Dear Inquirer
One week in Shanghai would be fine to see enough. You can absolutely make day trips to nearby towns, but it's not so easy if you do not speak Mandarin. You can try it though. When in Shanghai, we recommend you pick one of the hotels not too far from the downtown area due to traffic issue and also this will give you chance to walk along nicer Shanghai streets in the evenings which, by itself, is an attraction. We wish you an enjoyable stay.

Dear Mary
The size of the expat community in Shanghai is estimated somewhere at 30,000 now. Many people are moving to Pudong now that the area boost some of nice housing and it becomes more convenient to commute to and from Puxi than it used to be. See more on Pudong HERE.

Dear Tham
There's a lot of dust blowing around in the air in April and May. And even worse, the pollution has been awful recently. Five days out of every week, I can barely see half a mile. It's probably a little better out at the wall, but not much. If, however, a rain storm blows through, this is a great time to be in Beijing. If you want to play it safe, however, September and October are usually the best time to visit Beijing. The weather is dry and cooler, and it's usually quite pretty out at the wall as the leaves start turning color. Assuming the pollution lets up.

Dear Caroline
There are quite a few French companies in Shanghai, they might be interested in hiring you. Please try to get in touch with them. About French Schools, please reach them at: Tel. (86-21)6405-9220 or Fax (86-21)6405-9227. We wish you all the best.

Dear Olivier
Please see some of the Shanghai night spots HERE

Dear Dan
It shouldn't be a problem renewing your Visa. Just get to the Immigration Bureau soon before your former visa expires to avoid any confusion. When in Shanghai, go to no.333 Wusong Road. It's about a kilometre north of the water-front Bund (Waitan).

Please contact John Crisp at
yingjunb@online.sh.cn

Dear Sellers
Please try the www.jobchina.net Otherwise, just come over and look around for some possibilities. That seems like the most effective way. All the Best.

Dear Chris
Nice to hear that you are coming to Shanghai. Welcome! Shanghai has quite a few ISP's. One of the most popular now is UNINET. You can contact Eastern Web Services, their agent. The procedure for opening an account is: 100RMB plus a monthly fee of 100RMB for 20hours. For more details, please contact EWS at: ews@uninet.com.cn

Dear Graaf
Good to hear that you're coming to Shanghai. We believe you'll enjoy your time here. According to what we know, Jin Mao Tower will officially be open sometimes in September this year. Please find more information about the Tower HERE. Shanghai-ed will have 'Pudong Pictorial' section soon. Hope you'll enjoy that.

Dear Jayson
We wish we could help you out but Shanghai-ed doesn't know any site with the service you request. Advice: Keep surfing and you might find one. Goodluck.

Dear Lucy
Shanghai is quite hot but not so humid as June to August. We should say that you, like other westerners, can bear it. Just bring a few T-Shirts and you'll enjoy the city.

Dear Steve:
East China Normal University IS NOT the same as Shanghai Normal University. They are separate universities. East China Normal Universtiy is located in the west part of town surrounded by beatiful parks. It is about 20 minutes from the airport. It's close to the downtown area as well which wil give you opportunity to visit the most exciting part of the city. The School is quite big with several thousand students and, we believe, foreign students' life is exciting. You can meet anyone from Congo to Laos or Vietnam. It's the leading teacher's training school in East China and one of the key schools in the country.
Wish you enjoyable stay.....

Dear Lucy: Their Fax number is: (86-21)6384-1367

Dear Marc:
Welcome to Shanghai! Here is a short list of Three Star Hotels near the Exhibition Centre:
City Hotel at Shanxi Road. Tel.(86-21)6255-1133, Fax.6255-0211;
Hengshan Hotel at 534 Hengshan Road. Tel. 6437-7050, Fax.6433-5732, and
Ting'An Hotel at 370 Huashan Road. Tel.6248-1888, Fax.6248-2657

As for the fine Cantonese Restaurant choose from the list here.

There are several Massage centres in town, we have chosen the following near the Exhibition Centre:
Yudechi on #479 Tianjin Road . Tel. 6322-2130 and,
Daguanyuan on #2 Nanjing(west) Road . Tel.6372-4072.
Hope this information will give you a clue. See you in Shanghai....

Dear Lucy:
Please contact some more institutes as follows:
Shanghai Universtiy of Traditional Medicine. Tel.(86-21)6417-4600; Fax.6417-8290, and
Shanghai Second Medical University.Tel.(86-21)6384-6590. Hope this will be of some help.

