A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

CultureShock! Shanghai is the complete guide for those who are trying to get a handle on China’s glittering crown jewel that is both charmingly ancient yet stunningly ultra-modern. Can you tell your xiaolongbao from your xiaolongxia? What is this nebulous concept called guan xi? Is being called a laowai a pejorative? Boasting some of the world’s tallest buildings, largest businesses, longest bridges, fastest trains and elevators, and finest restaurants, Shanghai is a megacity and world-class financial centre that may well be the world’s first cashless society, but it also has cosy streets filled with napping bicyclists, dancers in full costume and seniors with bird cages. With impressive light shows, backlit freeways and luminous skylines, Shanghai is truly a city of light. Get the most out of your stay with this guide to the Asian metropolis par excellence.

Sharol Gauthier has worked as a teacher and writer for a nonprofit organization. In 2014, she moved with her family to Shanghai, where she taught high school English at Shanghai American School, Puxi. While in Shanghai, Sharol created the blog China Incidentals where she explored life as an expat in China. In 2019, she returned to the U.S. where she teaches English, podcasting, and Chinese-American literature at an independent school in the greater Seattle area. She continues to travel back to Shanghai regularly.