My one month anniversary and the Shanghai nightlife

Today marks my one month anniversary in China, and so far it has been a very eye-opening experience (and there have been some fun times too!). I was recently thinking back to my life two years ago, which was before I started my MBA at the Schulich School of Business (shameless plug). At that time I would never have thought I would be living outside of Toronto, much less outside of Canada. But here I am, living in China, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision to move abroad.

Well why is that you ask? Why was moving abroad a good decision? It’s really quite simple, it’s an amazing learning experience. One of the great things about moving to a country where North Americans are a minority is that you get to meet all sorts of different people from different places. Each one of these people has a different lifestyle, thought process, and outlook on life than a typical North American does. I’m constantly learning about the world through the eyes of fellow travelers/ex-patriots. For example, the world as seen through the eyes of a local Chinese person is very different than the world I see. One of my first conversations here was with a local who spoke English. The topic was weather, in that it gets very hot in Shanghai, and it rains during the hot season. In grade school I learned that the heat causes rain, but the local Chinese person had no idea about this. There is obviously some difference in the education system, although I suspect that this individual was from rural China, where schools are not as common.

One of the other great things about living in a foreign country is that you get to see a lot of different things, things which might not be common knowledge in other parts of the world. As an expat living in Shaghai, there are a ton of things to do at night. You can go out for dinner to a variety of restaurants, serving any type of food you could imagine. You can go out for drinks, go out for many drinks, and party until 5PM the next day. When one club closes down for the evening, another one is just opening. The night life here is open seven days a week. You can find your way into a club where 100 RMB will buy you unlimited drinks for the night, or you might stumble onto a bar (much like I did this week) where the drinks are free to help promote the club.

In terms of restaurants, all of the expat targeted restaurants are easily found by going to a few websites. Chinese style restaurants are easy to find as well, as they are everywhere. There are many types of Chinese cuisine coming from the different areas in China. Just this week I went for Hunan food, which is very spicy Chinese food; it was probably one of the best tasting foods I have ever had! I’ve also experienced XinJiang food, a Muslim style food from the northwest – very tasty.

A whole world of fun and entertainment awaits you in Shanghai. But what if you are a native Chinese – will you have the same lifestyle? Shanghai is home to over 17 million people, but only a reported 5 million of these people are middle class or above (I think the number is actually much lower). Middle class and above can be defined (in China) as earning $3000 USD/year or more. So what about the people who are earning less than $8 USD (64 RMB)/day? They obviously can’t afford to go to a 100 RMB club. I suspect that most of these people are living on 20 RMB/day, and their nighttime activities represent this. If you walk through the streets of Shanghai, and stay away from the westernized areas, you’ll find yourself walking through streets lined with local Chinese people, who can barely afford to have clean clothes. These people spend their evenings much different than the situations I described above. Usually these people will have dinner outside (because it is too hot inside, and they can not afford air conditioning). The meal will probably cost 3 to 6 RMB, usually some sort of noodle dish. Afterwards, it is not uncommon to go and talk to other locals, or play some sort of game. Card games seem to occur very frequently, and a game of four people will usually draw between ten to twenty spectators. I also saw something unique a week ago; it was a very rudimentary version of pool, played on a two foot by two foot table, with checker-style pieces instead of balls. I’m not too sure how long this game has been in China, but I would not be surprised to find out that it has been here longer than pool has been in the West.

A lot of people will also sleep on the street, not because they are homeless, but because it is too hot inside. The daytime temperature here is easily over 40 degrees Celsius, and without air conditioning, houses and apartments can get much hotter.

I’m sure I’ll have more observations and thoughts as my time here goes on, but for now here are some things I miss about home.

• A home cooked meal – It is easier (sometimes cheaper) to eat out in Shanghai than it is to cook.
• Bounce and a dryer – Dryer’s are very uncommon in China, and my clothes are in desperate need of a fabric softner!!!!
• Not getting overcharged because I am a foreigner – I’ve run into a few instances where I am charged higher prices because I am a foreigner.
• A Tim Hortons coffee – I have never wanted a medium double double so bad in my life.