Doing Artwork in China as an American

One month ago, I found myself staying in downtown Shanghai, China for a month. As an American who only knows China as the land of sweatshops and communism, I’m not gonna lie, I was daunted by the idea of staying for an extended amount of time.

Why Work in China?

Actually, the project came up about a month prior, at a hotel pool in Vegas. Didn’t expect that, did you. I was assisting Australian artist Gemma O’Brien on her mural for VSP, a Vision Insurance company that wanted a mural for their booth at a convention. During the week, Tiffany & Co. called to tell her that the Chinese mural project was a go. Due to the scale of the project, she wanted to bring 4 assistants and asked if Michelle and I wanted to come. Duh.

Work Visa and Packing for China

Our timeline was totally short and by the time I applied for my rush work Visa through my concierge, it was going to arrive too late to make it on my international flight. Not stressful at all. Everyone came through at the final hour, and my Visa arrived at 1 am, four hours before I headed to the airport. And now I know that I can get same-day mail from Washington DC for a simple $900;)

As for packing, I didn’t actually bring that much. I packed paint clothes and clothes for cold weather (it was warm, oops), my regular plugs since they have American outlets, and simply used the ATMs once i got there to get cash. Cash is king unless you have WeChat pay (and you probably don’t, huh!)

Is China Safe?

Shyeahhh. I mean, I can’t speak for everywhere, but Shanghai was SO SAFE. Like, I didn’t even pay attention to my purse around my neck or behind close to people on the subway. A bit creepy buuut there are tons of cameras everywhere and people seem to be pretty apt to following rules. I must say, it’s so comforting being in a safe country. I love Asia.

Eating in China without Getting Sick

Obviously I gotta add a bit about the food. Because secretly this whole art website is actually a closet-food blog if I’m being honest with myself. Let me just put it out there. I LOVE CHINESE FOOD. Okay, maybe not the pig brain or chicken feet everywhere but man o man, it was so fun exploring the food scene of Shanghai.

Some of my favorite Chinese foods that you should try as a tourist:

• Ji Dan Bing (a breakfast wrap) but I love the one with potato/peppers wrapped inside!

• Stir-Fried Noodles with veggies and delish sauce made in front of me on the street

• Muslim Noodle Soup - watch them make your noodles on the spot

• Dumpling Soup and Xiao Long Bao of course

• Dragon Fruit from fruit stands

Try those all. I’M SERIOUS!

If you must know (I’m sure you’re wondering), I only had one brutal night the entire month. It seems that I always get food sickness or some other ailment when I travel. I am healthy and often take vitamins, but also have a bit of a compromised digestive system from adventurous food eating, so, whatcha gonna do!

Note: I do take these precautions about food when I travel:

• Washing anything that has skin still on it with purified water

• Always drinking bottled water or boiled water unless Google tells me the water is safe in the country

• Eating at nicer restaurants that are used to tourists

• If eating food from the street, making sure it’s cooked and avoiding adding meat

• Bringing charcoal pills for small tummy issues, and trying to have coconut water on hand for hydration

I totally advise you to try some street food though, it is the cutest thing to see how excited the older Chinese people get when you attempt a few Chinese words and want to try their foods.

Shanghai Tips and Using WeChat

Before you get to China, you need to realize that your regular phone life is going to go bye-bye! Look into a VPN and download one. Then download WeChat. Okay, now you’re good. Haha.

You’ll make friends quick if you are an American with WeChat (their messaging/everything service) and maybe even by the time you go, WeChat pay will work flawlessly for internationals. I used cash for almost everything when I was there (Nov. 2019). Loooooserrrrr.

To get my exploration cup filled, I became besties with the Shanghai Metro, which was super duper easy to use, although the stops are quite far apart so hopefully, you enjoy a nice, long stroll. There’s so much to see in each neighborhood, so you should. I finally ended up getting DiDi (Uber) by the end and it was crazy easy.

We also ventured out of town a couple of times, using buses, fast rails, and taxis. I didn’t bring my passport on bus day and let’s just say…acutally let’s not revisit how I got through all the checkpoints. Okay, moving on.

I used a Chinese SIM card while in China and would def recommend going this route. They loooove their phones there so you get tons and tons of data, just no one can call or text you from back home. A nice break, I say.

Enjoy Every Second in China!

I want to keep this short, so I’m going to stop here and I’ll write more specific posts later about the four mural projects I did in Shanghai. Do you have any questions that I missed? Comment and I’ll try to help!