Shanghai is without doubt the most dynamic & cosmopolitan city in China. Its exotic reputation as the “pearl of the orient”, was gained in 19th century, when at one point there were over 60,000 foreign residents living there.  It was known as a place to get rich quickly and was built on the back of the opium, silk and tea trade, but it had a dark side of slavery, poverty and diabolic working conditions for the “have-nots” which led to the formation of the communist party in a house literally located just down the road from where I rent an apartment. Today Shanghai is the epitome of modern China – bustling & busy, full of confidence and hell bent on making money.

So what is it with the pajamas?

Pajamas appear to be to the people of Shanghai what tracky-dacks are to Aussies, shell-suits & football shirts are to Brits and socks AND sandals are to Germans…. Basically a badge of honor worn in the face of all normal conventions of style, taste and decency!

I must be honest and state that there is a hospital just down the road from where I live and so I see more than my fair share of pajama clad perambulators, but other expats I have discussed this phenomenon with confirm it is quite normal to see their neighbors strolling about in the street in their pajamas. This is particularly so at the weekend where the slept in pajama seems to be the leisure wear of choice amongst the Shanghai cognoscenti!

Filed under: China - Shanghai
by Don Silcock