Watch out overthere, I heard anything with "fur" in it's name or title is dinnerable.

Apart from crappy sterotypes, enjoy yourself!

(And don't get eaten)

haha indeed. I might pretend to be allergic to everything just to be safe. I heard they eat organs, just for lulz, so you have to ask specifically for real meat. But I don't speak Chinese D: Maybe I'll find the written Chinese for "I'm allergic to all seafood and chicken and beef, please serve me vegetables or I'll die." lol

"I'm allergic to small Asian people"

lol On that ntoe, my mom wanted me to find shoes, but I'm a size 8 in converse and 10 in ladies. It's never going to happen lol

HOBIT

Don't say anything or post anything online that mocks the ruling party. Unless you want multiple plain clothes secret police homing in on you in public when you least expect it that is.

If they deemed me worthy of finding and catching me in public after translating things from an obscure website online, they deserve to catch me lol

The Great Wall of China exists in more ways then one. Though more often then not they'd just have you deported.

Little tip if you feel the need to try the language: the Shanghai dialect is very different from the standard Mandarin, so be sure you're looking at that specific dialect.

I don't trust people and translators to not write something rude, so I might end up carrying a sketchbook and drawing what I'm looking for. I've never been very good with languages. :<

Shanghai is an exceedingly dangerous place depending on who you are and where you go. The same can be said of any super-city, such as New York, Paris, or Tokyo.... but because Shanghai is in China, things are much more dangerous than in those previously-listed cities.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Shanghai

Currently, the biggest issue you'll face there is water: don't drink the tap water at all unless it is boiled, and even then it contains nasty chemical and metallic pollutants. Most stores sell tons of bottled water, and most of these should be safe.

Be extremely wary of pickpockets in the market areas. Non-violent crime is very common, so travel with things stowed carefully and always keep a very close eye on your belongings.

In certain locations you can get a hold of technology from Japan, especially the top-notch Japanese smartphones and etc, which (comparatively) are much cheaper over there in Shanghai. In fact, that is something you might notice quite quickly!... the cost of living is much lower in Shanghai, and thus if you have the funding of an American and are used to an American lifestyle... you can find some pretty neat stuff there for very cheap!

Also of note is that haggling is possible in certain markets, and many private shops have 'hidden' stock for those they know or recognize as being previous customers.


I wish you good luck..... and be safe!

As an example of the shopping there:
1000 Japanese yen = $12.58 USD

A brand-new electric-powered bicycle over there costs around ¥1500-2500...
....about $20. The same kinds can cost more than 200 to 300 over here!

So while you're there, expect to be able to shop on the high-end spectrum of things. After all, it's Made In China... which means, practically all around you :3

Thank you for all the advice! It's greatly appreciated! We're going to be there for a day with my mom's friend, and she stops by Shanghai all the time to ERM relocate things of higher value *coughcough, so she's telling some people that we're going to be there shopping and gave us her card telling them to be nice, cause we're they're to shop lol

Hopefully that helps a bit. I'm scared of the language barrier, and nervous about which food might make me sick. We're going to stay far, far away from street vendors, and the hotel is for American layover crews, so it should be fairly safe. We're planning on lots of bottled water or tea, and we're probably going to spend about a day with some tailors trying to figure out if they can make a certain skirt or jacket for us.

Still, we plan on keeping our money safe in our shoes and bras and such to negate the pickpocket factor. We've been to Rome and Mexico and such, so I hope I'm at least a little experienced with pickpocket markets. Still, I'm excited to go. I think it'll be the first time I've been in a country with absolutely no idea of how to communicate. At least with Italy, I'm Italian, so I had that on my side lol But China is so different, I'm going to do my best no to insult people. That would be bad. Hopefully they're pardon my American-ness. I'd like to think I'm not rude, but you know, different culture.

I hear you have to be really pushy to keep your spot in line and not have people walk all over you. I hope I can manage o~o

The number 110 on the phone there will call emergency services, and typically they will have someone that can speak English. Chinese police tend to be very helpful when something concerns foreigners: where natives can be strictly-controlled by the communist government, tourists are quite well-protected.

Overall you should be completely fine so long as you remain cautious. If you've been to other countries you should be alright.

As for the language barrier... use body language! Express yourself very physically! The simple shaking of the head for yes and no are understood almost universally, and directional hand-gestures are simple for anyone to understand.

And, from the wikitravel guide: "As English is compulsory in Chinese schools, an increasing number of younger people know some basic English. If you are lost, try approaching younger people, such as high school or university students and stick to basic phrases; they might be able to point you in the right direction."
This is assuming that such younger people are of the educated sort; education in Shanghai is an unknown to me.

In any case.... I wish you the very best of luck ^^

http://wikitravel.org/en/Shanghai#O.....tor_assistance

That may prove useful in your language issues!

thank you again for all the help! it really does help a lot!

Tokyo actually isn't terribly dangerous. It's one of the safest cities in the world. But good advice all the same.

