Expats and Students Make New Friends While 'Dancing with Shanghai'

"Dancing with Shanghai," an online initiative to encourage Shanghai residents to share their lives, held its first offline recruitment activity on June 2 in Dongshe village, Liantang, Qingpu District.

In collaboration with the Foreigners' Storytelling Club, the event invited expats and international students to learn about Chinese culture and traditions while helping the expat community make new friends from around the world.

Participants celebrated the event in the field of flowers, watching traditional Chinese performances, dancing to modern Chinese beats, and taking pictures with the colorful hydrangea castle as summer smiled down on the sea.

This served as the perfect backdrop as an offline activity for the Foreigners' Storytelling Club, with older members curating the event while foreign students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Tongji University got to learn more about the Chinese culture.

Astrid Poghosyan from Armenia, one of the founding members of the Foreigners' Storytelling Club in 2020, explained that the club was created to help expats in Shanghai get to know each other and share their stories and contributions to the city's growth.

The club has grown and added members due to the success of their video series, but their core values have remained the same: welcoming and integrating younger expats and students by giving them opportunities and connections to settle down and contribute to Shanghai.

Astrid enthusiastically supported having the activity away from the city center when asked to share more about the location.

"I like that they developed this idea, especially now, we can see that city life is getting busier, that people are really seeking a place where you can just kind of relax," Astrid said.

She thinks everyone should take a break since the location is far from city lights and activity.

"Sometimes, you need to escape the city, unwind, and recharge," she added.

Tongji University student Maria Andrea from Colombia agreed that the venue makes her feel comfortable.

"I like this venue because the flowers are pretty and the atmosphere is calm, unlike the city. Fresh air is nice," Maria said.

Upadhyaya Nagendra Rijal from Nepal, another early member of the club, emphasizes the club's role in connecting expats. He added that the Storytelling Club helps expats find talent.

"This is a good way to know them (foreign students looking for a job in Shanghai/looking to stay in Shanghai) and find good talents as we get to know them and see if they fit our company."

After the dances and networking, the group visited the Art M and Creative Park to learn about Chinese arts and traditions like the 4 Treasures of the Study, pottery, and contemporary Chinese art.