Beijing and Shanghai are two modern Metropolitan cities in China and each of them has its unique living customs and ways for Beijing is the political center of China while Shanghai...
Beijing and Shanghai are two modern Metropolitan cities in China and each of them has its unique living customs and ways for Beijing is the political center of China while Shanghai is the economic center.These two cities are often compared by people and now we want to show you some interesting differences that only when you have lived in both cities can you find besides the ordinary comparison.
Attention:We are not talking about which city is better and critizing Beijing or Shanghai.
-No-one in Shanghai is carrying a sun umbrella.
-Everyone is NOT carrying around a jar with tea in it in Shanghai.
-No-one stares at me because I am a foreigner in Shanghai (except for a few 外地人, migrant workers)
-I can see the sky! The sun is not ecplised by pollution! It rains!
-Shanghainese are less willing to speak in Chinese with me than Beijingers were, they are always speaking to me in English. I have encountered many more people speaking fluent English than I ever did in Beijing.
-Shanghainese do not ask me loads of questions about where I am from, am I married etc, except very occaisionally.
-Shanghai taxi drivers don't take you the wrong way around the ring-road, they generally just take you directly where you want to go!
-Shanghai taxi drivers don't talk constantly to you like Beijing taxi drivers used do, about politics etc.
-Supermarkets are all selling cheese and chocolate in Shanghai, albeit horrible cheese. When I lived in Beijing, those things were fairly rare outside of foreigner supermarkets.
-Shanghainese kind of dress the same as Europeans. Don't know what I mean by this really, not good and not bad, just different. I remember the style in Beijing being very distinct from European style, more "cute" with bows and frills, and extremely tight jeans for the girls. Here it's more plain, black black and black, simple but elegant. Guys in jeans, shirt and cat boots or something. Like Europe.
-Tea does not seem to be served in restaurants automatically for free in Shanghai.I have not seen it yet.
-Many less 家常菜 home-style cooking restaurants in Shanghai than Beijing.
-Many more foreign, eg Japanese, Thai or European restaurants in Shanghai than in Beijing.
-Some feeling of Shanghainese being slightly "cold"
-Last but NOT least, somehow feeling the influence of politics much less in Shanghai. Less political slogans in big characters...this one is hard to define.
