Yue’s Yappings

There was a great article last week in the New York Times about an American settling down to live in an old part of Shanghai. Inspired, I thought I’d chime in with my own thoughts.

I often visit Shanghai for business. When I visit, I usually stay at my parent’s place for a week or two at a time. Over the years, I’ve made some good friends in Shanghai, and I try to spend as much time with them as I can. So although I’ve never lived in Shanghai, I’ve spent enough time in the city to get a good feel for day to day life.

Xiaoqu

18 million people live in Shanghai, making it one of the biggest cities in the world. The city is broken down into many residential areas called “Xiaoqu”, which literaly translated means “Little district”. Each Xiaoqu is a perfect ecosystem. There is a guard at the gate and workers to maintain the garden, plumbing, pick up the trash, etc. There is often a kindergarten and a number of small convenience shops - barber, fruit stand, shoe repair place, magazine stand and food market. In the morning, people gather to practice tai chi and ballroom dancing. During the day, you’ll see all the nannies hanging out together taking care of the children in their charge.

Food

Most locals buy food daily since it’s so convenient and the food is considered fresher than what you can get in a western style grocery store. However, Chinese kitchens do not get the same respect and treatment as they get in US. Most of them are small and not nice - no place you’d want to hang out.

Eating out

So Shanghainese love to eat out. Rain or shine, the restaurants in Shanghai are always packed. There are some amazing restaurants in Shanghai - both food wise and size wise. Some restaurants span multiple floors, connected by elevators, and are staffed by an army of people. Most of Chinese restaurants are quite noisy - too noisy for most westerners tastes.

If you like it quieter, you can reserve a private dining. Often times the private dining rooms have their own wash rooms and private wait staffs. With service like this, its no wonder that Shanghainese almost never hosts parties at home - instead they just rent out a room at a restaurant.

Laundry

Chinese don’t use dryers, which is a good thing considering how much power they use, its really a decadent western thing. Instead, clothes (including underwear) are all hung outside on bamboo poles to dry in the air. You can even see the laundry hanging on a rope on the street some times. And the clothes you buy in China are often not meant to be put in a dryer - as I have learned the hard way one too many times.

Cash

Cash is still king. There are no personal checks. Credit card have been introduced, but only major department stores, hotels and fancy shops accept them. So you have to carry a lot of cash - particularly when traveling on business. The largest bill is 100 Yuan ($13) - you’ll have lots of them in your pocket. This can be a bit unnerving if you are not used to it. But on the bright side, every one is the same predicament.

Also transactions are done differently. In China, there are many places that require you pay up front. So don’t be surprised when you go a restaurant in Shanghai, the waiter asking for money as soon as you ordered the food from the menu.

Banking

A trip to the local bank in Shanghai can be quite an experience. There are always long lines, and an interminable amount of paperwork and approvals. Most of the times, you have to bring the bank passbook which contains all your deposition and withdraw history. The good news is that most banks in Shanghai are open on the weekend, so there is plenty of time to stand around.

Little Luxuries

Shanghai is an expensive city to live. Some things that are considered common in US are splurges in Shanghai.

1. Haagen-Daz ice cream. Haagen-Daz is more expensive in China than the US, but Chinese love it.
2. Seeing a movie. There are few large, western style movie theaters in Shanghai so ticket prices are equivalent. Plus, with so many cheap DVDs that cost around 70 cents, many Shanghainese just stay at home and watch DVDs instead.

And of course, there are things that are much cheaper in Shanghai than in the US. I try to take advantage of these services as much as I can when I am in Shanghai.

1. Hair cut and coloring. You can get a good hair cut for less than $5, and color and highlight for less than $30.
2. Tailoring. Shanghai has great tailors and you can get custom shirts and dresses made at very reasonable prices.
3. Spas. There are many good, cheap spas in Shanghai -definitely worth checking out.
4. Dry cleaning.

Cheap labor

Shanghai has a huge number of poor, migrant workers from the country side. Which means that there is an abundance of cheap labor. Many locals simply hire these workers to do the work they don’t want to. Do it yourself home improvement projects which are very popular among American home owners are unheard of in Shanghai - why not just hire a cheap migrant work instead?

Where do Migrant Workers live?

There are 4 million migrant workers in Shanghai, but unlike other large cities in poorer parts of the world, you don’t see very many slums, and certainly nothing like the shanty towns in other parts of Asia, Africa or South America. Most companies who hire migrant workers also house them, dormitory style, within the city. The sad part is that most of these workers will spend many years in Shanghai, working non-stop, but will never obtain “Hukou” (registered permanent residents) status of the city. Without Hokou, these workers don’t have the benefits and protections as the rest of Shanghainese. Some of of their children can’t even attend the school. Most of them have close family members in their home towns that depend on the money they send back and only see them once a year, during the Chinese New Year.