My first day in Shanghai was quite unexpected! I arrived at Songjiang Station around noon, then took the metro to my hotel after having lunch. The plan was to rest, but after changing the disposable bed sheets, I couldn't sleep. I dozed off until 4 PM, woke up to revise my resume, and went out to buy some daily necessities. The dinner delivery wasn't good at all, making me miss the simple white rice from home. After wandering a bit, I finally got ready for bed, hoping for a good night's sleep.\nA Frustrating Experience: During lunch, I had Shaxian Delicacies (a popular fast-food chain in China). I was really hungry and tired, so I started eating right away after ordering and paying. However, because I was so exhausted, I ate slowly. The female owner kept staring at us, with a frowning face, which made me very uncomfortable. When we were about to leave, she suddenly shouted, 'Pay the bill!' Everyone in the restaurant turned to look at us. I told her I had already paid, but she didn't believe me and checked her phone for a long time. I showed her my payment confirmation, but she ignored it. This was really frustrating and tiring. We left, pushing our luggage, and I even said, 'We wouldn't skip the bill!' It was a disappointing first impression of Shanghai. (Please don't argue, this is just my personal experience.)\nToday's expenses: 203.5 RMB on transportation, 103 RMB for the hotel, 14 RMB for lunch, 16 RMB for dinner, and 15 RMB for daily necessities.

For us outsiders, renting a place is too expensive, which puts a lot of financial pressure on us.

Anyone going this weekend?

Oh, where did you book that?

It's way too crowded.

Is it raining hard? I'm itching to go out and have some fun.

Just getting from the Summer Palace to Universal Studios feels like a journey in itself. Besides Beijing, only Shanxi province gives me that same feeling of vastness – you definitely need to self-drive there.

It's possible. The temperature has shot up like crazy these past couple of days!

It depends on where you live; usually, it's the nearest major commercial area. As for tourist spots, at most we'd stroll through free places like City God Temple or Qibao Old Street. More often, we head to other cities within a 1-hour high-speed train ride.

The work pressure must be immense then.

You're right, I need to make a correction. Regarding those three drivers with poor attitudes, I couldn't really tell if they were 'laoxiang' (from the same hometown/region as me). It's more accurate to say they were Didi drivers I encountered in Shanghai. Thanks for the reminder, I just became aware of this distinction.

Well, I have spent almost a year in Shanghai. To be honest, I didn’t have any unrealistic fantasies about this place before coming here. It was simply to avoid being idle at home and because I had some friends living here. However, I am now planning to leave Shanghai (which is often referred to as "Hu" in Chinese, a shortened name).

• Indeed, although the city is bustling with people, it somehow feels void and lacks a true sense of real "life."
• Wherever you go, there are throngs of tourists, which can become quite irritating.
• No wonder some of my friends from the South, who are used to a lively lifestyle (like those from Guangdong or Fujian), find it hard to adjust — feeling that the “human烟火氣” is missing or, in other words, the daily hustle and bustle that includes the inviting smell of food and the laughter of people intertwining together. In comparison, cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou are overflowing with such vitality.

Some of my friends have been leaving one by one:

• Friend A: Broken up, went back home to get married through family arrangements, and thus left Shanghai.
• Friend B: With decent pay but high rent and daily expenses, barely saving any money, they decided to move elsewhere to make new opportunities for themselves.
• Friend Both broken up and jobless, returned back home.
• Friend Due to lacking suitable educational background, failing to find a good job, went to Guangdong for better opportunities.
• Friend E: With better family conditions, went back to Fujian to get married.
• Friend F: Given the immense pressure in Shanghai and the exhausted spirit after years here, also went back to get married.

