Hey, remember China? Even though the Olympics are over, it's still there--and the air quality in Beijing is back to absolutely horrible.

To try to alleviate the pollution, the city government has reinstated restrictions on driving. Cars will only be allowed on the roads six days a week, with license plate numbers deciding who gets to drive when. Officials say the plan will keep 800,000 private vehicles off the capital's clogged streets every day.

The scheme, which began today, will be in place until at least April, and if pollution continues to worsen, the government says it may order as many as half of the city's 3.4 million cars off the road daily.

Related Stories:
· Beijing Reintroduces Car Rules [BBC]
· Our Olympics Air Quality Obsession Continues [Jaunted]

[Photo of the Pangu Plaza on August 10, 2008: xiaming]]]> pbb 2008-10-13T11:50:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/21/223816/932

The Olympics paid off in more ways than one for China. Sure, the country got awesome new hotels, venues and infrastructure built, but now, post-games, the country's also experiencing a boom in tourism. The New York Times reports that travelers want to experience for themselves what their favorite Olympians did--and tour groups are seeing bookings jump as much as 20 percent.]]> sedona 2008-09-22T11:30:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/9/12279/58584

Alright Phelps phanatics. If you didn't get a chance to play grab ass in Vegas with the gold medal god, you'll have another chance in Baltimore on October 4.

After a miscue in August, the Phelpstival is a go, and it starts with a "Parade of Gold" at 3 pm through Towson, Maryland, the suburb that the swimmer calls home. At 7 pm, a "Star-Spangled Salute" will be held at Fort McHenry.

One assumes the party won't stop just because it's getting late. While we can't guarantee a Phelps appearance, Max's Taphouse does have the biggest selection of beer in the city.

Related Stories:
· Phelpstival [Official Site]
· Max's Taphouse [Official Site]
· Michael Phelps coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-09-09T12:35:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/25/114933/914

Now that the Olympics are over, it's time for Baltimore to cash in on Michael Phelps' most recent gold medals. The Phelpstival--that we heard about last week--will start at 9 am on September 11 in the suburb of Towson, Maryland.

The party kicks off at Phelps' high school, where Cedar Avenue will be renamed in his honor. A parade will then march to the courthouse where the world record holder will receive a key to Baltimore County.

Here's hoping the Baltimore tourism board doesn't make him do a lap in a hotel pool.

Update: Don't believe everything you read at Baltimore.org! Turns out the tourism board posted info about 2004's Phelpstival on its official website before hyping the news on Twitter. Only later did officials realize that they'd made a mistake. When the real Phelpstival is announced, we'll let you know--as long as the tourism peeps give us the correct date!

Related Stories:
· Phelpstival [Official Site]
· Baltimore Tourism Wants a Piece of Michael Phelps [Jaunted]

[Photo: PopStarsPlus]]]> pbb 2008-08-25T12:00:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/19/132424/341

Who doesn't want to siphon off a bit of that Michael Phelps glory these days? Baltimore, the record-smashing swimmer's hometown, is hoping to milk his eight-medal Olympics for as much tourism as the city can stand. The Baltimore Area CVA has even set up a specific URL for Phelps phanatics: Baltimore.org/phelps.

So far, the page is pretty much blank, with just a vague promise of more to come:

Check back to Baltimore.org for information on Phelps' Welcome Home Celebration.

Hopefully the party doesn't involve any lusty fans getting ill-advised tattoos!

Related Stories:
· Olympic Travel: Which Stars Are Watching the Games? [Jaunted]
· Olympics coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Allure]]]> pbb 2008-08-19T13:30:13-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/15/7579/36063

The world simultaneously giggled and rolled its eyes when the Guardian newspaper released a photo gallery of President Bush up to his usual hijinks at the 2008 Summer Olympics with wife Laura and daughter Barbara. But he's not the only non-competing celebrity to be hanging out in the host city, hoping to bump into Michael Phelps.

Blogger Beijing Boyce has been collecting celeb sightings of people like Bill and Melinda Gates on the Olympic green, Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling at (where else?) the baseball stadium, and Jared Leto just about anywhere.

David Hasselhoff and John Mayer are rolling into town to celebrate the last leg of the Gumball 3000.

But the best celebrity leak so far involves a bunch of civilians who are being pressed into action to represent their country at the last minute. No, not as an ad hoc water polo team, but at the closing ceremonies Led Zeppelin will perform with Leona Lewis and David Beckham will speak for the next summer Olympics, in London in 2012. Reportedly, they will all have a red double-decker bus for a platform, which makes us both excited and nervous.

Related Stories:
· LOL Bush: The president at the Olympics [Guardian.co.uk]
· Beijing Olympics Celebrity Watch [Beijing Boyce]
· Gumball Rally To Arrive in Beijing Tomorrow [2008 Games Beijing]
· Beckham to appear at closing ceremony [BBC]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[LOLBush: the Guardian]]]> egw 2008-08-15T08:45:10-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/14/16252/0577 Our sis site HotelChatter does a bang-up job of covering the latest news and trends in the hotel world. Check in and stay awhile.

· The authorities in Beijing didn't close Hotel G: It's just not open yet.

· And the InterContinental Beijing may be the hottest hangout in town.

· New York's Ace Hotel promises to be like "staying in a hip friend's apartment."

· Monica Guy checks out the Lisbon Hotel Scene.

· And the ultimate haunted hotel, pictured, will soon open in Louisville.]]> pbb 2008-08-14T17:00:10-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/