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May 13, 2017

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Shanghai, my amazing new home and why I love it

Source: Shanghai Daily | 00:00 UTC+8 May 13, 2017 | Print Edition

I first visited Shanghai four years ago on exchange while completing my undergraduate degree, and I’ve been in love with the place ever since.

Back then I couldn’t speak a word of Mandarin — it’s the lingua franca here despite the existence of the area’s very own dialect, Shanghainese — and was lost in the jumble of skyscrapers and traffic jams.

But that’s what I fell in love with about Shanghai, and China in general.

For a whole semester I wandered the streets in awe, unable to understand or comprehend anything anyone was saying, and unable to take part in any meaningful way. But as a bystander I took it all in, soaking up all I could from what was then an alien place. I needed to know more, and that’s why I chose to come back to study my masters.

As a guy from a tiny country with a population of just 4.5 million, spread over an area nearly the size of Japan, I can’t get more of a polar opposite than Shanghai.

I come from Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, which is home to around 200,000 people. I remember when I was just a kid and mum would take us into “town” to run errands. I would gaze up at our 20-something-story “skyscrapers” and dream about the possibilities. Back then Wellington city center was the epitome of modern life.

Now I call Shanghai home, along with a staggering 24 million others. That’s roughly five times my entire country’s population — in one city!

My Mandarin has improved so much from those days four years ago when every character and every sound was like a puzzle I would never solve (I still can’t understand or speak Shanghainese, though, but that’s a whole other journey). Today I can take part in daily life and enjoy everything this amazing place has to offer at a more intimate level.

There would be too much to talk about at the specific level, so today I will briefly and generally talk about a few of the things I love about this city — convenience and safety — of course, comparing it with life back in Wellington.

This goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Shanghai is an amazingly convenient place to live when it comes to getting about your daily life with ease.

The Metro is the world’s largest subway network in terms of length, with an eye-watering 365 miles of track, stretching across 14 lines and 364 stations. This means that pretty much anywhere you need to go in this huge metropolis, the Metro can take you there, or at least most of the way.

Regularity

One huge factor in the convenience factor of public transport, anywhere in the world, is regularity. Back in New Zealand if you want to take a train anywhere (we don’t have any subway systems) you need to first look up the timetable, because some trains are 30 minutes or even an hour apart!

In Shanghai there’s no such need, you just head down and the most you’ll wait is a few minutes.

And if the subway doesn’t take you to exactly where you need to be, no problem! Just hire one of the 500,000 rental bikes sitting around the city waiting for you.

Spending money is also hugely convenient here, and all over China, with apps such as WeChat and Alipay meaning that you don’t even need to carry cash anymore. Need to grab a coffee at Family Mart? Use your cellphone. Want to buy fruit from the lady on the street? Cellphone!

And I don’t even need to get into the heavenly convenience of food delivery apps.

You probably noticed already that Shanghai is an extremely safe city, with lower crimes rates than most other large cities in the world.

The US government said this is because of Shanghai’s high conviction rate, high law enforcement presence, and the use of modern technology in policing.

Most foreigners agree, usually to the glee of Chinese, that Shanghai is one of the safest big cities in the world.

Because of this higher level of public safety, people just aren’t as on-edge here. Even back in Wellington, people need to pay close attention to their personal safety, especially at night.

The last thing I’ll talk about today is Shanghai’s hidden secrets that are just waiting to be found. One of my favorites is a cute little shop that sells handmade pineapple cakes, but only if you want to pay!

When you first walk in and take a seat, a waitress will come and serve you one of their gorgeous pineapple cakes and a cup of freshly brewed tea. Once you’ve finished, it’s up to you whether you buy some of their signature cakes, or you can just leave.

Before you ask, of course I’m not telling you where it is! This secret gem, and others like it, are waiting for you to find out.

So get out there and enjoy this amazing city. There is so much to find and explore, and it’s all just a subway or Ofo ride away!

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