Danwei Picks is a daily digest of the "From the Web" links found on the Danwei homepage. A feed for the links as they are posted throughout the day is available at Feedsky (in China) or Feedburner (outside China).

"Migrant worker song" for the Spring Festival: Peijin Chen at Shanghaiist presents the Wen Jiabao-approved migrant worker song, which is on the program for the upcoming Spring Festival Gala.

It's a catchy tune about the vicissitudes of life as a migrant worker in China, featuring many a real migrant worker doing what they do best: take care of children, serve you at restaurants, build your skyscrapers, carry heavy loads of stuff, etc. They tend to smile and look awkward, which is just so cute because it reminds you of what plain, simple. and un-Paris Hilton like these people are. China's migrant workers—compromising their dignity so you don't have to!

Official: Beijing hotel prices jacked up for Olympics: From a story by Liu Zhen in The Washington Post:

Reports of Beijing hotels ramping up prices for next year's Olympic Games are based on a misunderstanding of Chinese negotiating techniques, an official said on Tuesday...

...'It is a game between the hotel owners and the market,' Penny Xiang, deputy director of Games Services for Beijing Organising Committee (BOCOG), told reporters on Tuesday....Xiang said the exorbitant rates are mainly a sales strategy of the hotels and reasonable deals were available if buyers kept haggling. 'As far as I know there are not many hotels that have actually signed contracts with clients, and those that have signed contracts are actually not at very high price,' she said.

...Beijing is expecting 500,000 foreign visitors and more than a million domestic tourists in a daily flow of about 280,000 during the Games.

More BOCOG fun from Shanghaiscrap.

Bullog's top stories for 2007: At GVO, John Kennedy translates one blogger's picks for the top eight stories on the blog service provider Bullog:

Shinan gives us eight choices in a vote for blog story of the year at Bullog, the small but growing blog service provider (BSP) which hosts some of China's most progressive blogger voices, centered around hope to move on from the beating public trust in government and media has taken in recent months.

2007 was Bullog's first full calendar year—if you include the month this autumn it spent 'under reconstruction'—and saw several high-profile personality clashes, three nominees for the Best of the Blogs awards, at least two server blow-outs and, most recently, a move overseas.

A brave new future for China in science: In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mary Brown Bullock writes Sino-US science exchange:

China's science and technology is not yet a powerhouse, but American universities and corporations believe that within a quarter of a century it will be. Accordingly, collaboration with Chinese scientists and investments in jointly operated research facilities has been accelerating. Today, there are more than 1,000 foreign-funded R&D centers in China, compared to fewer than than 200 in India. Likewise, universities are scrambling to set up collaborative research labs in China. Georgia Tech was one of the earliest American universities to establish collaborative programs with China. Why should we be collaborating with a potential competitor?

Uygurs, Turks and Huns: The Coming Anarchy blog has posted a 'Turkic family tree' that shows the relationships between the Huns, the Turks, the Tatars and the Golden Horde.

Michael Bloomberg on China: New York's billionaire mayor has been in China speaking at various events; Tim Johnson summarizes his talking points that include immigration policies, attracting investment and the free market.