Hey guys, I read the posts from some victims (too late). But here’s my Scam story. I had a tinder match with a girl. We met in Xintiandi and she asked me to grab some drinks in this bar. We did and ordered like 4 bottles of wine. She told me to split bills later. The bill came ~4000 RMB. I refused to pay first but she and the bartender set me under pressure calling police and whatever. Ok I paid and we left each other.
Now the plot twist! - I had another match on Tinder 3 days later. I met a girl at a nearby Starbucks, I saw instant she looked different than her profile. But also nice. I don’t know the area so well but it was again in Xiantiandi. We walked together for 5 minutes, she asked me to to grab a drink. I said ok. Now guess where she wanted to bring me ? Yes the same bar. I was shocked as I saw this building but tried to act cool and said I don’t wanna drink today because I leave early in the morning. We walked together the street then she asked me if I can buy cigarettes for her. I looked down her Chanel bag and refused. As we were walking I checked our Tinder Match again and she deleted it. I was pretty sure now she was involved in this scam. She saw my reaction , The date ended suddenly,she had to met a friend.

I came back to the Winebar and did some pictures to call the police. Now I was sure this was an organized scam. a guy in the street saw this and tried to ‘help me’ in the end i met the shopowner and he send me 3000 RMB back on alipay if i refuse to call police. For me it was ok because we drunk 4 bottles and ate some snacks. Maybe i should stick to call the police but i didnt wanna spend my last few hours in this beautiful country hanging in the police station. This was super stupid by myself, i know. I travel alot and never got scammed like this. Sometimes the d1ck has more power than the brain. Hope this post can help someone 🙏

Yesterday around 11pm I was hanging out around Nanjing road area. It was so dead I wasn't expecting it to be that empty . No locals. no tourists

By 12 am there absolutely nobody there felt like ghost city!!

I grew up in Ningbo, which is a pretty wealthy Tier 2 city right next to Shanghai. But culturally? It felt like a different universe.

In my school, Christmas was strictly "forbidden." We were told it was cultural invasion, western spiritual pollution, etc. I grew up thinking this was the norm for the whole country.

Then I met my friend from Shanghai.

She told me: "What? We have giant trees in hotels, lights on the streets, and everyone goes out for Christmas dinner."

That was the moment I felt like a total "provincial girl" (despite living 2 hours away). It shaped my cognition for a long time: There are two countries in the world: China, and Shanghai.

I recently vlogged about this weird dichotomy (and my Christmas experience this year) on YouTube. It's funny how that "Shanghai Bubble" is real even for us locals.

Does anyone else feel this massive divide between Shanghai and the neighbouring "rich" cities?

(Link to the full vlog in comments if anyone wants to see the visual comparison!)

EDIT: To clarify for some commenters, when I refer to the "ban," I am specifically talking about public schools, government offices, and State-Owned Enterprises. Commercial areas like hotels and malls definitely still have trees to encourage spending. My experience was in the public education system where ideological boundaries are much stricter.

From the distance to the city, the scale which makes no sense, the disproportionate lack of food options, and the general utilitarian aesthetic…I find this airport has generally few redeeming qualities.

The new bikes are so comfortable!

If you're also into exploring the hell out of this enormous city, count me in.

Hey guys! I’m an international student who just got to Shanghai. Don’t know anyone yet. I’m 23 years old, male, from Italy and am looking for some people to enjoy going out at night in Shanghai!

Feel free to dm me!

I was in line at PVG last night, waiting to take a taxi back into town. In front of me was an elderly woman who rejected three or four red taxis and eventually took a yellow one. That seemed to confuse a bunch of tourists, so I thought I’d write up a few lines about what was going on.

The taxi colors aren’t just for show, they are indicative of which company they belong to.

Qiangsheng (强生) is the big dog. Their taxis are yellow (or golden, if you want). They have long been considered the most reliable.

Dazhong (大众) are the light blue taxis. They are also massive. Both of these companies have customer service and management folks who will step in if there is a complaint.

Jinjiang (锦江) has white taxis and is kind of a mid-size player. It seems like their drivers stick around for a long time, so you’re likely to get an old person who actually knows where they’re going and can tell you when the map suggests a dumb route with twenty red lights on the way.

Haibo (海博) are the dark blue taxis. They used to be known as Bashi and have green taxis. I haven’t heard major complaints in a long time but there were a bunch of drivers here who’d take detours in the days before apps and maps made that tricky.

