GUBEI New Area is becoming Shanghai's "Indiatown" with more and more Indian people settling there.
Every Saturday evening, they visit each other and chat about life in Shanghai.
"Life in Shanghai is easy with elevated highways, subways and supermarkets," said Rajesh Tiwari from Bombay, the financial capital of India.
"Our children receive a good education in Yew Chung Shanghai International School.
"The climate here is fascinating to Indian families as compared with the hot and humid weather in India. We can experience four seasons here," said Tiwari who has been living in the city for three years.
His words were echoed by Ravi Ranjan from Chandigarh, saying Shanghai is a good city to live in. He came to this conclusion after visiting many other cities in China.
"Infrastructure here is excellent and the business environment is OK," said Ranjan. He works for the Shanghai-based Thakral Corporation Ltd.
Many in the Indian community enjoy reading a paper in the morning. "In Shanghai, we also have a lot of English-language newspapers and magazines to read," Mickey Panjwani said, listing Shanghai Star as one of them.
Latha, a housewife, said many children has made friends with lots of local Chinese.
"My daughter can now speak very good Chinese and she is my interpreter when I communicate with my housekeeper," she said.
Latha and her husband G. Padmanabhan are vegetarians and have many good things to say about chefs in local restaurants.
"They often invite us into restaurant kitchens to check what we need," Latha said.
Many Indian people are fond of hot and spicy food, so they often prefer Sichuan and Hunan cuisine to local food. But they love local vegetables. Indian expatriates regard Shanghai as a "home away from home," especially because the Indian community holds many parties and get-togethers. For any further information about the Indian community please contact Rajesh Tiwari at rajesh@public4.sta.net.cn.
Shanghai Star
