Let's meet up in Shanghai
April 10, 2010 10:09 PM Subscribe
Where would you go to meet new people in Shanghai?
I'm asking this for a friend. She's in China for a year to study Mandarin. She's having tough time adjusting to Shanghai. All the acquaintances she met so far are just horrible people. Where else can she go to meet new people?
I'm asking this for a friend. She's in China for a year to study Mandarin. She's having tough time adjusting to Shanghai. All the acquaintances she met so far are just horrible people. Where else can she go to meet new people?
Please email me her Name and email. I will invite her to an expat meeting site (invites only). The people I met via this site are amazing (but I am in the NYC circle, not shanghai).
BTW, I know Asia quit well. China is not the easiest place to start with. But I may grow on you with time.
posted by yoyo_nyc at 11:08 PM on April 10, 2010
BTW, I know Asia quit well. China is not the easiest place to start with. But I may grow on you with time.
posted by yoyo_nyc at 11:08 PM on April 10, 2010
My standard answer is the same as ever: get on Couchsurfing and go to the local meetings! The crowds tend to be mixed between locals who love their hometown, foreigners who are living there for a while, and people who are just passing through.
Though the crowd skews 20s/30s, the gender mix is good, and I LOVE that there are many different kinds of get-togethers. It's not "going to the expat bar for drinks with the regulars" or "always the same team for doubles badminton."
I haven't done this in Shanghai, but I really had fun in Beijing with CS outings.
posted by whatzit at 11:58 PM on April 10, 2010
Though the crowd skews 20s/30s, the gender mix is good, and I LOVE that there are many different kinds of get-togethers. It's not "going to the expat bar for drinks with the regulars" or "always the same team for doubles badminton."
I haven't done this in Shanghai, but I really had fun in Beijing with CS outings.
posted by whatzit at 11:58 PM on April 10, 2010
Expat sites are great for meeting people. When I went to Shanghai (summer '08), I used ShanghaiExpat to find people to go bar- and clubhopping with. They were usually American or British, always very friendly and fun to be with.
When I was in Hong Kong this past winter break, I used GeoExpat to find a group of people to party with on New Year's Eve (ended up going to Lan Kwai Fong and having a blast).
I focused on nightlife when I used expat forums, but there's a huge variety of great people looking to make friends, and I'm sure your friend can find what she's looking for.
posted by ardent at 1:41 AM on April 11, 2010
When I was in Hong Kong this past winter break, I used GeoExpat to find a group of people to party with on New Year's Eve (ended up going to Lan Kwai Fong and having a blast).
I focused on nightlife when I used expat forums, but there's a huge variety of great people looking to make friends, and I'm sure your friend can find what she's looking for.
posted by ardent at 1:41 AM on April 11, 2010
Any chance you can provide a little more information about what interests she has? I'm in Shanghai and I don't think I'm too horrible. It's a hard city to break away from the standard expat crowd, but it is possible. I know a few local bars that are extremely small that are primarily locals but some foreigners and generally mixed with Mandarin and English. It makes a nice change from the bright flashiness that can sometimes be SH.
yoyo_nyc, I tend to be a bit of a loner, but would be interested in the 'invite only' group as well.
posted by michswiss at 4:04 AM on April 11, 2010
yoyo_nyc, I tend to be a bit of a loner, but would be interested in the 'invite only' group as well.
posted by michswiss at 4:04 AM on April 11, 2010
I just came along to suggest CouchSurfing too. Good chance of meeting a few nice people (and no obligation to host someone on your couch).
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 5:26 AM on April 11, 2010
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 5:26 AM on April 11, 2010
Response by poster: My friend is US-educated ethnic Chinese not from either China or US. She's in her early 20s, and love dancing. She been to quite a few club-hopping already but the some of the European and American expats she met suffered from I can only describe as severe case of "Holier than Thou Superiority Complex."
Also thanks everyone for suggesting CouchSurfing. I didn't even think about it.
posted by Carius at 6:50 AM on April 11, 2010
Also thanks everyone for suggesting CouchSurfing. I didn't even think about it.
posted by Carius at 6:50 AM on April 11, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by miyabo at 11:03 PM on April 10, 2010