Field Notes
Shanghai doesn’t feel like the rest of China. The streets are lined with European-style buildings, skyscrapers by local and international architects rise in every direction, and you hear as many foreign accents as local ones. Immigrants from across Asia work in bars and restaurants. The city is clean, efficient, and modern, a big change from twenty years ago when littering and spitting were still common sights.
Shanghai doesn’t revolve around one centre. Each district has its own mix of landmarks, shops, cafés, and hotels, catering to different crowds. Everywhere I went, something was being built or rebuilt. It felt like the city was constantly in motion, even when you weren’t moving.
Columbus Circle is an open space with local brands, restaurants, pop-up shops, and a bookstore where people actually read. In the West Bund, I visited Bloommarket, a public food court that felt more like a proper restaurant. You can sit anywhere, order through an app, and staff bring dishes from different stalls to your table with proper tableware and free water, a small miracle in the world of food courts.
It’s more global and polished, a mix of cultures, architecture, and a fast pace that looks outward while still holding on to its roots. The city feels cosmopolitan, safe, and well-lit at night, with public transport everywhere, bike lanes on almost every road, and even well-fed stray cats. It’s full of interesting shops, heritage buildings, and art spaces. There’s always something happening, though beyond a few parks, much of the city revolves around shopping and dining. After a while, it starts to feel like that’s all you can do.
It made me wonder what it’s really like to live here. Is it as exciting as it seems, or do you end up just doing the same thing every day?
“Things are different now since the pandemic. The number of expats has halved. Many people I used to know in the creative and publishing scene have moved away, some to other Chinese cities, others to places like Chiang Mai. The economy is struggling more than what you see in the news. Unemployment is high and client budgets are tight.”
“Shanghai might look and feel like a global city with plenty to do, but most people live under a lot of stress. You have to keep hustling and competing to survive. There is a constant pressure for speed and efficiency. People are used to things being done faster and cheaper.”
“There aren’t many outlets for people to relax. Anyone who can create ways for people to rest will do well here. Southeast Asia offers that, a sense of relief from the pressure, a way to slow down and escape the constant competitiveness.”
As we talked, he pulled books from his shelves to show the kind of independent publishing happening in Shanghai. “This is a photo book by one of my students. Only ten copies exist. Packaging like this can be produced at low cost and high quality if you know the right people.”
It reminded me of a quote often attributed to tech founders: “It is hard to predict the future, so instead I focus on what is not going to change. What is not going to change is that customers will still want low prices, high quality, and they want it now.”
Shanghai is a place where almost anything can be made, and everything moves fast. It’s like a never-ending game on hard mode. The energy that drives it forward also wears it down. It’s both the city’s strength and its burden.
Travel is a way to learn from and about the world. Field Trips is a new series of notes about the people and places we meet along the way.
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Felix Ng
Co-founder, Anonymous
@felix.anonymous