Shanghai, one of the most international metropolises in China, is making further efforts to make life easier for expats, trying to make both long-time residents and newcomers feel at home. Kong Fu'an, Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, shared a handbook jointly released by the office and Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. The handbook, named “International Services Shanghai: A Guide to Shanghai for Expats”, offers expats useful information about public transportation, medical care, shopping venues and major international events scheduled to be held in the city. Many expats said that the handbook has become their “second passport in Shanghai,” Kong said. “The handbook is just a start,” Kong said. Shanghai will offer new services, including a new website and a social media account to help expatriates better integrate, he added.
Shanghai is one of the Chinese cities with the largest number of foreign nationals. Many expats in Shanghai have actively connected to the city's life in various ways that do not include their daily work or personal life, such as volunteering in the residential communities where they live. The handbook was written taking into consideration expats' suggestions.
“We provided a lot of feedback on what should be included for newcomers from overseas, making suggestions from our expat perspective,” said Justin O'Jack, Chief Representative of the University of Virginia China Office. O'Jack said he and other expats who participated in the preparation of the handbook felt very proud, as some of their suggestions were introduced in its final version. "We feel like Shanghai is our home even more now, and we want to contribute to it in any way that we can," he told the Global Times. Having been in Shanghai for years, O'Jack witnessed the rapid development of the city, and its continuous improvement of facilities, mentioning, among other things, the very fast and convenient online grocery shopping. “One day we were cooking, and my wife didn't have enough noodles, so she ordered noodles online, and 10 minutes later, a guy was at the door with noodles,” he recalled. “A friend of mine visiting from the U.S. was just amazed.”
Echoing O'Jack, Armenian violinist Astrid Poghosyan joked that some convenient aspects of life in Shanghai, such as digital payment, have “spoiled” expats like her who live in this city. “You forget that there are places in the world that don't function this way,” she said. “It makes it difficult in one sense to live somewhere else.” Poghosyan has been living in Shanghai for 14 years, learning Putonghua and now also understanding Shanghai dialect, the Global Times reports.
Meanwhile, a new version of China’s Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card was officially issued and came into use on December 1, aiming to facilitate the daily life of permanent foreign residents in China. The new version of the permanent residence permit is also referred to as the “Five-Star Card”.
