Shanghai's softer side
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| Local families are busy showing relatives and friends coming for the Expo around Shanghai. |
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| A local resident shows Expo tickets he has bought for his relatives from outside Shanghai. |
Perceived as being hard and uncaring, the city's residents are showing their kinder side and welcoming visitors to the Expo.
Shanghai residents are not only using the Expo 2010 Shanghai as an opportunity to showcase its status as a world city, but they are also trying to change negative perceptions about local people.
While Shanghai may be known for its high cost of living, designer stores and lavish lifestyles, residents are hoping to reshape their image from "mean and snobbish" to one that is more giving, welcoming and accepting. And there are plenty of examples.
Xing Yunfei, a 62-year-old resident in Pujiang town in Minhang district, bought 100 Expo tickets with his savings and invited friends from all over China to visit the Expo. Most of the friends are fellow soldiers who he met in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region 40 years ago when he served in the army.
"My friends and leaders took very good care of me when I was in the army," Xing said. "When I found out that Shanghai would host the Expo, I wanted to be a good host, too."
He set aside 50,000 yuan to buy Expo tickets and prepare accommodation for his future guests.
More and more friends are taking him up on his offer. No matter what guests demand, Xing tries his best to meet their needs. He once accompanied an 86-year-old guest in a wheelchair to Expo Garden and then to Hangzhou. He's also welcomed friends' grandchildren.
His wife, Pan Xiuyun, has been busy helping guests as well. She prepares meals and snacks when they go to the Expo Garden and does all the housekeeping.
Another do-gooder in Shanghai is Huang Zhiqiang, a 43-year-old taxi driver in Jing'an district. He did not plan to host guests, but many of his distant family members couldn't get hotel rooms during the peak season, so he and his wife offered them free accommodation in their home without hesitation.
In the past three months, Huang and his wife have hosted more than 20 guests from three provinces.
"I haven't seen these relatives in a long time," Huang said. "The Expo gives us an opportunity for a reunion."
In the past, they didn't like hosting guests at their old 20-square-meter apartment, Huang said.
"My wife always said the space was hardly enough for ourselves, not to mention guests. We Shanghainese value 'face' very much. We don't want to reveal the negative side of our life, such as limited living conditions, to others."
But since the family moved to a newer 120-square-meter apartment with three rooms in 2009, Huang and his wife can provide guests with not only more space, but better catering as well.
As their economic situation has improved, Huang and his wife are more apt to treat guests to nice meals. Huang even often takes guests in his taxi to shopping malls and tourist attractions in Shanghai.
"The saying that Shanghainese are mean is quite unfair," Huang said. "Who wouldn't welcome friends and relatives coming from thousands of kilometers away and show them the best side of Shanghai?" he asked.
For younger Shanghainese, the opportunity to spend time with family and friends from outside of Shanghai has proved to be an eye-opening experience.
Chen Haojun, an 18-year-old high school student, had mixed feelings at first when her cousins came to Shanghai from Sichuan province.
"Later, I felt ashamed of my pride, which proved silly and blind," she said. "They are younger than me but they know more than I do."
Chen's parents asked her to accompany her cousin to the Expo Garden for a two-day visit. Her cousin's knowledge and passion for exploring the Expo Garden astonished Chen, as she thought students outside of Shanghai only knew textbooks.
She was even surprised at their English-language abilities. "One of them speaks both English and French and she could converse with staff at the France Pavilion in French without any problems."
Chen said she once thought that Shanghai students were superior to her peers outside the city because Shanghai was the most modern and cosmopolitan city in China. But this mindset changed after her cousins' visit.
Her classmates also shared their stories, telling her how they were surprised and humbled that their relatives from outside Shanghai were "richer than us, smarter than us and know more than we do".
"Hosting guests from outside Shanghai has actually broadened my horizons," Chen said. "I realize that Shanghai is not the only wonderful place in China."
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