The other day, when Wendy and I was talking about the safty in Shanghai, we both agree that Shanghai is not as safe as before.
There are several reasons for us to have that kind of feeling.
1. There are more and more (bad) beggar and other misbehaved people on the street. Please note I mean bad beggars (they almost do robbery instead of just begging).
2. There are more murder cases on newspaper than before.
What do you feel? Safer? Worse? or no change?
maybe all the poorer people are feeling more frustrated by seeing all the new wealth around themselves and they can’t resist taking some..by force, if neccessary.
maybe the trick to staying safe is don’t show your wealth or affluence but just dress poor and look dirty. You will be safe that way because no one will want to attack and rob you.
maybe all the poorer people are feeling more frustrated by seeing all the new wealth around themselves and they can’t resist taking some..by force, if neccessary.
maybe the trick to staying safe is don’t show your wealth or affluence but just dress poor and look dirty. You will be safe that way because no one will want to attack and rob you.
maybe all the poorer people are feeling more frustrated by seeing all the new wealth around them and they can’t resist taking some..by force, if neccessary.
maybe the trick to staying safe is don’t show your wealth or affluence but just dress poor and look dirty. You will be safe that way because no one will want to attack and rob you.
Its all relative. I feel Shanghai is very safe compared to the US. Whewnever you have millions of people there will always be a percentage that has criminal intent or act out of anger etc. For a major city Shanghai is very well policed and relatively safe. If you go looking for trouble anywhere you will find it.
My question is Shanghai actually less safe? Or are they being more open about crimes occurring that they did not disclose in the past?
In a recent article I read comparing 100 chinese cities Shanghai still rated in the top ten for safety. I dont think we need to take out our dirty clothes. The beggars are part of gangs they are not frustrated poor people. The police will deal with it in sue time.
In a bifurcated society like China, the more the government talks about building a “harmonious society”, the worse the situation gets. The same thing can be said about fighting corruption and raising citizen morality.
The slogan of “Down with Confucius” in the May 4th Movement in 1919 actually marked the beginning of the end of Chinese traditional morality and civil society. After that, the “thug philosophy” and law of jungle take over and the rest is history. (Remember the blogger talked a lot about Shanghai traffic and you got the idea.)
China-Watch: I agree with your ‘harmonious society” comments. That’s what propaganda is for isn’t it? Brainwashing the people with the government agenda…why do they need to talk about it? Why not just go about doing it?
You forgot to add fighting inflation, wild stock/real estate market and protecting the environment. The more they talk, the worse it gets!
YES,I AGREE WITH YOU.somepeople don’t have work.and they want to live,so they steal or
rob.but why they don’t have work? why they want to do that.
Shanghai is still so safe that it’s not comparable to cities in the United States. Violent crime is almost nonexistent relative to the ridiculously high rates over here. As for pickpockets and petty robbery, the average alert, street-smart individual is safe.
Safety is just a luxury for the rich. If you are poor, what do you fear?
I was in Shanghai in November 2006 and I found Shanghai very safe. The only irritating thing was the number of so-called students who would approach us to buy us tea. I had been warned that this was a scam wherby they took you to an eating place. ordered food and then disappeared when the time came to pay. No, I think Shanghai is very safe compared to some other places in other countries I could mention.
Feeling “safe” is a state of mind. I certainly don’t feel “safe” crossing the street.
yes shanghai is quite safe for crime issue… compared to other cities in china or oversea…
shanghai is not safe at all and very dangerous for the strong and cronic air and water pollution… the air is full of microdust particels… water its just scarsely good for shower… (pls do not cook using tap water)… vegatables, meat, fishes are full of chemicals and antibiotics… often forbidden in europe…
but enviroment .. pollution seem a joke that they like to write on the papers but 1st from Chinese people and then governament no one cares.. they all busy making money… buying cars (in absurd and everyday worst traffic) and playing with the giant bubbles of the property market and A stock market….