Downtown Shanghai is relatively safe as well. Keep an eye out, but there's no need to get hyper-paranoid. Food should be fine as well, though it might not be what you're used to. Finding vegetarian dishes shouldn't be too difficult if you want to go that route.

As for where to go... there are a number of temples and religious sites of interest. Even if that's not your thing, you should try to see Jing An and the Jade Buddha Temple at least; the former's a historic site, and the latter, although a modern building, is quite impressive. If it is your thing, there's also Long Hua Temple with its seven-story pagoda (there's a good vegetarian restaurant nearby, too, incidentally, at Long Hua Hotel), City God Temple, and Xujiahui Cathedral. Yuyuan Garden is also worth a visit. If you're interested in the cultural history, the Shanghai Museum has a very large collection of artifacts. If you'd rather shop, there's Nan Jing Road. The French Concession is a fairly nice area to stroll around, with lots of little cafes and such. Finally, catch a show at the Acrobatic Dome if you can, it's pretty amazing.

I'm afraid I have nothing too helpful to offer, despite knowing a bit of Mandarin (but nothing of the Shanghai dialect!), but I will simply wish you a fun and safe trip there. :)

oh wow, that you know Mandarin at all is amazing C: And thank you! CX

When you go there, I suggest talking to the people there that know english. They will be mannerly and stuff, but they will also know a lot of the customs. You might be interested to learn a thing or two about how they treat others and Americans.

Thanks C:>

I hope you have a safe trip, and a good time while you're there.

Thanks! CX

Well, FYI actually I live in Shanghai (I'm Chinese).

Trust me, Shanghai is almost the best city you can expect in China, even including Beijing. I sincerely hope Shanghai will leave you a good impression. First of all, about the pickpockets: I suppose you will stay in the downtown area, so it will (hopefully) never be a problem. Unless you are near some large bus terminals/railway stations in the suburbs, public security is fairly good. Of course you would still like to keep an eye on your things, but highest-level-defense is unnecessary.

Tap water is not directly drinkable, yes, before boiling. Even after boiling it tastes ... not that good. So bottled water shall do. As for the food, it is safe to say restaurants would't get you sick.

Language&travel: first, it is true many people tend to be more attentive&friendly towards foreigners. You can talk to younger people, and try to speak slowly XD. All the students and younger people (who were students in recent years) have some English, albeit broken for some. Considering it's about summer vacation time in China, you wouldn't have any difficulty finding anyone who can help. Sadly those who dress like police standing at the crossroads may not understand English (well, during Expo you can expect volunteers in many places).

So if you wish to take a tour, still better make inquiry beforehand at the hotel reception about the route or something. Google Maps will help. Metro is convenient, and covers all the places you probably may go. But it gets overcrowded at rush hour during weekdays (I mean OVERcrowded). The Bund, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, 'City God Temple', Nan Jing Road Walking street, I cannot think of many tourist spots in Shanghai... maybe you just want to go shopping, shopping centers everywhere in the central area. If you are interested in electronic products, go to Xu Jia Hui. Well Xu Jia Hui's got awesome general shopping centers ,too.

For cheap Japanese smartphones or etc. mentioned by Arclis, we often purchase parallel goods in some private-owned places, but the quality of the smartphones cannot be guaranteed, unless you've got someone familiar with them. Screens, batteries and some parts may be replaced with poorer ones. Warranty is worse. Above all you have to venture deep into the city to find these places... So drop the thought, I would suggest.
Also, ￥ can stand for Chinese Yuan(RMB) or Japanese Yen. For Chinese Yuan it's ￥1000=$157.32USD. And of course we use Chinese Yuan not Japanese Yen here! An electric-powered bicycle around ¥1500-2500 still costs you 200~300 dollars, not $20, that's from Japanese Yen. For quick calculation, $1=￥6.3.

Internet connection is filtered by GFW. Many websites like facebook, twitter are blocked, use a proxy or VPN. Posting something disrespectful toward the party probably won't cause you any trouble, cause so many Chinese are already doing this everyday. And I don't think you are capable of drawing the attention of some departments lol.

110 is the emergency number, and they will find someone who can speak English for you. Better still you don't need to dial that number at all.

I couldn't think of any more worthwhile to say (these points were all mentioned by previous comments...). If you have some particular problem you can ask me!

Wish you enjoy your stay in Shanghai!

Thanks! If you're from Shanghai then you would know best C:> We like shopping for sure, and Rena seemed to know where she wanted to go, so we assumed we'd follow her map haha But I will certainly check around for Xu Jia Hui. We're not really touristy types C:> We tend to like to flounder and walk about, so it isn't too depressing to think it isn't touristy. That just makes it harder for us mono-speakers. Well, the only other languages I know are useless XD I certainly look to the younger people if we're desperately stuck, I hadn't thought to ask them before you guys commented C:

Thanks again!

I wish you could ave a nice trip in Shanghai

I found Internet in china! Everything's going great C: communicating with people is still kind of hard lol