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August 28, 2013

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Home » Supplement » Education

Gubei a bustling international hub

By Heather Lockett | August 28, 2013, Wednesday | Print Edition

“It’s so alive, you can feel it!” That’s what my visiting friend from Australia said as she looked out from our balcony over the Gubei skyline.

Since I have lived comfortably in Gubei for more than five years, it’s so friendly and familiar that I sometimes take it for granted. And it takes a comment, like my friend’s to remind me how truly special Gubei is.

Gubei is one of the first residential areas where expats settled in Shanghai and it’s home to people from all over the world. It’s a thriving pocket of internationalism in an international city.

The streets of Gubei are alive — full of diverse restaurants serving specialties from all over the world, as well as all over China, and, of course, Shanghai. There’s a seemingly endless variety of cuisines with amazing flavors to tickle the taste buds. From street vendors, to local eateries, to the famous Lao Wai Jie (expat street), to Gubei Golden Street, you can eat authentic food from all points of the compass every day — and we do.

The pubs intermingled with the restaurants also offer a wide choice of food and drink, as well as family events, facilities and special prices to please the whole family.

For those who want to cook and dine at home, there are supermarkets and grocery stories with excellent produce, meat, poultry, fish and all kinds of dry and imported foods.

For those who want to try their hand on Chinese cooking, classes are offered through the Shanghai Community Center (http://communitycenter.cn) and other websites.

As restaurants open for the evening, there’s music in the air and lights begin to glitter. The streets are never quiet. This is a hive of activities that continues day and night.

Frequent outdoor concerts, performances and market stalls make Golden Street and other areas popular, with something for everyone.

Indoor and outdoor wellness and sports facilities are widely used. There are sports clubs, swimming pools, gyms and wellness clubs and a variety of recreational opportunities every day and night. Weekends are busy.

Access to various recreational facilities (and everything else) is easy in Gubei. There are many walking paths, bike lanes, convenient bus routes, highways and of course, the Metro. Line 10 is relatively new and provides access to many of Shanghai’s main attractions, making it many people’s preferred way to travel.

For shoppers, Gubei has it all. From high end shopping malls, such as the sparkling new Takashimaya on Hongbaoshi Road, to local markets, there are plenty of places to shop to your heart’s content.

Hongqiao Pearl City, which is popular with tourists and expats, provides an opportunity for bargaining and deals you can be proud of. Gubei is also home to fantastic flower and craft markets, as well as many boutique and jewelry stores for those one-off items.

And right there amongst it all is YCIS — Yew Chung International School of Shanghai. That’s where both my husband and I work, and we love it. The school community contains more than 50 nationalities and the internationalism we experience by living in Gubei is extended for us at work.

We’ve been at the school for just over five years, and so we appreciate the school’s bilingual environment and the YCIS philosophy of the inner transformation of the child. The campuses are very conveniently located, making our life comfortable and convenient.

Another very reassuring aspect of living in Gubei is access to top-notch medical facilities. There are several hospitals and clinics with a range of specialist services and excellent doctors from around the globe, which provides peace of mind for our family.

Come visit Gubei and feel the excitement and the life in the community here — I’m certain there is plenty to keep you busy!

 

Heather Lockett is early childhood education and primary teacher and librarian at Yew Chung International School of Shanghai’s Hongqiao campus.

 

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