Beijing vs. Shanghai vs. Hong Kong: showdown of China's big three (4)

Shanghai

So where does this leave Shanghai? Is it just the middle child, caught between the eldest and youngest siblings? Yu seems to think so: "It's torn between being like Hong Kong, based on pure commercial moneymaking greed, to being something like Beijing, where there's culture and history and a sense of community that goes back not decades, but centuries."

Arguably, however, Shanghai appears to be more closely aligned with Hong Kong, and it could even be argued that it is aspiring to become that elder sibling. In both cities, models strut the sidewalks, and mention of celebrity-spottings regularly slips into café chatter. Both cities also tend to be more foreigner-friendly than the rest of the Chinese mainland in terms of not only the amount of English spoken, but also decent transportation, food and air quality, which are frequently listed as some of the city's main perks by expats.

"Hong Kong was a colonial city and Shanghai was more of a concession or port city," recalls Yu, "so I think that foreigners find living in these cities much more comfortable. They have a better interface. There's a lot more people there that speak English, along with more luxuries and better service in terms of restaurants and hotels… And they have a really good social scene."

A local bartender commented, however, that the party scene is okay if you have money, but meeting people has its challenges. "Women in Shanghai want to know your salary on the first date," he complained.

Survey Says?

Of course Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong each have their pluses and minuses, with each being better suited for different kinds of people. Guo Chengxi even joked, "I don't go out anymore, so I don't care what city it is."

Yu is skilled at gushing accolades for the Shanghai and Hong Kong lifestyles, and no less so at complaining about Beijing's traffic congestion and air quality. But he saves his curveball for the end of the conversation: "At the end of the day I still prefer Beijing." He cites how mixing with locals in Hong Kong and Shanghai is a challenge, whereas in the capital, Beijingers and foreigners mix it up "like a Girl Talk DJ set". But that's just Frank Yu's opinion. "It's really not a fair question!" he insists. "It all depends on your personality."

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