Case File 02 — Everyday Shanghai Routes

The idea

The guide is the route

The pilot taught us that the human connection carries the experience. So when we built the first route cohort, we didn't commission itineraries — we recruited five Shanghai locals in their late twenties and asked each of them to walk us through the city they already live in.

All five came through second-degree connections of the founding team. They grew up in different cities — Shanghai, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Nanjing — studied at USC, Fudan, UCSB, NYU, and hold day jobs in teaching, law, finance, and social media. None of them are professional tour guides. That's the point: each signature route is a point of view, not a product of popularity.

The routes

Five signatures, side by side

Each route below is the guide's own — where they eat, where they studied, the corners they'd take a friend. Scroll through the cohort.

A street scene in Yangpu, Shanghai — Yangpu — where HER was filmed

Route 01 · Jony Z.

Yangpu, on foot — the HER citywalk

Grew up in Shanghai, studied at USC, teaches at an international high school. Jony's signature is a citywalk through Yangpu district, where the film HER was shot — threading local eateries with a slice of local university life along the way.

This is the route that hosted the original pilot evening. It works because Jony isn't showing you Yangpu; he's showing you his Yangpu.

Fudan University — Fudan — Toria's alma mater

Route 02 · Toria C.

Fudan by day, bars and easels by night

Lived in Xiamen, studied at Fudan, now works in law — and spends her free time dancing, painting, and chasing fashion. Her route starts with an insider's exploration of Fudan University, moves through local eateries and bars, and can end with something no guidebook offers: joining a dancing or painting session alongside her.

Suzhou Creek waterfront, Shanghai — Suzhou Creek — the seam between old and new

Route 03 · Betty H.

Suzhou Creek — old and new Shanghai in one walk

Grew up in Guangzhou, studied at UCSB, works in financial services; off hours she bikes, plays badminton, and bakes. Betty's signature is a citywalk along Suzhou Creek, visiting the historical sites stitched along the water.

Her walk is a history lesson in disguise — the old and the new Shanghai side by side, warehouse brick against glass towers, told at walking pace.

Neon-lit Shanghai at night — the trendy hangouts — Qiwen knows first

Route 04 · Qiwen H.

Eat it, then photograph it

Grew up in Huizhou, studied at NYU, works in social media — which is to say, finding what's about to be cool is her literal job. Her route dives into local eateries, checks off the instagrammable spots that actually deserve the camera, and lands in the trendy local hangouts where young Shanghai spends its evenings.

A shared hotpot feast — Channy's table — come hungry

Route 05 · Channy Z.

A feast, properly done

Grew up in Nanjing, worked in financial services; loves cats, fortune telling, anime, and detective stories — dinner with Channy comes with plot. Her signature is the most direct promise in the cohort: a feast of world-class Asian and Chinese food, followed by the best local bars that Shanghai is famous for.

The route is a framework; the person and the conversation make it memorable.

What we learned

Curate people, not places

Everyday beats iconic. Not one of the five signatures leads with a landmark. They lead with eateries, campuses, creeks, and hangouts — the places locals return to, which is exactly what travelers say they can't find on their own.

Range comes free when the people have range. We didn't design a portfolio that covers history, food, campus life, nightlife, and art. We picked five interesting people, and the coverage happened by itself.

A signature is a matching signal. Naming each guide's route makes the matching conversation concrete: a traveler who lights up at “Fudan and a painting session” is telling us who they should meet — before anyone checks a calendar.