Guidebooks:

Any Lonely Planet guidebook on China/Shanghai provides helpful information for anyone who travels to China/Shanghai for the first time. Here is some (additional) practical information, which may be helpful as you plan your trip.

Food:

The food scene in Shanghai is highly vibrant. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to come up with a short list of restaurants, stands, and other eateries to recommend. We have given up compiling a list of recommended restaurants, especially since lunches and dinners are organized by the Conference with no additional costs to the registered Conference participants.

The Conference lunches and dinners are seated at tables of four to ten. The food style is mostly Chinese esp. Shanghainese. Two of the dinners, however, will be held at a Czech Brewery and a North Korean restaurant respectively.

Chopsticks will be the default utensil at most lunches and dinners. While these gatherings provide excellent occasions for you to display your dexterity in using chopsticks, chopstick skills are not one of the requirements for participating in the conference:) So please do feel free to ask for alternative utensils (No, we will not be offended.) if they help you better focus on enjoying and appreciating food.

We have taken various usual dietary restrictions into consideration. But please feel free to let us know if you have specific concerns.

Exercise:

The campus of Shanghai Normal University is very green. You will see students and residents nearby exercise in the open air on campus. There is a large track and field stadium with long hours right by our Conference venue. Within a short walking distance from the campus, there is a massive, densely green, and extremely elegant garden (Guilin Garden) that is open from sunrise to sunset. (The picture above gives you some idea about the garden. The entrance fee is CNY2. Many people use the garden for jogging, practicing Tai Qi, and playing portable instruments.)

Weather:

Late May and early June should be reasonably pleasant and mild in most places in China. It tends to be a little rainy and humid in Shanghai, however. The hotel rooms, conference rooms, and the conference restaurants are air-conditioned.

Electrical outlets:

There are usually a variety of different types of outlets in the hotel rooms. So one adapter/converter should be fine. It's also extremely cheap to buy an adapter/converter ($3-5) in China. (The voltage in China is 220v. Most laptops are fine within the range between 110v and 220v. But to be on the safe side, please check the voltage of your laptop before plugging in.)

Money:

China is still a largely cash-based society, although debit cards or bankcards are increasingly being used. Bank cards or credit cards issued by non-Chinese banks are accepted at limited places. Some non-Chinese/international banks may have specific arrangements with Chinese banks, which makes it possible for their cards to be used in China (for cash withdrawal, regular transactions, and so on). It would be helpful to check with your bank(s) to see whether such arrangements are available. You may exchange for Chinese currency at the airport or at various Banks (esp. Bank of China) in Shanghai.

Phones:

It is possible to buy local SIM-cards for Mobile phones. China has become a cellphone society, which means it is rather impossible to find a public phone that is also easy to use.

Water:

Bottled water is easily available. Please do not drink directly from the tap. It is, however, safe to drink the tap water after boiling. Hotel rooms usually provide electric kettles.

Wifi:

Most restaurants have free wifi. Campus wifi requires passwords, which may be possible to arrange. The hotel rooms have wifi (the signal may not be equally strong in all the rooms).

Facebook, twitter, gmail, etc.:

Anything that is Google-based, including gmail, may be highly unstable or inaccessible. While it is usually possible to access gmail through mobile apps, access through web browser is generally blocked. VPNs can also be blocked.

Language:

Although China is still largely a monolingual society, you can always find someone, particularly among the younger demographics, who can speak some English, especially in metropoleis like Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing. Local people are generally very friendly to foreigners, and will try to offer help if the need arises.

Local transportation:

While in Shanghai, it is easy to hail taxis from the street and they are fairly inexpensive. The public transportation system is extensive. Shanghai Normal University is closest to Subway lines 12 and 9.