Dear Mr. President:
Shanghai Wushu Institute doesn't have E-mail address. Here are their numbers: Tel. (86-21)6217-0302; Fax. (86-21)6253-3582. We have also found numbers for Shanghai Institute of Sports Education. Tel.(86-21)6556-8266; Fax.(86-21)6556-8643

Dear Stefaan:
Here are numbers of two factories in shanghai: Shanghai Playing Cards Factory. mktg. dept. tel. 5662-9543 ; Shanghai Heping Playing cards factory mktg. dept. tel. 5893-0791

Dear Andy
King Chant Tailors can help you out. Ring Sam at:6270-7668 (business hours: 9:00 - 17:30) or 6481-4120 (house). e-mail: zhangc@online.sh.cn See more information on Shanghai-ed, classifed page.

Dear Cheng
Sorry! You are one day late to ask. It's April 2nd today.

Dear Questioner
We know about several churches around the city which have gospel choirs. If you are a foreigner try the Intl. Church (Guoji Libai Tang) at Hengshan Road. As for blues, there are a couple of singers singing nightly in clubs. Visit Blues&Jazz (Sinan Rd), Park 97 (Fuxing Park), Cotton Club (Huai Hai Rd) etc. etc.

ps: When was the last time the B-shares page was updated?

Dear Lance
Thanks for the comment, we're working on making better directions and we update B-shares everyday except saturdays and sundays.

Dear David
The FECC International club can take care of your yacht, while you are in Shanghai. Tel: 86-21-5926-2688, Fax: 86-21-5926-2074

Dear Krista
There are two 'more affordable' gyms we know in Shanghai. One is the health center at the Sheraton Hotel, located by the sports stadium. The other is Dee-Dee's health club, Tel: 6281-5639.

Hi Chinese Challenged!
There are several options for learning Chinese in Shanghai. One option is hiring a private tutor. You can do this by going to a university, finding a good teaching, and asking them to teach you: all teachers moonlight. There is a good language center run by Fudan University, but located in central Shanghai. They aim at foreigners working in Shanghai, and offer night classes, weekend seminars, and several week intensive programs. You can out more information on them on our chinese study page.
There is a standardized Chinese language test called Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi. It is offered 3 times a year at the major universities including Fudan, East China Normal, and Shanghai Foreign Language University. There are a total of 12 levels.

Dear Marcus, Here it is:
Individual Income Tax Rates (Table 1)
(applicable to income from wages and salaries)
Range of Monthly Taxable Income = Tax Rate(%)
income of 500 and less = 5%
income above 500 yuan and up to 2000 yuan = 10%
income above 2000 yuan and up to 5000 yuan = 15%
income above 5000 yuan and up to 20000 yuan = 20%
income above 20000 yuan and up to 40000 yuan = 25%
income above 40000 yuan and up to 60000 yuan = 30%
income above 60000 yuan and up to 80000 yuan = 35%
income above 80000 yuan and up to 100000 yuan = 40%
income above 100000 yuan = 45%
Note: Monthly taxable income refers to the balance after a deduction of 800 yuan or other additional expenses from the monthly income.

The restaurant you've heard of is probably Le Bouchon, on Wuding Xi Lu, near Jiangsu Lu. The colour scheme is a little stomach turning, but the wines are good and cheap. Et voila, c'est francais! May-May mentioned it recently in her nightlife report.

The issue of housing is a bit complicated here due to government regulations. There are two kinds of housing: foreigner approved housing, including specific apartment buildings and hotels, and local chinese housing. The foreigner approved housing is exorbitantly expensive and lavish. It might be impossible to find a single room apartment, and 2-3 bedroom apartments start at US$800 a month and sky rocket from there. Local chinese housing is much more affordable, and many foreigners are looking into this option to avoid high rents. There is a risk though, as it is still questionable for foreigners to live in local housing, but most foreigners don't have any problems. In the chinese suburbs, very nice 1-2 bedroom apartments are available for US$300-400/month.
At most western restaurants, you can buy a burger and drink for about US$12.

Dear Sean, It's actually pretty easy to get internet access here in Shanghai. If you have your own computer, and access to a telephone line, you can just hook up. If you don't have a computer, there are several internet cafes that are a bit expensive, but convenient. The most convenient is 3C+T cafe on the corner of Huaihai Zhong Lu and Shan xi nan Lu, right on the subway line.

