Xin Tian Di "The French Concession"

上海法租界 referred to as Xin Tian Di by the Chinese, or "The French Concession" by the Westerners, has everything I need to stay sane here in China. Our Shanghai Studies class brought us on a field trip to Xin Tian Di- I had no idea I was about to discover a gold mine. This district filled with Expats is loaded with practically any type of Western food you could want. Starbucks, Papa Johns, Cold Stone Creamery, Dunkin Donuts, Irish Pubs (where you can actually find a cheeseburger!!). The only downside is that it is extremely overpriced as far as Shanghai standards go, and its pretty rare to actually see the Shanghainese walking around Xin Tian Di. With the amount of Western businessmen and tourists walking around, its easy to forget that its still part of Shanghai! The funny part is that a casual pizzeria like Papa John's turns into a high class restaurant here. For the Chinese, it appears that it is only for special occasions that they eat their. I was pretty disappointed when Dunkin Donuts was out of bagels the one time i went there, but ill keep my hunt going for American food.