Shanghai vs Beijing

Just got back form Shanghai after their Mid-Autumn hockey tournament. Beijing's team went 2-3-1, I was only able to compete in 2 of 6 games because of work conflicts. As striking as the hockey were a couple other things I observed about Shanghai (this is my first stay of more than 20 hours despite having been in China for over 5 years):

1) Way more cosmopolitan. Aside from the city skyline, layout, As I've had it put by some female friends in Beijing, it sometimes seems as if local ladies here choose outfits by turning the lights off and grabbing whatever the touch first in their closets. Shanghainese seemed a bit more fashion-forward in such a way that they were playing with trends and designs in a more self-conscious way, as opposed to the bizarre mimicky stuff you see in north China.

2) Better service culture. Waitstaff at restaurants were generally much better trained, more attentive, and had better English than what you see on average in Beijing.

3) More coins used in change. I got a lot more 1 yuan coins than 1 yuan notes in Shanghai. I definitely find the 1 yuan notes annoying, but not as annoying (or destructive to the material in your pants pocket) as a sackful of metal coins I had to lug around.

4) Tips seem expected, from foreigners at least. Whereas in Beijing you would get 1 cabbie in 12-15 who would not give you back full change down the 1 RMB on your cab fare, 3 or 3 Shanghai cabbies I met did not return the 1-2 RMB extra change, then seemed irked when I requested all my change back. Guess this is a result of longer history of Americans/foreigners in Shanghai and increased tourist numbers?

5) Bit less picky about ID-related stuff. Whereas I was almost turned away at the turnstile in Beijing when I could not produce my original passport (I had a color scanned copy), they didn't bat an eye at the train station in Shanghai... however I was turned away at the hotel when I couldn't produce an original passport.