I’ve been living in Shanghai for nearly 10 years now and for all this city has to offer, there are still a few important things it lacks that I miss back in the States.

Food

Specifically the Cultural Variety of Food. I constantly, and repeatedly, find it really strange that in a city of 25 million people, and growing, there is very little variety of food. It’s almost all Chinese. I know, you think that’s a stupid thing for me to say. After all, I’m living in China. But even in the mid-west of the US, you can find many Italian, Mexican, Greek, Indian, German, Thai, Latin, etc. Restaurants, and of course, Chinese (Americanized Chinese). But in Shanghai, with a population of near 10x that of my hometown, these cultural artifacts are few and far between to non-existent. And no, Pizza Hut, Dominoes and Papa-Johns, do not count as ‘Italian’. Standard American fare is hard to find as well: a great Steak (not old water buffalo), real BBQ (not Korean indoor grill BBQ), a GOOD Burger (not fast food), and you can forget about a decent Hot Dog.

Then there’s the dearth of desserts. Ice Cream, real Ice Cream? Haagen Dazs at their ridiculous prices, and Dairy-Queen (which doesn’t really qualify), are you only two significant choices. They are practically everywhere. But Frozen Custard types, or Cold-Stone hard scoop types? They may be one or 2 throughout the entire city – if you can find them. Doughnuts, or even Donuts, are a rarity as well, with only one surviving Dukin that I’ve found so far. Pie? I finally found 1 passable Pie place that didn’t have only Red Bean, Pork, or Green Tea filled pies. Yuck.

Still looking for a real Cookie place…

And don’t get me started on ‘Breakfast’…

China is not a melting pot of culture, like the US. They have their ways and their foods, and I can respect that. But there is just so much more out there than the base of rice, noodle and pork (seafood if you live by the ocean), and duck either Fried in a Wok or Boiled in a Pot.

So, yeah, diversity of food. That’s my #1

Clean Air & Water

Shanghai has come a long way since I first landed here. I remember the air so thick with pollution you could not see across the streets at times, and plants weren’t green, they were ‘grey’. Days like that are fewer and father between now, but still exist. However, the only time the outside air quality in Shanghai is Good (as defined by the US Air Quality Index of less than 50) is when its either raining or a stiff ocean breeze. China AQI has <100 defined as ‘Good’. I have no idea no bad it is for the rest of the country, although I do see Beijing often getting clobbered by Gobi desert dust storms. Blue skies are rare, unlike the mid-west. And we never needed air purifiers in our home to keep the quality down near US ‘Good’ like we do now.

Potable tap water. Safe drinking water from the faucet. This is something you just don’t do here (although I have seen construction workers drink from the hose). The government doesn’t recommend it. And its not because its not properly purified at the treatment plant. It’s just not guaranteed to be drinkable by the time it comes out of your faucet. Too many old pipes, storage tanks – unregulated and untested. So we buy, as does everyone else, drinking water in 5-20 Liter jugs. Even then, there have been reports of ‘fake’ water: fake Corporate labeled jugs just filled with plain tap water instead of properly filtered, tested, and purified water. And I know there are cities in the US with this same problem, some even more so, but there are legal avenues to pursue to correct this. Not so here. At least none that I know of.

Which brings me to the final thing I miss…

TRUST

There are many layers to this. I’ll start with price.

Foreigners are charged more than natives. That’s a statement I can make across the board in almost any transaction and especially true in services. If you go into a store and the prices are not labeled on the product, you (as a foreigner) are going to get screwed. Even if they are labeled, they often sell it for less to locals as this prices are just to make you feel good about your discount. A discount you will be hard-pressed to get as a foreigner. This is a real issue with services. We’ve been ripped off on A/C repair, Washer repair, etc. When I first arrived here, I was ripped off by a cabbie. My wife is the face we use when dealing with services. I stay away out of sight.

Interestingly, there is also this discrepancy with the Covid vaccinations. For citizens, it is free. Not only that, but you get a bottle of water and something to eat while you wait the requisite 30 minutes after the shot to ensure you don’t have a bad reaction. Afterwards, you go to your local Community Center and pick up a bag of rice, cooking oil, milk, or eggs – all free. Foreigners, who cannot leave because they won’t be allowed back in (since no non-citizen is currently allowed into China) are required to pay 100¥ per shot and then given a boot out the door after 30 minutes. That’s it.

Then there is the question of: Is this ‘Thing’ really made by ‘That Company’ or is it a fake? Cosmetics, electronics, medicine, clothing, even food can be called into question as to its authenticity. You think Amazon and eBay are bad? Try Taobao.com – the online mall of ‘fake’. Even the local stores, which we know sell fake, tell us not to buy on Taobao because “Everything there is fake”. So we filter the Taobao sellers by: who sells the most, who has the highest ranking, who has been in business longest, who has it actually ‘in-stock’, and who has it an a realistic price (not super-cheap and not crazy high). Doing this, we come out OK 90% of the time. The other 10%, the only recourse it to leave a scathing review and throw it out. Unless its very expensive (hint: don’t buy expensive shit on Taobao, it will be shit), its too expensive and too much hassle to return. The upside is we’re not being price gouged because I’m a 外国人 (Wàiguó rén). So why do we buy almost everything on-line? Because brick and mortar stores selling the same thing (if you can find them) have ridiculous mark-ups because rent is so insane. And I say ‘if you can find them’, because just about the only stores left are women’s clothing and restaurants. Everyone else buys online as well. Pretty much standard in the States as well, I know.

So, yes, I know a lot of these issues still exist in the US, but its the exception, not the norm. Here it still feels like the Wild Wild…..East.