- China Trip Planner
Shanghai Culture
- Connections
- Hot & Noisy
- Losing Face
- Politeness
- Annoyances
- Beggars
- Crime
- Noise
- Personal Space
- Spitting
- Fashion
- Language
Despite its modern image, many traditional Chinese practices and beliefs still persist in Shanghai, never far from the surface. It is important to be aware of them, particularly if you're a business traveller.
Connections 
Those who have 'connections' (guanxi) - normally with party cadres - rule the roost in China. Businesspeople donate endless hours to cultivating and massaging their guanxi, normally through business dinners and banquets. Proposals that were 'impossible' a few hours earlier can suddenly become highly possible when discussed over a plate of Beijing duck and a bottle of Johnny Walker.
Hot & Noisy
Whether it be an evening meal out or a day at the park, hot and noisy (renao) is how the Chinese like it. Enormous banquets featuring eardrum-blowing drinking games and top-volume karaoke sessions are about as hot and noisy as you can get. Linked to this is a cultural preference for the group over the individual, a preference that may be part communism, part Confucianism.
Losing Face
Face can be loosely described as ‘status, ego or ‘self-respect’, and is by no means alien to foreigners. Losing face (diulian) is about making someone look stupid or being forced to back down in front of others and you should take care to avoid it. In the West it's important; in China, it's critical. Circumvent a problem with smiling persistence rather than tackle it straight on and always give your adversary a way out. Avoid direct criticisms of people. Venting your rage in public and trying to make someone lose face will cause the Chinese to dig in their heels and only worsen your situation. Business travellers should take note here - a lot of Westerners really blow it on this point.
Politeness
Linked to face are displays of respect and politeness (keqi). Always offer gifts, cigarettes and food several times, and expect them to be refused several times before finally being accepted. It's good to refer to eiders with the appellation lao, which means 'old' for example, lao Wang means Old Mr. Wang. (Remember that Chinese put their surnames first, thus Wang Zeng-hao is Mr. Wang). You may find the old chestnut 'my English is no good' - 'no, it is very good' - 'no, my English is no good' repeated ad nauseam. One good way of conveying respect is to hand things (such as business cards) with both hands. Another way of showing respect to a prospective partner is to show them to the door or your office and even the entry of your building when they leave.
Annoyances
In many ways Shanghai s unlike the rest of China and it's certainly an easier place to visit as a tourist. Public transport is largely non-smoking and levels of service are far higher than in other parts of China. Many people speak English and are used to foreigners. However Chinese who have had little contact with foreigners become embarrassed by the language barrier and in defence they will giggle and shake their heads. Your oven emotions in these situations may run the gamut from humiliation to frustration to outright anger. The only way for you to save face is to laugh along with them.
Beggars
Yes, beggars do exist in Shanghai’s ‘socialism’ with Chinese characteristics’ and they are becoming increasingly prevalent. Some beggars squat on the pavement beside posters that detail their sad story. Almost all perk up when they see a foreigner heading their way.
Crime
Crime and other hazards to life and property are not a big feature of Shanghai living.
Noise
The Chinese are generally much more tolerant of noise than most foreigners. People watch TV at ear-shattering volumes to drown out the karaoke from a nearby restaurant, drivers habitually lean on the horn, telephone conversations are conducted in high-decibel rapid-fire screams and most of Shanghai seems to wake uncomplainingly to the sound of jackhammers and earth-moving vehicles. If its peace and quiet you want, bring a good set of earplugs.
Personal Space
Years of communism, communalism and Confucianism (plus living in the same house as your grandmother...) have resulted in the fact that personal space is generally not as highly valued a commodity in China as it is in other countries. No-one is ever going to get a lot of personal space in a country of 1.2 billion people but the reasons for this are as much cultural as they are physical.
Chinese rarely have that unspoken and sacrosanct 30cm halo of private space around them that foreigners expect. For example, don't expect someone to walk out of your path if you are headed on a collision course. And don't be surprised if when you are standing 30cm from a museum exhibit or notice board someone squeezes into the space between you and the plate glass, blocking out your view.
Spitting
China's national sport, spitting, is not as widespread in Shanghai as the rest of China. Government campaigns to stamp out the practice have been reasonably successful (particularly during the 2003 SARS epidemic) but there will still be times, especially in the early morning, when you hear an ear-shattering, lung-scraping 'HOIK!'.
Most Chinese spit for health reasons, though this theory suffered a blow during the recent SARS epidemic when locals were ordered to go light on the mucous. Some Taiwanese like to joke that the mainlanders spit because they've had a bad taste in their mouths ever since the communists took power.
There's a theoretical fine of RMB200 (raised from RMB during the SARS epidemic of 2003) for spitting in a public place; if the government ever collected on this it could boost city revenues by millions of dollars a year.
Fashion
The Shanghainese have the reputation of being the most fashionable people in China. 'There's nothing the Cantonese won't eat', so one version of a popular saying goes, ‘and nothing the Shanghainese won't wear’. Shanghai still exudes a faded glamour that Beijing can't touch.
The city government has declared its goal to make Shanghai an Asian fashion centre to rank alongside Tokyo, London, New York and Paris but in reality the city still has a long way to go just to catch up with its own 1930s fashion scene, when images of Chinese women clad in figurehugging qipaos (cheongsams) gave rise to its epithet as the 'Paris of the East'. The city-sponsored International Fashion Festival week in March/April showcases local collections and international designers such as Givenchy and Vivienne Westwood.
On the street, Chinese-language lifestyle magazines like Shanghai Tattler, Elle, Harper's Bazaar and Marie Claire crowd every corner newsstand; the latest brand of mobile phone has taken on an almost religious importance and Christian Dior, Gucci and Louis Vuitton shops glut Shanghai's top-end malls. The attending pressure to look good has apparently led to an increase in local demand for plastic surgery, once unheard of in China. By far the most popular procedure is double-eyelid surgery, which creates a fold in the eyelid to make Asian eyes appear bigger and more 'Western'.
Language
Shanghai dialect is largely unintelligible to Mandarin speakers, but don’t fear - almost all Shanghainese also speak Mandarin. Shanghainese say hong ho instead of ni hao, say good-bye with ze wei instead of zai jian, and say thank you with sha ya hong instead of xiexie.
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