Shanghai crowned the best place in China for expats

Instagram: @expatsholidays

We already knew it, but it's nice to have it confirmed: Shanghai has been named the best place in China for expats. Home to the beautiful leafy streets of the Former French Concession, the sights of the Bund and the Lujiazui skyline, it's no wonder the city has received this recognition.

According to SHINE, the results were worked out by an index measuring China's regional competitiveness in terms of attracting international talent, taking into account the number of expats, the career development environment and the living environment.

From 31 regions covered, Shanghai ranked top with a score of 3.91 out of six, followed by Beijing (3.67) and Guangdong province (3.52).

Co-authored by the Centre for China & Globalization and the Institute of Development Studies of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, the report awarded Shanghai the maximum score of 1 for 'development environment for international talent' – mainly down to visa policies benefiting both graduates and senior professionals.

Surprisingly (to us at least), Shanghai ranked fairly low on living environment, coming in behind Guangdong province, Beijing, Jiangsu province and Shandong province. We're particularly shocked about coming in behind Beijing, especially after we 'thoroughly' compared life in the capital with life here earlier this year.

Still: we're number one! We're number one! 

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