My Shanghai Winter Checklist

05 Jan My Shanghai Winter Checklist

After a short five-hour flight from the sunny shores of Singapore—on a plane which I had almost all to myself—I finally found myself in Shanghai, ready for my finance internship adventure to begin. A word of warning: it is freezing in December! During winter, the average temperature in this city ranges between 3℃ to 11℃, though the damp air makes it even more chilly.

Stepping out of the plane, I immediately felt the cold bite into my skin. I could see my breath forming cute, puffy clouds in front of me—something I had never experienced before, having spent most of my time in Perth, Singapore, and other warmer Asian countries. While I generally enjoy the cold, my excitement at seeing my own breath was short-lived as I realised that clothes-wise, I had packed mostly thin silky work blouses, only two thermals, a pair of heels, and sandals.

I packed for my internship in Shanghai thinking that if it was so hot last summer when I was here, how cold could it possibly get? Clearly, I underestimated the winter. If I had the chance to go back and repack my luggage, I would do it in a heartbeat. By now, I’ve carefully thought about what I should have included.

Here’s my Shanghai winter survival checklist:

1. A puffy down jacket (¥299 to ¥799 in Uniqlo). A must!
2. Thermals, which you should wear before you land—even if you’re coming from a tropical country.
3. Heattech pants from Uniqlo for just ¥199. They’re pretty amazing and will keep you warm without looking bulky. You can also get your free alteration done in half an hour—just put it on in the fitting room, they will pin it up for you, then you can take it to the counter, pay for it, and collect it later.
4. Thick gloves. Uniqlo has good quality ones for ¥79. I swear this is not an ad for the brand. I’m just a fan!
5. Thick socks, which you can find pretty much anywhere for low prices.
6. Boots, preferably furlined (e.g. Uggs). Apparently you can get them for ¥100, but I got ripped off and paid ¥300. Then again, I was desperate after I’d gone three days in open-toed sandals and had begun wondering if my feet were still there!
7. Scarf. It makes a huge difference.

Note that this list is not arranged in order of importance. Make sure to have them all before you head to Shanghai in winter! Aside from the thermals, I brought none of these and my first few days were simply not so fun. I spent most of my shopping money on survival clothes.

Now, I pretty much wear all the things in my checklist whenever I go out. I skip the gloves if it is a relatively warmer day though (12℃ or higher).

By the way, do also bring pills for the flu, cough, headaches, and diarrhoea. Please learn from my mistakes—they will come in handy! These pills should actually always be part of your travel essentials, whether it’s for a winter or summer internship in Shanghai (or any other city).

Anyway, back to the airport.

I get off the plane, I’m freezing, it’s 6am, and there is no Wi-Fi in the Shanghai airport—though I believe they have Wi-Fi now. In any case, remember that you can always go to Burger King, get breakfast, and use their free Wi-Fi to email your parents that you are alive. That was also where I was able to contact members of the Absolute Internship team, and they assured me that they were on their way. 

There were also a bunch of people like me—students who participated in international internship programs in Shanghai—who have been here since 6AM. Soon, Absolute Internship staff arrived and we hung around a bit to wait for some more students. Shortly after, we made our way on a chartered bus to our apartments.

Reaching the student residence, we were greeted first and foremost by the Directors of Absolute Internship. They gave us welcome packs filled with everything we needed to get started in Shanghai: train passes (which you could conveniently use to pay for taxis as well), sim cards, instant noodles, maps, and even a toy panda. One of the program coordinators then showed us to our rooms.

The apartment was great. You could get a 1-, 2-, or 3-bedroom unit which means you are either by yourself, with another person, or with 2 other people, respectively. I got a 2-bedroom and a great roommate, Hannah—we hit it off from the start! The apartment had everything we needed, too. There was a washing machine, a microwave oven, cutlery, an iron, heat, clean water, our own baths, a hairdryer, along with all the other usual things that you would find in a hotel. It felt like a nice place to go home to after a productive day in my internship.

After a long, hot shower and a good rest, we made our way to our welcome dinner: a buffet at a tea house! There was almost every kind of food you could imagine, and I would say two-thirds of them, I had not even seen in my life. It was a great dinner and a good opportunity to meet the other interns on the program.

Many of us turned out to be finance interns, but there were also students who chose law, engineering, and architecture among other industries. Some of us were assigned to intern at small companies, but I believe this is where you can truly get involved and make the most of your internship!

The next day, we had dim sum for brunch at Lynn, which was also sponsored by Absolute Internship. It was just fantastic. I think each table seated about 12 of us, but we had way over 15 plates of food! It was too much for us to handle, yet, every time a new dish arrived, our eyes would brighten, our taste buds would awaken, and we would somehow manage to make room for just one more piece before collapsing back into our chairs. Boy, was it worth it. That was definitely the best dim sum I have ever had in my whole life.

I start my finance internship here in Shanghai in just a few days. Expect that I’ll be back soon to write about that, too!