Beijing vs. Shanghai

I may not be the most qualified person to write about this topic but I'll give it a shot. I have been living in Shanghai for almost a year whereas I've only stayed a mere 48 hours in Beijing. Whenever I go to a new city, I always evaluate how "livable" the place is.

Instead of focusing on the tourist spots, I focus my attention on the transport system, convenience, infrastructures, cleanliness, "foreigner-friendliness", and overall safety. (In fact, with these factors considered I have Zurich, Tokyo, and Toronto topping the list out of the cities I've been to.)
Here's how Shanghai and Beijing fare out against each other:

• Transport System - Because of last year's Olympics, Beijing has renovated their subway system by adding new lines from the downtown to tourists spots of the city. You pay a standard fare of 2RMB compared to Shanghai's fare which ranges from 3-5RMB, however this price difference probably is the reason why all of the transfer points are 2 km away and platforms are at the center of the world. (RESULT: Shanghai)

• Convenience - By convenience, I mean availability of stores and restaurants in a given neighborhood. We are lucky to stay in a hotel near Tiananmen Square and hence we were fortunate to find a restaurant at 9:30pm. In Pudong, Shanghai it would be quite difficult to find an open place at that time. (RESULT: Not enough info)

• Infrastructures - Ok, a bit of tourist guide here. The Bird's Nest is quite bedazzling but Shanghai also prides itself of SWFC and the Pudong Tower, and let's not forget the EXPO is still coming next year. (RESULT: Shanghai)
  
  

• Cleanliness - This is one of the aspects that Beijing gets hands-down. (RESULT: Beijing)

• Foreigner-Friendliness - The only foreigners in Beijing are either tourists or language students. Hence, 2 words (RESULT: Shanghai)
  

• Safety - In downtown Beijing, there are uniformed guards roaming all over the place. (Unfortunately, when I approached one of them for directions, he said that he's also new in town) Anyway, after my electronic dictionary was stolen from me while commuting in Shanghai, I guess I have no choice but to hand it to Beijing. (RESULT: Beijing)

Final Score:
Beijing - 2 Shanghai - 3

So, I guess it's SHANGHAI after all.

Travel to Beijing via Z-trains

Two weeks ago, Mos and I together with my friends went to sightsee Beijing. Because we have read good reviews on the net, we tried the non-stop soft-sleeper Z-train.

It was a well-spent 498 RMB . The rooms are quite comfortable and warm and we get 2 pillows each. On our way to Beijing since we are the only occupants of the room, then we get ultimate privacy.

Carrefour - Grocery in Shanghai

One of the best things about living in Shanghai is that dining out is relatively cheap. For less than $50, you can have a sumptous meal with your family of 4 in a decent restaurant. There are plenty of choices and you might want to try authentic Chinese food.

But after some time of doing this, you probably would want to cook your own dishes. Here is the bad news -- go to your nearby local Chinese supermarket and be amazed that there are no edible fresh. meat available. Well, unless you dig chicken's head and feet, or would be contented with frozen dumplings, then you know that this is definitely what you are looking for.

If you are lucky then someone may have told you where to find Carrefour. But if not, then you have to learn two things.

First, you have to know how to say it in Chinese, and make sure that you say it correctly. The characters are 家乐福 which is (Jia Le Fu) in Pinyin. I advise that you use stress the first tones on the "le" and "fu".

Next thing is to find the nearest one in your neighborhood. I know two branches in Pudong, one in 高科中路

(GaokeZhong Lu), which is 25 minutes by cab from Zhangjiang High Tech Station and the other one in 大拇指广场

(Da Muzhi Guangchang), which is a 10 minutes walk from Century Park Station.

I also know one branch in Northern Puxi which is 5 minutes by cab from 赤峰路 (Chifeng Lu Station Line 3).

Another option for shopping is Hisamitsu in the mall near Jing'an Temple. The quality of food here is very good but expect to pay 3 times the amount as in Japan.

What's this contraption?

Last November, we successfully managed to move to a new apartment. Because of the Olympics and the upcoming EXPO 2010, rents in Shanghai have doubled and hence, we have no choice but to give our 2-floor 3LDK to a smaller 2-floor 2LDK which is just big enough for a 2 people.

Anyway, thanks to my so-so Chinese language skills we ended up with a half-furnished apartment. I managed only to request the following items --queen-sized bed for each room, aircon with heater function, TV and DVD, washing machine, and oven. Well, the 3000 RMB per month rent seems reasonable considering that this is located in an upperclass neighborhood.

When we finally got our keys, we were suprised that we don't have any wooden flooring on the first floor, no curtains, no tables, no sofa, and worse -- NO REFRIGERATOR -- something which has completely slipped my mind.

When we were moving in, we saw this contraption lying on the floor. We wonder what it could be.

M bet that it's a vacuum cleaner. I thought it's a heater for the first floor. Somehow we both agreed that it is just an egg decoration.

Anyway, we agreed to spring up another 200RMB per month for the flooring, window curtains, shower curtains, internet connection, and a portable heater for the first floor. But they won't agree to give us a real refrigerator. Because they have already given us one.. Lo and behold!!

It's a mini-fridge. It may be small but don't underestimate it. Today it is half-empy, and see how it can fit in a bottle of milk, a carton of juice, meat, cheese, and other goodies. As for our water, we have somehow adapted to the Chinese culture -- no cold water -- for LIFE! (Well according to research drinking cold water after meals can increase the risk of heart diseases.)