just wondering when these 2 speculation bubbles will blow what will do the mass that has invested there using bank loans.. ?
cheers mate.. but with foreing beers as the local is made with water from a creek out of a paper mill or worst a creek from a chemical factory…. (i challange anyone here to find a “real unpolluted river” in china…
Keep in mind that while Shanghai may be experiencing an increase in crime rate due to all the reasons listed above, one thing that you need to keep in mind that the media is much more free (though far from having freedom of the press) to report on these occurances now and thus it may add to the perception of increased violence. You don’t think husbands have abusing their wives in decades past? But yet its on the rise according to the media reports. Roberries, thefts? Yes, with the increasing gap between the “haves” and the “have nots”, more crime will probably occur, but again, don”t forget the source of the news is much mroe efficient now in bringing information to the public
Cheers.
http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/community/index.php?blog=5
Zaoshang hao!
about 2 months ago I posted a comment, indicating I would be making a brief visit to Shanghai. Now I am here, and leaving tomorrow for Beijing.
Not having come back to Shanghai since 1989, I was amazed by the immense change your city has experienced. In a way, it reminds me of the Tokyo of, say, 40 years ago, during the phase of maximum high-rise buildings. The city is so different, but I do recognize one important element which has always been a feature of Shanghai : one can feel and hear the tremendous dynamism of the inhabitants here (gnu zi lo Zonghei = wo shi lao Shanghai…).
I’d be glad to offer you and your wife a drink, if you happen to have the time. I can be reached at any time by my e-mail address.
Best wishes for a nice weekend!
JJS.
I can still remember walking on the dark street after midnight with friends during high school or college in Shanghai without feeling unsafe. After I come to US for couple years, I find you need to live in certain part of the city to be safe. Like the city I’m living right now, the downtown and southern part are definitely unsafe…. People will approach you during the night for money….
Hope shanghai will be safe like before…..miss SHANGHAI….And thank you Jianshuo for the nice blog..
I would like to share my experience. As a foreigner working in Shanghai, I always felt safe living here until I encountered petty robbery on my way back to the office after lunch. Since then I became very stress when walking alone.
Thanks to my local friends here, who takes turns to walk me home and helps me to gain back my confidence. Afterall, I still love this city and the people here.
SHANGHAI NOT SAFE AS BEFORE…
yes!
copy & paste:
Pollution and the excessive use of chemicals in foodstuffs are sending cancer rates soaring in China, where it is already the number one killer, state press said Monday.
Cancer was the most lethal disease in both urban and rural areas last year, the China Daily said, citing a recent health ministry survey.
According to ministry statistics, it has been China’s leading killer since at least 2002 but is now rising at an alarming rate.
The survey, carried out in 30 cities and 78 counties, found the death rate from cancer rose by 19 per cent in urban areas and 23 per cent in rural areas, although the report did not give a time frame.
“The main reason behind the rising number of cancer cases is that pollution of the environment, water and air is getting worse by day,” the paper quoted Chen Zhizhou, a cancer expert at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, as saying.
“Many chemical and industrial enterprises are built along rivers so that they can dump waste into water easily… the contaminated water has directly affected soil, crops and food.”
Excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides also pollute underground water, he said, while farmers are using additives on pigs, poultry and vegetables to make them grow faster.
Air pollution is a major cause of lung cancers, as harmful granules enter the lungs and cannot be discharged, the report said.
Large amounts of formaldehyde and related compounds also are widely used in home renovation materials and furniture, further polluting the air in homes.
“A high rate of cancer deaths has become a reality in areas where the environment is heavily polluted,” the paper said, citing numerous examples of “cancer villages” in China that have high rates of deaths attributed to the disease.
Agence France Presse
as well today 21st May on China Daily Shanghai – front page
I never had any problem in SH…
Some young chinese staring at me in a nasty way in chinese disco sometimes, nothing more.
