Job Discussion Forums

Yu · Joined: 06 Mar 2003 Posts: 1219 Location: Shanghai

I guess it would depend on where you lived in each district and what you wanted to get from where you live.
Maybe parts of Minhell dont suck. I just haven't seen them.
Maybe parts of Xuhui suck... again I probably have not been to them.

I only worked at Jiaoda for one year, but across from the front gate and down the road a bit a a good xinjiang place to eat.

clark.w.griswald · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 2056

To me it comes down to which is the better choice for a foreigner new to China as I believe that this is really what the OP was asking.

He had a choice to make out of the two districts, and it seems that everyone, well almost everyone, agrees that out of the two choices Xuhui is the more convenient of the two and the one more likely to be a better choice given its infrastructure and proximity to downtown.

There is of course a big assumption being made here and that is that the OP wants to be closer to downtown. He may afterall prefer the quiet life and there is plenty of that (relatively speaking) to be had in many parts of Minhang.

eslstudies · Joined: 17 Dec 2006 Posts: 1061 Location: East of Aden

Agreed. I enjoyed it because it was quiet. A ferry trip across the river and you were into farming territory. Teaching friends originally came from that side, and invitations to weddings then 100 day ceremonies were highlights. Old style fresh food and street markets abound, as do mum and pop restaurants, as well as big department stores. Having cut my teeth in China on small city life I enjoyed this much more than "downtown", which could be any overdeveloped Asian city.

And as Yu said, her experience of the district is limited to working there: Jiaoda is very much in the middle of a factory zone.