Don't blame Shanghai for the locals

Coming from Shanghai and currently working in Beijing, I often feel unjustly treated when I hear people speak ill of the Shanghainese, as I feel myself different from the stereotype.

Haggling over every ounce at vegetable markets, too shrewd to be trustworthy, snobbish and exclusive, is invariably the image of Shanghainese in the mind of people from other parts of China. And these characteristics are what we are widely scolded for.

Yes, I cannot deny the existence of such terrible traits in my home city. But I must remind you that most of them were born in a particular historical background.