One of the best ways of connecting with an unfamiliar city is reading what other people have to say about it. Of course, if you’re living in Shanghai but can’t read Mandarin you’d think that might be a problem. Fortunately, there are plenty of English-language resources that can get you up close and personal with what’s happening. These aren’t city guides – for that you need look no further than this very site – but the authors of each of these sites are all based here in Shanghai, and reading them will have you looking at the place in a new light every time.

Music

1) Jake Newby cut his teeth working at the now-deceased SH Magazine, and now writes by far the best English-language blog about the local Chinese music scene. He picked up where another champ, Andy Best, left off (Andy still contributes from time to time), but is fast carving out his own niche.

2) China Music Radar is run by expat impresario Archie Hamilton, who in the past has put on shows here by the likes of Jose Gonzalez and Maximo Park. It’s the place to go for unvarnished views of the scene and a look at the trials of trying to promote international acts in an over-regulated environment. They’re often first with news of upcoming tours (and the inevitable cancellations) too.

Tech

3) Adam Schokora keeps the fifty 5 blog (previously fifty six minus 1), a mixture of musings on his life in Shanghai (from graffiti to his favourite coffee cup) and lengthy insights into Chinese social media. His day job is at Edelman Digital meaning there are few people with their finger more firmly on the tech pulse.

4) Schokora, along with local legend Sean Leow, is also a partner at Neocha, China’s leading social networking and online community. Much of their content is in Chinese, but the recently launched NeochaEDGE updates daily with bilingual content on youth culture and creativity. It features tons of videos, music and design work from around the country.

Trivia

5) Man about town Swiss James now writes a monthly column for city-living mag That’s Shanghai, but ISpyShanghai is where he started, and it’s still the best place to come for quirky observations about his adopted city, including the craziest shoes he’s seen all week.

6) Paul French’s China Rhyming blog is where he puts all the tidbits that don’t make it into either his books or his refreshingly direct (read: scathing) Access Asia weekly updates. If you want to learn more about the Shanghai of old, these are some very capable hands.

Food

7) Shanghai Chefs serves up inside information about the city’s dining scene, from the point of view of expat chefs working at some of the biggest name resturants in town. Begun by Michelin-starred chef Stefan Stiller – who also keeps a blog for his eponymous restaurant down in the Cool Docks – it’s a neat alternative to all the glowing reviews you find elsewhere.

8) Weird Meat covers other parts of the world too, but home for site author Micahel Ohlsson is Shanghai. That’s where you’ll find him putting on his Antidote parties, and running his new bar Dada. In his spare time, though, he keeps this fascinating blog of the strangest food he’s come across, including, in recent weeks, a snake restaurant in the French Concession. 

News

9) The Daily Telegraph’s Shanghai correspondent, Malcolm Moore, doesn’t blog especially frequently (for more regular updates you’re better off following him on Twitter) but it’s often interesting when he does. Sometimes you get entire stories that didn’t make it to press or were somehow shrunk in the process.

10) Shanghai Scrap is the work of American journalist Adam Minter, who writes for a number of international publications, including The Atlantic Monthly. Although he’s written more about waste recycling than anything else (a lot less dull than you might think when in his capable hands), he’s a fount of knowledge on everything from the upcoming EXPO to the restoration of Jesuit churches.

Honourable Mentions (and why they didn’t make the list):

11) Jenny Zhu is best known as the anchor presenter of ChinesePod. But she also keeps her own blog, on which she muses on everything from the meaning of mooncakes to China’s policy toward ethnic minorities. Never one to shy away from multitasking, she also hosts a jazz show on Soulfire radio. But she doesn’t post frequently enough to keep us coming back.

12) Micah Sitting is a physics teacher by day, astronomer by night, and a stellar blogger in the hours in between. Trouble is his site is hosted by Blogspot, which puts it out of reach of anyone in the city lacking a VPN.

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