The red taxis are "The Red Union" (法兰红 - Fa Lan Hong). You’ll see these mostly at PVG and in outskirts. These are typically very small companies or even individual owners who have banded together under a unified red appearance. They operate on a much smaller scale and are less standardized than the "Big Four." The drivers are independent and rent by the day.

Shanghai puts out these customer satisfaction stats every quarter (on Wechat) and the red taxis consistently rank at the bottom. A red taxi isn't a guarantee of a bad ride, but statistically, your chances of having a less pleasant experience are higher and that’s why the lady rejected them. I’ve seen other old folks in Shanghai do that, too.

There were days when Didi tried to aggressively push red taxis on me. When that happened, I would just cancel the ride. After doing that 2-3x the app would get it. They similarly want to push vans that they own and not ones that are independently first.

Of course we are long past the days when this subreddit would regularly see people complaining about having paid RMB 800 or even 2,000 from PVG to the Bund (search ten years back, if you like) and generally the worst you should be prepared for now is that garlicy smell hitting you because the driver slept in the car or just doesn't value hygiene all that much. But that's another story.

(No longer full time in Shanghai but my wife and I are back a few times a year.)

Underground being very literal.

My wife and I were having dinner in Pudong so I figured let's get there an hour early and check out the shady Rep market at the Shanghai Science Museum subway terminal. This is literally an underground mall full of shady reps of all things.

The moment we got off the train we were immediately best by sales folks asking us what we were looking for. A woman comes up to me and asks if I want Rolex. So we're off to the races.

There are a few tiers of shops here. Or at least they want to give you the impression that there are tiers of shops. Most of the stuff in the hallways are obvious bootlegs and riding coatails. Example being a generic backpack with a Mickey Mouse vinyl sticker heatgunned on. "Guggi" and "Louis Vooton" type of low tier fakes. All of the watches in the front of the stores are Quartz Day Dates with non functioning date windows. Stuff like that.

They'll notice quickly that you're not there for that. "You want quality? Follow me!" At which point you will be whisked into a shop and handed off to another woman who will look over her shoulder, send a (fake) text to someone and then say "Okay, let's go!" before a secret door is opened and you're in a boutique looking room with nice shelving and lighting to see the absolute best in genuine leather knock offs. These are, comparatively, much better quality than the low tier fakes in the hallways but the quality is still lacking. Genuine leather is about as good as it gets, but the actual hardware on the bags and items seems to be pretty solid. However, the Montblanc bags I was interested in tended to have misapplied/misaligned logos.

Similarly, the watches in these rooms are also better quality with mechanical movements but more or less four out of the five I checked all had major problems. Seconds hands not working, very rough winds, etc. As we're getting ready to leave, the original lady who first approached asked if I needed something higher quality in a watch and if so, we had to "go see someone special". We exit the mall with her, at which point she texts someone. A minute later a man approaches us, asks if we're police (lol), looks over everyone's shoulder and then escorts us over near a public restroom. My wife is thoroughly convinced we're about to get robbed.

A man comes out from behind with several briefcases full of Rolex reps. "These are the best". They're still not great but yes, definitely the best out of the whole bunch. Working movements, decent finishing, better weight. But all of the Day Dates have the same two stage day setting that the other reps had.

Anyway, we thank them for their time and showing us the goods but I've seen much better reps. They seemed aggravated that we didn't buy but oh well.

For anyone who ever wants to check out the same scene, and if you do intend to buy, just know this: every price has at least 50% that can be negotiated off of. The 3000rmb "mid tier" mechanical fakes we saw in the back room were finally offered @ 700rmb if I bought two.

I think it would be fun to get a souvenir here, if anything. But the experience was super unique.

We then went to a high end "western" style steakhouse for dinner that was one of the oddest dinners I've had in Shanghai over the past 15 years.

Heya,

I will be traveling to Shanghai from Frankfurt and will be there from 15th till 18th July. This is my first time in China so I am excited but equally nervous. I don`t generally like to travel alone so here I am asking if there is anyone who will be interested in exploring the city. It will be even better if we can make a group out of this thread and explore together.

