Shanghai Isn't "Real China"

Living in Shanghai for three months and some change has been as amazing an experience as I could have asked for. One thing you often hear about this city though is that it’s not “real China.” While this is usually said with a somewhat negative connotation, the accuracy of that observation is actually one of the reasons I love Shanghai so much. I certainly wanted to hang out with the natives as much as I could while here, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet some awesome new Chinese friends (by the way, 992 out of every 1000 Shanghai residents are Chinese citizens). But I love that Shanghai is also an international city; when you go to the expat church, or to the bars and clubs, you never know where in the world the next foreigner you meet will be from.

 In addition to this, the native Chinese population here is actually quite diverse. As far as race goes, umm, of course not at all; but as far as city of origin Chinese college kids and young professionals come from all over the country to this promised land of opportunity. As a foreigner, this created a unique opportunity for me to taste a sampling of the variety of cultures throughout this giant civilization. I’ve had the opportunity to meet students hailing from the area where Green Tea supposedly originated, as well as some who came from Sichuan, whose food is the envy of all other provinces. At Starbucks, I met a pair of brothers who grew up near where Confucius lived, and at a cool bar we met a couple skater girls from Guangdong, an especially prosperous city close to HK.

 There are still plenty of native Shanghainese around too, and they are quite fun as well—one dinner in particular with Colby, myself, and the two sets of parents of the kids Colby and I separately tutor will be impossible to forget. But the spectrum of cultures that collide in this fantastic city make life here a uniquely exciting and dynamic experience.