Shanghai China Snippets Observations about living in Shanghai and China in general

Paypal is coming to China and as always it is going to be the Chinese way. Because China is different. On the Chinese paypal pages you have two sweet maps to illustrate the difference.

Screendump of the translated page (thanks to Paymentnews.com )

You have paying in China in Renminbi and of course you can also participate in the “rest of the world” version. God forbid there would be some money going out of China in a structered way.

As an aside, both mentioned sites are unavailable in Shanghai thanks to the Chinese wall. Apparently news about money and the option of translating a page is too much.

It’s hot and I just had a trial class Mandarin. Although having
studied it before it was time to get a real teacher involved again.
Together with a friend we spent one hour, in which our levels were
decided. Somewhere in between beginner and intermediate it is. But this
wouldn’t be a rant without ranting.

To start ranting about my teacher or the manager accompanying her would be judging too fast. No, I want to rant about the fools who build new buildings here in Shanghai and decide that the airconditioning has to be turned off centrally at 6 ‘o clock in the evening. 6 ‘o clock sharp the machines stop and while Shanghai is known for the fact that Summers are hot the
builders, architects never thought of the option to let each company itself decide when to turn it off. No let’s do it central, that is less hassle and who works anyway after 18:00 hrs.

There has been a lot of talk recently about the property bubble in the Shanghai real estate market. Prices have soared to more than 20000 Kuai/Square Meter and they just seem to like the sky.

The local government is trying to cool things a bit but it has to be seen if this will have any effect. A few weeks ago we thought it could be fun to take a look at some apartments that are available. We went to the area we like (no, won’t tell you which one:) and talked to some real estate agents.

In Shanghai it is really never a problem to find a real estate agency anyway. There are more real estate agents than taxi’s. Last weekend we saw our first apartment and although location wise almost perfect, for us anyway, it is surprising how the original architect has been able to f*** up an absolute great chance of creating a real livable place. Despite the great location, it was just a dark hole. For 20.000 a square meter of course. Well, this was only the first so let’s wait and see what more we will see. If the market goes down as promised I will be even better.

To get a bit more insight you can read this thread.

I know, I know. I have an excuse though. My laptop starts cooking after 20 minutes as the fan is refusing it’s duty. Can’t use it for a long time.

As it’s May Holidays here in Dell’s China customer service is out of service for the whole holiday, which is a whole week. Probably this is the only place in the world where they can pull this kind of stunt off.

I have gotten a bit bored with the colors and the lay out itself.
Expect some testing in the coming days. The content won’t be changed.

Last night we went for a nice stroll and ended up in Xintiandi. For those who don’t know what Xintiandi is here is the answer,

“what is now Xintiandi was in the early 1900s the heart of the French Concession. When French expatriates from other provinces of China and from Vietnam came to Shanghai in search of its hedonistic lifestyle, they found accommodation in Xintiandi’s unique Shikumen (“stone gate”) houses. Now, seventy years down the track, the Xintiandi precinct has been fully restored to its former glory – with the addition of upmarket cafés, shops and restaurants that make a visit a total multi-sensory experience.”(source: Globaltravelwriters)

So you know now:) Like I said, we went there and it is was one of those place you start to feel like a tourist again. It’s packed with people, from expats, local Chinese and tour groups that wander in between guided by the unavoidable small red flag. We sat down at a bar whose name I have forgotten. Their prices I will remember as it was the first time I paid 85 Kuai anywhere in the world for a Guiness. For some diversion it’s not a bad place though.

Had a nice trip to the Shangyang market again, the part where they sell real stuff like real meat and vegetables. Before that we had wandered in Maominglu finding summer clothes. My white face seems to be a price increase indicator. One saleswoman told me that 400 Kuai is only 40 euri, well, I went out and W. stayed to negotiate. The lemon sales woman was more up front. She told W. that if I would have been there on my own she would have asked for 7 Renminbi/500 Gram. W. made a difference of 3 kuai.

* Lemons (local) – 4 Rmb – 500 gr – Shang Yang Market
* Walnuts (fresh) – 21 Rmb – 500 gr – Shang Yang Market
* Oranges (local) – 1 Rmb – 500 gr – Near home
* Mango (big ones) – 3.8 – 500 gr – Near home