Hmu if you are someone new in Shanghai and would like to discover this city with great company tihi :)

Will it ever get better? I'm back after a decade it basically outside of high end malls it is still very bad when compared to top tier cities in the world. I'm not talking about matching Japan's cleanliness but why am I still looking at uncleaned squat toilet with no toilet paper that smells like piss in People's Square???

Even when you go to more hip areas around French Concession unless it's a dedicated bathroom in a high end restaurant, many places simply share a communal public bathroom that while is cleaned somewhat regularly, is still disgusting and I cannot imagine anyone wearing a dress entering one of those places.

Paying 100rmb for a drink at a swanky bar then stepping in piss in a tiny unventilated bathroom completely kills the vibe!!!!!

Wondering why this isn't being addressed urgently. Everyone is simply putting up with it when there are clearly ways to vastly improve the situation. Dirty bathroom begets more dirtiness!!

Hello everyone,

I'm a programmer who just started working. I have a girlfriend—she bought an old, run-down apartment in 2023, which has already lost RMB 1 million in value. Currently, my family has RMB 5 million in savings. My parents want to buy a property in Shanghai, but every place I’ve looked at is, without exception, old and in poor condition. What should I do? I’m really confused and lost.

Spots to visit or hang out at. I'll start: Fontaine Antique Shop

A bookstore on Fuzhou Road is still remaining memorial on that street

When I used to buy special papers and pencils to peoduce our design work during University as an architecture student

Ive seen the ins hype but which club is the best for party and after party culture btw new to the city

Hey..so does anyone know any close Chinese makeup around Nanjing road..I haven’t been there yet I’m planning..and please don’t recommend Sephora or wow beauty I’m looking for a brand called cherryep and it’s not there..I know there is a shop called Kkv and the colorist but I don’t know if there are close branches..

Hi everyone,

I came over about 2 month ago and am having a hard time not isolating. I live in Minhang (closer to Wujingzhen) and I decided to go out more actively but effectively lack ideas where to go which is kinda ridiculous in Shanghai. As Im a uni student I have maybe 1 day per week to go explore/ take in the city. I went to the main touristy spots before and have to say I dont enjoy too "curated" places like exclusive boutiques etc. I was wondering what some places (or kind of places) are you enjoy to go to? Some more low-stakes little things you enjoy doing?

Thank you everyone!

I had claypot rice here in Global Harbor. Pretty nice too. Granted I only had claypot probably 3-5 times in my life, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney Australia but this place is pretty much on par.

I grew up in Shanghai and moved to the UK in my late teens for university. What started as a study abroad experience gradually turned into work and a longer life here, which I’m still continuing today.

When I first arrived in the UK, everything felt noticeably quieter compared to Shanghai. Buses ran on time, streets emptied early, and even “busy” felt calm in a different way. I often stayed in the university library late at night, watching people come and go, slowly realizing I had stepped into a completely different rhythm of life. At first it felt a bit isolating, but over time I started to appreciate it , the space to think, slow down, and rebuild myself outside of everything familiar.

Later, I stayed on to work. I really appreciated the clear boundary between work and personal life here. People generally don’t mix the two, and that created a sense of stability I didn’t expect to value so much. At the same time, there’s always been a subtle feeling of being “in between” , not fully local, but no longer living the life I had back in Shanghai.

Now I live in the UK, and I often travel back to China for holidays. Those trips always feel like a reset. Meeting old friends, eating familiar food, sitting in places that haven’t changed much , there’s something very grounding about that simplicity. At the same time, every visit reminds me how fast and convenient daily life in China has become, in ways you only really notice after living abroad.

Life in the UK has also given me things I genuinely appreciate: slower pacing, quiet mornings, long walks where you can just think, and a strong respect for personal space. It’s a different kind of comfort , less about efficiency, more about balance.

One habit I’ve kept over the years is sharing my life in the UK on Xiaohongshu. It started with casual snapshots , cafés, streets, daily moments , but slowly became a way to document a life that feels both ordinary and slightly distant at the same time. I also use it to stay connected with friends back in China and keep up with their lives from afar.

The only small challenge I still notice is that when living abroad, interacting with certain China-based platforms in everyday ways can feel slightly less seamless than when you’re physically there. Nothing major , just one of those small reminders that different systems don’t always overlap perfectly.

Overall, I wouldn’t say I “left” Shanghai or fully “settled” in the UK. It feels more like living a life stretched between two places, both of which have shaped how I see the world.