The only time me and a friend had to fight was because of 2 racists american….
f.. them
There’s no buts about it, shanghai is a beautiful city in china.And Shanghai is among the largest cities in the world.In fact, if the gap becomes too big, the competitors may even give up chasing! Irection of government thinking.
Safe? seemed very safe to my wife and me riding bikes for about 10 months, 25 miles a day (Giant bikes and several good locks). Even when my wife dropped her purse off the back of her bike and a fellow rode like heck to catch her and return it (this was at night). We had zero problems from people but sure do recognize the environmental issues we were consuming (we ate no fish).
Any western food we needed we could find at a “City Mart” or Carrefour and for other western things we hit up one of the several Decathlon stores over Pudong side. We loved our stay in SH and miss the local markets, and enjoyable rides all over the city. It was safe and fun with something new and cool to see everyday. Rudeness? Oh well… chalk it up to culture and go with the flow. We highly recommend and miss mushroom soup at the Jade Buddhist temple… yum-goody on a cold day.
The stealers in shanghai is more and more!
Today is a sad day! My mobile phone is stolen at the bus everyday I take to work.
Actually, I don’t know when it is beening stolen. people beside me are girls and women all look like plain and kind.
I don’t think that one of them get my phone.Maybe there is something abnormal that signals me,but I ignored.
On the bus ,once I felt that something in my bag bumps my legs slightly.But I just think it rusults from the crowded people.
Mybe then someone is groping in my bag!
Oh, what a hapless morning!
I hate the stealer!
My poor Mobile Phone,I miss you so much!
My first impression of Shanghai? It is not a safe place, especially for single girl. I lost my new digi camera on my first day of Shanghai trip. It affected my mood for the rest of the trip. I became very suspicious of everybody around me in Shanghai. Whenever I saw a few guys together walking towards me and looked suspicious, I felt very uneasy, I felt that they were going to rob me. The only time that I felt safe was in my hotel room.
yes i agree.. shanghai in my opinion is getting pretty bad.. i just feel like everything is wrong and people live so poorly. It saddens me to see this type of environment.. there are definately a lot of beggars and also alot of stealers as well. I went there about 2 months ago with my dad and my experience was just horrible. As I was going into a bus, it was very crowded and felt alot of touching and then i noticed my wallet was gone.. i turned around and started patting the guy’s pockets and he accidently dropped my wallet and ran… i would’ve kicked his ass so hard… and then i told my dad i almost got jacked. He then checked his pockets and noticed ALL his money was gone… what a horrible feeling.. then another time… as we were trying to pay the taxi cab, he said the money was fake! so that means we were handed fake change…because everything from the airport is real… i notice that whenever i pay for things.. everyone checks every single bill if its real or not… that was kinda odd to me because i usually count US dollars fast and never really think about it… ever since all this, I’ve been very cautious about people there. I just don’t feel safe at all… my mom also got her wallet stolen from her purse as well in shanghai.. she didn’t even know it happened… thats how good these pick pocketers were… so be careful guys! There’s more to the city than you think…
interesting very interesting,,maybe if there wasn’t so many negtive opinions from the usa or untied kingdom person, the chinese would get along very well with out the western world being in shangahi,,mainly the americans and macdonalds should be kicked out of shanghai…
the real problems are the
shanghai is not safe at all and very dangerous for the strong and cronic air and water pollution… the air is full of microdust particels… water its just scarsely good for shower… (pls do not cook using tap water)… vegatables, meat, fishes are full of chemicals and antibiotics… often forbidden in europe…
but enviroment .. pollution seem a joke that they like to write on the papers but 1st from Chinese people and then governament no one cares.. they all busy making money… buying cars (in absurd and everyday worst traffic) and playing with the giant bubbles of the property market and A stock market….
just wondering when these 2 speculation bubbles will blow what will do the mass that has invested there using bank loans.. ?
cheers mate.. but with foreing beers as the local is made with water from a creek out of a paper mill or worst a creek from a chemical factory…. (i challange anyone here to find a “real unpolluted river” in china…