Hai from Shanghai

Shanghainese women have a reputation for being insufferably stuck-up and materialistic. It’s a refrain I’ve heard since my first night here: Whatever you do, don’t date a Shanghainese girl. (I’ve even heard it from a few Shanghainese girls, which is always funny.) I can’t corroborate the warning with any first-hand evidence — the only Chinese women I’ve been out with have been from other provinces — but a quick stroll through any mall here would give you some idea where the prejudice comes from. Not so, a troll through the online-dating profiles, which are often endearingly earnest and chock full of cute Engrish.

Then there’s [screenname redacted], who is not helping to debunk the reputation that precedes Shanghainese ladies. Here is what she wrote in the “You should message me if” section of her OKCupid profile:

if u want to propose or send the gift.(I mean it.)^_^

if ur thoughtful giving and caring,need a girl to hug and spoil .^_^

Rule 1 for the foreigners in China:if u want to chase me,send the gift first, dont try to trick me by one cup of drink,go trick easy girls.

my foreigner friends live in Western country ar very great gentleman,they bring me gifts but want nothing as return,but some forgigner losers in China,always talk about dvd wine and cook first date,in ur dream,what u have done for me?

Charming. Then again, with this as her main profile picture —

— she could very well be knee-deep in gifts from gentlemanly forgigners.

I wrote her this afternoon offering marriage proposals, hugs, and gifts (not necessarily in that order). I’ll keep you posted.