Shanghai is okay, but not great.
That is a pretty common opinion among Sinophiles. Shanghai is a wonderful city, but probably not the best place to truly experience China as a foreigner. Before COVID, most expats loved Shanghai because they got to live in China without actually feeling like they were living in China. Of course, COVID soured most of their opinions - the international school my friend sent his kids to has seen enrollment drop by a third because so many parents gave up and went home.
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