Most foreigners find the Shanghai dialect difficult to learn, particularly because most of us are still trying to either learn Mandarin or perfect our Mandarin. I'm sure you know that there are hundreds of dialects in China and, for all practical purposes, Shanghainese is a different language altogether. There are foreigners here who speak it, but they have studied it, rather than just "picked it up."
There are many opportunites for teaching, both in the Chinese Universities, and in private centers, which are much more lucrative. Generally US$15 an hour.
Customs for dating: Can you be more specific? What exactly do you mean?

thanks for the answer. by customs by dating i meant is it possible for westerners to date Chinese women. in the lonely planet guide to China it states that it is very difficult for that to occur -could they be right. cheers

Sure, it's possible for Westerners to date chinese women, and some western women even date chinese men, although it's not as common. The Lonely Planet must be a bit out of date, because in fact, it's possible to see quite a lot of inter-racial and inter-cultural dating here. You may attract some extra-long stares, but nothing more than that. In other parts of China, there may be some risks, mostly for the Chinese half, (loss of face, jealously or disgust from peers, etc.) but Shanghai is modern and cosmopolitan enough that most people don't take much notice.

Dear Ms. Larson, Well, we that think that "Wellcome" Supermarket is probably about the most "American" place in town. The vegetables are clean and wrapped in styrofoam and cellophane wrap just like we find at home. We haven't heard of any place that actually imports vegetables, (although some fruit is imported), so if you find it, let us know!

Dear Sean, Most of the foreign exchange students in Shanghai are located in the northern part of Shanghai, in an area called Wujiaochang. They're up there because of the major universities: Fudan University, Shanghai International Studies University, and the University of Science and Technology. Wujiaochang sports several popular bars called the Hit House Pub, and the Tribesman. But the real hopping nightlife is centered around Fudan U, and Zheng Tong Road. Here, you can find any style bar from American to Korean to European. Some of the favorites are Mister Pizza, Hard Rock Bar, and Club Paradise.

Dear Jack, The Shanghai Opera House's official opening to the public will be October 1, 1998, although we have heard a rumour that there will be a Japanese production playing sometime in June. Unfortunately, the official schedule still hasn't been released, so we're also still waiting to hear the details.

Dear Dory: There's tons of things to see, it depends what you want. We are not very objective on this subject. We love Shanghai. It is a city with a rich past, a frenetic present and a bright future. But it is not for everyone. The air can be polluted, there is not much green space around and it is pretty messy. It does not have a lot of tourist attractions, either -- no big palaces or temples. But the city has a power and vitality which is matched by only a few other cities in the world - New York, Tokyo, Bombay ... not many others. If you have the chance to come and visit for a few days, you would find plenty to do and see. But the most interesting thing is walking around the streets, and enjoying the sense of life here.

Mr Pang, We know of no schools or institutions that offer formal Shanghainese lessons. Although we understand there is a lady at Fudan University who teaches a Shanghainese course for part of the year. Contact us for contact details. Or else, just come down and start talking and listening. Especially if you already know some Shanghainese. We personally find the taxi drivers to be the best teachers. Sit in the front seat, and say: Sangyi naneng (how's business?) and take it from there.

Colin: "L'ecole Francaise de Shanghai" opened on Sept. 4, 1995. It's a private school that adheres to the criteria of the French school system. There's a pre-school, primary, and secondary school and the curriculum is based on the material of CNED (we don't know what that is.) The secondary school has just opened in the 96-97 academic year. The address: New Rainbow Asia Garden A8, Hu Qing Ping Gong Lu No. 1655, Shanghai 201702, China. Tel: (86)(21) 5976-3431. Fax: (86)(21) 5976-3429

Yuhua: in this context, "gourmet poweder" can only mean one thing -- MSG, or in chinese weijing

The first thing to do is go to the Magicians' Restaurant opposite the old Metropole Hotel on Fuzhou Lu. They do magic shows to accompany lunch and dinner.

Charlotte: We sure do. Try Dr P.F. Chen, 6482-6886 Address 18 Cao Dong San Lu, in the so-called Pet Alley near the Hua Ting (nee Sheraton) Hotel.

Britta: Thanks for the email. They're interesting, aren't they? The agent for these two artists is Lorenz Helbling who has a website at www.shanghart.com with lots of information on these artists and others in Shanghai. You can contact Lorenz through that site if you want even MORE information.

Colman: Early spring in Shanghai can be chilly and damp, but by April temparatures are fine. A warm waterproof jacket would be useful.