The Value of Everything and the Cost of Nothing....

Greetings and welcome to this week's Yellow River Chronicles.  This week we are going to finally answer one of the questions that is frequently asked of the Yellow River Chronicle staff.  We are going to take a swing at: "How much do things cost in the 'Hai?"

While generally this column has taken a strong stance against informative content, plausible story lines, coherence, good documentation and other foibles of "good writing", there is certainly quite of bit of curiosity about the topic by our respected and loyal readers, so we thought we would give this a try.  So expect facts here!

Paris in Shanghai (photo courtesy USAToday)

The general notion is that living in the PR of C is either extremely cheap or, it is quite expensive, as in Paris Hilton expensive.

This being the land of harmony, consensus and balance, both statements are accurate.  There is the old adage that a cynic is a person who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.  Whereas, a non-Chinese resident of Shanghai knows the value of everything and the cost of nothing.

The best way to explain this is to first discuss parallel universes.  According to good ol' Wikipedia:   The multiverse (or meta-universe, metaverse) is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including the historical universe we consistently experience) that together comprise everything that exists and can exist: the entirety of space, time, matter, and energy as well as the physical laws and constants that describe them. The term was coined in 1895 by the American philosopher and psychologist William James.[1] The various universes within the multiverse are sometimes called parallel universes.


It is based explained in a columnar matter. There are four separate price universes in Shanghai with different price structures.  Different universe, different price, even for the same thing.

First, there is the internationally-indexed price universe.  These are the common, published price venues that charge everybody the same price for the same quality item. They are usually international fast-food chains or department stores.   A Big Mac, with fries and a medium Coke, will cost about $4.00.   A large, multiple topping pizza is about $20.00.  Everybody pays the same price.  There is no negotiation, though we have seen it attempted.

How much for the bananas?

At the other end of the spectrum is the second universe:  Shanghai the cheap.  This is the local, unpublished, street universe.  A bowl of noodles is 30 cents.  A pork or vegetable bun would be 15 cents.  A watermelon in season is 30 cents.  A bottle of tea is 45 cents.  A bottle of beer is 45 cents.  A made to order, custom suit is around $100, and a made to order shirt is $15.00.  A DVD or CD is $1.50.  A bottle of Stoli vodka (street) is $10.00.  Dinner for four with beer and four or five entrees can be well under $60.
Note:  A foreigner can generally expect to pay higher prices, simply because of not being Chinese.  There is a laowai premium and negotiation is expected most of the time, with the worst markups being in the tourist areas.

Good deal if the meter is running

An example of this is cab fares.  Cab drivers are generally supposed to use a meter and fares are regulated.  The fare is flat rate whether you have one rider or four.  If the meter is used, cab fares are extremely cheap--you can get almost anywhere for around $2 to $3.

UNLESS you get a red cab. Or if it's raining.  Or if its Chairman Mao's birthday. Or a national holiday.  Or if you have two or three suitcases and look like you are in a hurry.  Or if it's Friday night and it is raining.  Or if you get a blue and white cab and he's in a bad mood.  Or if you're at the airport and it's you first ride into town.  Or, if you are wearing large sweatshirt with "Who Farted?" on the front...and it's after midnight.

The Most Expensive Cheerios in the Universe

The third price structure is internationally branded luxury goods.  These generally have extremely high prices and have about a 40% to 50% premium over the exact same item in New York.  Handbags and watches (real ones) are good examples.  Electronics and cameras are in the same structure, with I-phones and I-pads being near the top of Apples international price structure.  These premiums also apply to imported specialty grocery items, such as cheeses, wines, beers and yes, breakfast cereals.   A box of Cheerios, for example, in a import-specialty store costs...(drum roll) about $14.00.

The Chairman likes his luxury digs...

Finally, there is real estate.  Pricing of real estate in Shanghai is near the top of the international scale.  Due to tremendous speculation in Shanghai real estate, the average Chinese cannot afford to own a house or apartment in the city.

Hotel prices are near the top of the scale, with rooms in the $250-$500 a night range for international standards.   For apartments in high end neighborhoods, prices of $5,000 to $10,000 a month are not unusual.

And we hope you will return for more of the unusual at next week's Yellow River Chronicles!  Thanks for tuning in and keep those cards and letters coming!