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️ An alert for those thinking about developing themselves in Shanghai:

• Regarding Work and Cost of Living:
  • Unless you’ve already secured a job with a generous salary, avoid coming to Shanghai lightly with plans to “forge ahead.”
  • For ordinary job opportunities that might not even have better prospects than those in places like Guangzhou or Shenzhen. At least in those places, the rental fees and living costs are lower, making life much more comfortable.
• Don’t Be Misled by the Appearance:
  • Be careful not to be misled by those online pictures showing flashy trendy attractions (like the "Three Major Buildings" of the Bund or Lujiazui) or Shanghai’s super high GDP (gross product of the city).
  • All these superficial features do not closely relate to a regular person's daily life here. Without caution, once you come here, you might just be an ordinary worker striving hard with quite some stress, and yet you may not actually enjoy these “high-end” privileges.

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#ShanghaiCityWalk #Shanghai #JiangZheHu #Bund #Lujiazui #Disneyland #ThreeBuildings #QuitJobWithoutAPlan #AfterUnemployment #BigCityLife #DiaryOfJobLoss #LeavingMetropolis

For those crab roe noodles, I honestly try to warn off every single person I see considering them. But alas, droves of people still go, eat them, and then post their own warnings. Sigh.

We went, and it's really suitable for a family outing. There are quite a few farmhouse inns around. We booked one here called 'Xishang Farmhouse,' where we sang karaoke, ate, and played mahjong with the family. Strolling through the ancient town in the evening was surprisingly relaxing and enjoyable.

Sure, here is the translation:

"The following will help friends who plan to visit Suzhou, especially those coming from abroad!

#Humble Administrator's Garden #Suzhou Museum #Jichang Temple #Xi Yuan Temple

I recently visited several places in Suzhou for two days, such as Xi Yuan Temple(also called Jichang Temple), Shantang Street(a well-known ancient street), Humble Administrator's Garden(a very famous classical garden) and Suzhou Museum.

Suzhou Museum

• Honestly speaking, as a museum with limited space, its exhibits lack a clear theme.
• If you visit purely because of the architecture (designed by I.M. Pei, who designed the glass pyramid of the Louvre in Paris!), you might find it a bit uninteresting.

Humble Administrator's Garden

• It has been said to have "scenic spots every step". Each angle looks beautiful. However, as it used to be a private garden of rich people, the scenic spots inside are delicate and small.
• The photos I took here were pretty, but the experience in person was not especially special.

Complaints about Key Areas & Tips!

• Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou Museum, Lion Grove (another famous garden known for its artificial rockeries), and Pingjiang Road(a historical street along a river) are close to each other.
• Warning:
  • The area is commercialized with many shops, affecting the experience.
  • It gets very crowded because of the concentration of tourists around these景点本身不算特别大，但一出来就是各种各样的商店，游客也超级多，可能会感觉很拥挤，有点喘不过来气。
  • How to handle it: Try to avoid weekends, holiday peak periods, or visit first thing in the morning.

Xi Yuan Temple (an Unexpected Surprise)

• This temple gave me a pleasant surprise! Although not particularly empty, the temple atmosphere helps calm your mind.
• It has cute animals like cats and pigeons, bringing sense of nature, interesting. (Small hint: the vegetarian noodles here are said to be delicious!)

Overall Impression

• Suzhou is a popular tourism city which I can understand. When transportation was less convenient before, having all attractions close together was an advantage— even Huqiu (another famous scenery with an ancient tilt tower like that of Pisa) is close to the city center.
• But now, with advanced transportation, there are so many better places than Suzhou.
• Another point is the lack of "slow life" feel in Suzhou (which is well done by neighboring Yangzhou). In Yangozhu, I felt very relaxed because of the slower living pace there. Suzhou feels a bit similar to Shanghai — everything is neat and beautiful but not very relaxing."

In case you have any suggestion or need me to explain something more.

(Simplifying some complex sentences and keeping the flow of language smooth, the translated text aims to be friendly and understandable.)

Same designer.

Why not stay at the Haichang hotel and split the visit over two days? If you find the hotel too pricey, you could explore options in the surrounding area.

Welcome to China! I'm sure you're going to have a wonderful trip here.

Creating a pleasant environment requires everyone's effort.

Everything starts out imperfect and gets better. Give it some time, watch it gradually develop, and you'll likely feel differently about it as it grows.