. Again, a well-written English description attracts more readers and raises your event's ranking.
Select the time your classified will display on the site.

Additional information for real estate ads
- Enter in the number of bedrooms, the size in square meters and the location.

Additional information for jobs available ads
- Enter in the name of the employer, type of job (regular or internship), approximate salary (you can write in "negotiable") and industry.

You have the option to attach a photo to your event. Adding photos not only improves your rankings, but attracts people to your listing. But you can also skip and add a photo later.
You also have option to share you event with friends, enter in the email addresses for the people you want informed.
Your classified is now online!

>Add an event:top

Below is a step by step explanation of how to submit an event on City Weekend

Go the “Events” page and click "Add a new event".
Select a category for the event.
Write a short title for the event. A well-written English title can attract more readers and raise your event ranking.
Select a venue by writing the venue name. If the venue is in the City Weekend listings database, it will automatically appear as you type. IF NOT, then feel free to write the venue name in the field underneath.
Write a short description to appear with the event. You have 2000 characters or (approximately 500 words). You don’t need to include contact information here, you can enter that below. Again, a well-written English description attracts more readers and raises your event's ranking.
There are 5 types of event dates, depending if your event is ongoing, repeats or a one-off event.
- One day - click on the calendar icon to select the date or type it manually (year-month-date)
- Occurs daily (for events that occur over multiple consecutive days) - Click the calendar icon and choose the date the event begins or type it manually. Then select when the event ends.
- Occurs weekly – (for events that happen every few weeks). For example, with an event that occurs "Fridays, the third week of every month", select “every four weeks” from the dropdown. Click the calendar icon and choose the start date or type it in manually. Then select the day of the week. TIP: You can select multiple days of the week. To remove a selected day, click on the day again.
- Occurs monthly on weekday(s) - Select which week of the month then on which day of the week your event occurs from the dropdowns. Click the calendar icon and choose the date the event begins or type the dates in manually.
- Occurs monthly on specific date(s) - Select how often on a monthly basis your event occurs. Select the calendar icon and choose the date the event begins or enter the date manually. Then select the date of the event that month. TIP: You can select multiple dates. To remove a selected day, click on the day again.
Choose a time. Be sure to use 24hr format. For example 20:00 = 8pm. You don’t need to select an end time if the event ends late that evening.
If you are the event organizer click the small check box. We will use your contact information on your profile to inform readers. If you aren’t the event organizer, then enter the contact information below.
Enter a website, if available
Enter the contact person's name, if available
Enter the event contact phone number, if available.
Enter the event contact email, (this is required)
Click Submit. -You have the option to attach a photo to your event. Adding photos not only improves your rankings, but attracts people to your listing. But you can also skip and add a photo later. -You have option to share you event with friends, enter in the email addresses for the people you want informed. -Your event is now online!

>Add an event (中文):top

City Weekend城市周报网站刚刚发布3.0版本，欢迎登录www.cityweekend.com.cn体验一把。新网站使用起来更简便，并增加很多新元素比如Buzz，什么是Buzz呢？基本上它是一条listing受欢迎的程度，跟相关的图片、活动、评论有关，你所上传的图片、活动以及访问者对你的listing评论越多，Buzz的评级越高，就越容易出现在每日5000个访问者面前。

怎么用呢？很简单。

首先，注册。注册用户名是免费的，并且简单无比，注册登录之后，你就可以在网站上发布消息了。
如果你还没有创建过listing，请点击这里，填写有关信息，当编辑审批通过之后，你很快就能加入到北京最好的地址名录中，请尽可能多地加一些图片，会吸引更多关注。
对了，你还可以加活动信息，如果你有定期举行一些有意思的活动，请点击这里和大家分享，只需详尽填写活动信息。很快你的活动信息就能上线，或者有可能被杂志采用，和10,000读者见面。这一切甚至不用劳驾你动一下手指。编辑们会提前三周从网站上下载所有的活动信息，并选择最好的活动出版到杂志上。

哇，只需要花15分钟你就可以有15,000潜在客户了，还不用花一分钱。为什么不让我们为你做这一切呢？因为有你的支持我们才能做得更好。发帖快乐呀！