If you were moving to China for 1-2 years, would you choose Shanghai or Beijing?
Some advantages I've heard for each include:
Beijing:
-"Real" Chinese experience.
-More interesting things to see.
-Has more music & arts.
-More places to go for weekend trips, hiking in nearby mountains, etc.
Shanghai:
-Better weather.
-Less pollution.
-Denser, more manageable city.
-More expat comforts, English speakers, etc.
Bj is more like a chinese man,SH is a lady with a western face.
The perfect suggestion should be to live both,half half.haha.
Yes,BJ stands for more of chinese cultures.it should be the choice if you have to make only one.SH is not bad according to most of the western travellers(though I do not find why),but it seem lack power to bolster a image to rep china.
I prefer Beijing as it is "more" Chinese. Shanghai, IMHO, is just a big city. Beijing has a lot of stuff to see. We spent 10 days in each city last spring and like Beijing better, though we were just tourists. in Beijing, the air is pretty bad and it does get a lot colder. Shanghai does have some really cool places to check out nearby (all those water towns).
Tough choice!!!
Depends on your tolerance for weather! Beijing is nice for about a month in spring and a month in autumn but its freezing for 5 months in winter and a boiling pollution pit for 5 months in summer!
I spent 2 years in Beijing only because thats where my shcool was, if i could have moved it i would. but maybe not to Shanghai which, as is said above, just another big city. At least in Beijing there is some culture and historical sights. But to be honest you might want to try somewhere like xi'an or guilin which are much more appealing.
