Shanghai Expat: Another Anniversary!

Shanghai Expat has been a useful resource for expats in the city for nine years now. TALK asked the team about their past, future and upcoming anniversary bash.

How would you sum up the past nine years? 

We started from 2000 as a personal blog, and tried to help out foreigners and made the expat life easier in Shanghai. We answered real questions people had about living in Shanghai. We have had many different designs and added up lots of information. Now, we are nine years old and have just launched our completely new website on 5 December.

Is there anything that stands out as a highlight?

Our 5th Anniversary party was a major breakthrough, with people lined up out the door to attend. We understood at that point how popular we had become and how much reach we had. Since then, we have three events every week and several one-off events every year.

How did the website come about?

Michael Connolly, the founder, moved here in 1999 and had no resources to figure out where things were for day to day living. Being an IT guy, he started writing about it online so that other people who came could share the benefit. That culture still exists on the board today.

How has the site changed since you started?

It’s a completely new look now compared to nine years ago. It has a lot more traffic now than then and more people participating in the site. It has a business behind it that pays the bills.

What do attribute your success to?

We provide a place to get real questions answered and resources for quite a number of people to get real problems solved. We also reach our members, many times, before they ever come to China, so that we have a relationship with them from the time they set foot in China.

What makes your site unique?

The big difference is that the site changes with the city from the participation and input of the community. It has gotten much bigger than a website. Shanghai Expat is a big expat community rather than just a website. Through the forums, we have the collected wisdom of a very experienced group of expats who are willing to share. This keeps us up to the date and current in ways that really matter. 

What do you have planned for the anniversary party?

As it's ‘9’ years, our Marketing team came up with the idea for a 9-ball theme party. We know there are too many nightlife parties in town, but you won’t find a 9-ball billiard party with casino games and live DJ very often. It should be a lot of fun.

RMB 179 (pre-sale) / 219 (at door). 10pm, 12 December. JC Billiards & Club, V Capital Building, B1, 333 Xianxia Lu (near Gubei Lu). Tel: 5258 5776 x 223. Web: www.shanghaiexpat.com/9th