Shanghai Daily news

Not that long ago, locals would often say "it is better to have a bed in Puxi than a house in Pudong" - an expression that has become obsolete and a growing number of people, including expats, are now choosing to live on the other side of the Huangpu River.
The prosperous business hub has lured more than 11,000 foreign ventures from 98 countries and regions, according to the district government officials. Pudong is home to about 30,000 expatriates.
Due to rocketing demand, 38 residential areas designed specially for expatriates have been built in Pudong so far.
The district is accelerating efforts to create five international standard communities by 2008, such as Green City, Yanlord Garden, and the Lianyang Community.
Green city, situated near the Jinqiao Export Processing Zone, is home to about 5,000 expatriates, representing 28 countries and regions, accounting for half of the residents in the community.
"As the first developed international community in Pudong, Green City is designed to provide Western-style luxury living with a multi-national culture and complete facilities," said Sheng Zhengting, general manager of Shanghai Jinchen Property Management Co Ltd.
More than 80 percent of its 1,500 residents are expatriates.
To provide high-grade services, the company's Biyun branch takes care of all sorts of family services, such as reminding residents of visa renewal and helping them find private tutors.
"My wife and I have seen 36 houses since we arrived in the city and finally we decided to live here, which has more green space and less-polluted environment," said Wolfgang Hackl, 36, from Austria, who lived for almost two years with his family in Green Villas. His wife Siriboon Hackl took her post as Thailand's Consul General in Shanghai two years ago.
Providing a good education for their two-year-old son Erwin was Hackl's top concern when settling in the area. "The area boasts quite a few high-quality international schools and we just sent our son to the Montessori Kindergarten."
The international schools set up in the area includes Dulwich International School, Concordia International School Shanghai and Shanghai Pinghe Bilingual School.
There is still much in Green City's favor. International hospitals and clinics, sports facilities like an American football field and a soccer field, a Catholic church and a Christian church mark the cosmopolitan scene.
Restaurants offering foods from different countries and big markets like OBI and Carrefour are also helping attract expatriates. For many, these benefits are likely to outweigh the travelling time to offices in the city center.
More than 40 percent of the 1,944 families living in Yanlord Garden in Lujiazui are expats hailing from 46 countries and regions.
At the end of 2002, Jason Boonham from Australia and Lilian Loo, a Singaporean housewife, were elected members of the Yanlord Garden neighborhood committee.
The neighborhood committee is a body at the grassroots level for self governance, education and services. Its members serve on a voluntary basis.
"Unlike Chinese people, foreigners think highly of their privacy and we didn't know how to get close to them at first since cultural differences exist," said Lu Kaiming, an official from the Yanlord Garden neighborhood committee.
"The two foreign members of our committee helped a lot to resolve disputes among foreign neighbors," he added.
Although boonham and Loo went back to their own countries last year, more warm-hearted expatriate residents are making contributions to the community.
Joe kokesh from the United States is an active member, well known for raising suggestions to the community as well as the district government just as a local citizen would. For instance, he advised that car drivers should slow down in Yanlord to avoid accidents.
"I consider myself as belonging to the community instead of just being a passer-by," said Kokesh, who has lived in Yanlord with his Chinese wife since last September. "I expect communications among all the residents will increase and our living environment can keep improving."
The yanlord Garden neighborhood committee focuses its attention on cultural exchanges between Chinese residents and expatriates. They organize different kinds of parties and activities from time to time and many have made good friends with each other through the gatherings.
"We arranged a gathering of residents during each traditional Chinese festival," said Lu.
Residents were taught to make Tangyuan, glutinous rice dumplings, during the Lantern Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival, they were taught to make zongzi, a glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.