Shanghai: Confirmed, I'm just a potato here. #WTFtravel
-
You're just being too self-conscious.
-
Actually, if you visit more major cities in developed countries and then experience Shanghai, you probably won't have that kind of feeling anymore.
-
I've also been to international metropolises like Tokyo, Paris, Amsterdam, and Singapore. But none of them gave me the same 'vast' or 'imposing' feeling Shanghai does. Shanghai makes me feel a strange mix of familiarity and unfamiliarity. When I made that post, it was just a sudden, somewhat abstract thought I wanted to share.
-
Don't worry about it. Most people are just 'country bumpkins' (土狗 - tu gou), or 'country bumpkins' trying clumsily to imitate the elite. Real elites are rare. It's perfectly fine to just be an authentic 'country bumpkin'.
-
Hahahaha, 'an authentic country bumpkin'!
-
150 years ago, it was just a county town.
-
It was already opened as a treaty port 150 years ago. Saying that sounds a bit like sour grapes.
-
It feels like no one on the street really notices me, which is actually quite nice. Except for some older Shanghai 'aunties' (阿姨 - ayi) who give you this look that just screams, 'I'm a local, and I'm a pretty big deal, you know!'
-
I wonder, if these Shanghai 'aunties' went to Hong Kong and encountered the famously aloof service staff there, would they still feel so superior? Or, would they still think they're somehow 'better' than Hongkongers?
-
Actually, Shanghai is the place that can cure your appearance anxiety, because nobody really cares what you wear. Anything goes, and it's all considered perfectly fine.
-
I even saw a man wearing a qipao (cheongsam) today! Anyway, I respect all kinds of fashion choices. What I really admire are elderly ladies who dress elegantly and have such amazing poise and style.