The government, communities and businesses have been working nearly around the clock for well over ten years razing every square inch of Shanghai, replacing it with sparkling new testaments to what the city truly represents, but in any city in the world you have to take a moment to ask yourself whether or not you are safe. In Shanghai, however, the answer comes especially quickly… yes you are.
Traveling in any city in any part of the world, you may be the victim of a violent crime or theft, especially with the ever-growing prominence of drug addiction and abuse. Shanghai may be the exception to this rule, in part because of their constant crackdown on drug abuse, but more so due to their zero-tolerance approach to violent crimes, especially those perpetrated against foreigners.
According to the CIA World Fact Book, there are fewer than ten violent crimes committed against foreigners of any nationality in the entirety of China during any given year. I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds like an exceptionally low number, and it’s the official one published by the United States, admittedly a nation that does little to endorse travel to the Peoples Republic of China.
How many violent crimes were committed just yesterday, just against foreigners, just in the city of New York? I’ve searched and searched to find the statistic, but it is sadly nothing that is published. Something tells me, a city that big, a city that scary, it was more than ten, and that’s in just one day.
I’ve lived in China for longer than it makes sense to think about, I’ve had many friends, co-workers and colleagues who have lived and traveled here, and I have never personally heard of even a single victimization of any crime. I’ve traveled alone in strange neighborhoods, even late at night, and never thought twice about it. That’s not to say that they don’t exist or that they can’t happen, it’s just to say that I’ve never heard of it.
If you’re worried about “being Shanghaied” as the old adage says, you’re wasting your mental energy. I don’t know the origin of that phrase, but whatever it is, it’s a thing of the distant past. I’d guess it predates the cultural revolution by quite a margin.
Think about it logically. Shanghai is the biggest port in mainland China, every day millions of tons of cargo head out for North America, Europe and other parts of Asia. China owes a good deal of its economy to its ability to readily export goods. If you are sent to China on behalf of your company and go home with a scary story about what it’s like to walk alone at night, you might go to Thailand next time. They don’t want that to happen, and they know that if all they have to do is enforce the laws that are already on the books, the streets will be safe and you’ll go home with a positive impression… and come back.
