I left Shanghai a month ago after a 2 year stint there. To be precise, the first 4 months was spent in Beijing instead of Shanghai. Didn't like it much in Beijing, so I left it after my initiation into the Middle Kingdom (aka China). Some of my friends (esp. the westerners) love Beijing more than Shanghai for its culture & "chineseness" (if such a word exists). For me, I'm more suited to the lifestyle in Shanghai. After having set foot on all the provinces of China (by 2008), I personally think Hong Kong may be where my future home will be. Nonetheless, I like Shanghai very much but think it has a lot of rooms for improvement to catch up with the world. What my stay there had thought me was life is good but can be better. As anyone who has lived in China for a short period of time (anything > a year) knows, life is carefree & exciting if one doesn't have to deal with the bureaucrats. Most of the time, we do even if you are just staying at a friend's home! There is the 24-hour window period of reporting at the police station. Make sure you do it! Else... (Unless u are staying at a hotel, in which case, the hotel will do it on your behalf.) Once this is done, you don't have to deal with the authorities as long as your visa is valid. So, that's the good news!
Here are the rules of the game (for anyone foreign who's interested in living in China):
1) If you are not posted there for your job, the best way to enter China is firstly as a tourist, for about a 2 week span (max) to sample what life is like here or what China (& Chinese) is all about. Remember it is still a sample and your unique experiences will determine if you'll come back here for future visit. I do not recommend going there for more than 2 weeks unless you are Asian & has a clear idea what Chinese societies are like. There are many factors that are unique to Chinese alone (for example, culture, food, way of living, way of doing business, even way of greeting! & time of the day when one has his/her meals!). As a tourist, I had not known most in China eat Lunch around 11.30 am! That's very early where I come from (and for that matter, it's also another Asian country).
2) When you decide you'd like to live in China and experience Chinese lifestyle, if you must go and have no idea what to do in China, the best way is to enrol yourself in the university (be it Peking University (北大） (PKU) in Beijing, Fudan University （复旦） in Shanghai or Xiamen University （厦门大学） in Xiamen) to take a class in learning Mandarin. If you want to live in this country, you do need to learn Mandarin (also known as Putonghua). Otherwise, it is very difficult (though not impossible) to go around and enjoy your stay to the fullest. I did that precisely and was taking classes in both PKU & Fudan. For learning environment, PKU is superior although its facilities are not as good as those of Fudan & Xiamen U (that translates to unbearable temperature in the winter). PKU is however the most famous & prestigious university in China (ok, perhaps those from Tsinghua University （清华大学） & Shanghai Jiaotong University （交通大学） will argue otherwise).
3) Make sure you love Chinese cuisine or if not, at least love to cook yourself. In Beijing and Shanghai (& many of the coastal cities in Eastern China), you probably won't have much trouble getting other types of food. Vegetarians won't have to worry if you don't mind cooking yourself. Vegetables are plenty and cheap to buy from supermarkets. Check Shanghaiist.com for a search of the best restaurants around Shanghai or what's happening in Shanghai. Alternatively, you can also find some info about many Chinese cities on my site.
4) When first arriving in China, if you happen to meet a good taxi driver who also happens to understand you in English, make sure you take down his mobile (cellphone) number. This will prove to be very helpful for you in future, be it if you are caught in the rain (or snowstorm) or are planning on going to the airport or planning on day excursions to surrounding areas. Good drivers who understand & speak English are hard to come by in China. I don't have much trouble with transportation or moving around as I understand Mandarin (can speak & read fluently) even before I arrived here. That's because I've had at least 10 years of exposure to the language before I ventured here!
Here are the rules of the game (for anyone foreign who's interested in living in China):
1) If you are not posted there for your job, the best way to enter China is firstly as a tourist, for about a 2 week span (max) to sample what life is like here or what China (& Chinese) is all about. Remember it is still a sample and your unique experiences will determine if you'll come back here for future visit. I do not recommend going there for more than 2 weeks unless you are Asian & has a clear idea what Chinese societies are like. There are many factors that are unique to Chinese alone (for example, culture, food, way of living, way of doing business, even way of greeting! & time of the day when one has his/her meals!). As a tourist, I had not known most in China eat Lunch around 11.30 am! That's very early where I come from (and for that matter, it's also another Asian country).
2) When you decide you'd like to live in China and experience Chinese lifestyle, if you must go and have no idea what to do in China, the best way is to enrol yourself in the university (be it Peking University (北大） (PKU) in Beijing, Fudan University （复旦） in Shanghai or Xiamen University （厦门大学） in Xiamen) to take a class in learning Mandarin. If you want to live in this country, you do need to learn Mandarin (also known as Putonghua). Otherwise, it is very difficult (though not impossible) to go around and enjoy your stay to the fullest. I did that precisely and was taking classes in both PKU & Fudan. For learning environment, PKU is superior although its facilities are not as good as those of Fudan & Xiamen U (that translates to unbearable temperature in the winter). PKU is however the most famous & prestigious university in China (ok, perhaps those from Tsinghua University （清华大学） & Shanghai Jiaotong University （交通大学） will argue otherwise).
3) Make sure you love Chinese cuisine or if not, at least love to cook yourself. In Beijing and Shanghai (& many of the coastal cities in Eastern China), you probably won't have much trouble getting other types of food. Vegetarians won't have to worry if you don't mind cooking yourself. Vegetables are plenty and cheap to buy from supermarkets. Check Shanghaiist.com for a search of the best restaurants around Shanghai or what's happening in Shanghai. Alternatively, you can also find some info about many Chinese cities on my site.
4) When first arriving in China, if you happen to meet a good taxi driver who also happens to understand you in English, make sure you take down his mobile (cellphone) number. This will prove to be very helpful for you in future, be it if you are caught in the rain (or snowstorm) or are planning on going to the airport or planning on day excursions to surrounding areas. Good drivers who understand & speak English are hard to come by in China. I don't have much trouble with transportation or moving around as I understand Mandarin (can speak & read fluently) even before I arrived here. That's because I've had at least 10 years of exposure to the language before I ventured here!
5) Make friends with the locals, be it at the hotel, where you put up, or where you have your meals. They will prove to be your best source of orientation into this complex & fascinating society. I made some of my best friends here in the short 2 years I was here and because of them, I enjoyed my stay here very much! (Thank you, James! Thank you, Wuben!)
The above are some of the issues concerning living in China. I had been relative lucky and encountered many Chinese natives who had made my stay there pleasant. In my 2 years there, I've successfully ventured to even the most remote part of China (Kashi in Xinjiang Province, for example). That, I think, constitutes the most amazing part of my stay here in China!
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