McDonald's - Restaurant or Home?

I recently came across this article in the China Daily which touches on a situation that occurred on my street, at the local McDonald's restaurant, just a couple weeks ago: China Daily | My Kind of Place

It seems that many of Shanghai's 24-hour fast food joints have turned into sanctuaries for homeless Chinese citizens, and the management at these establishments are having a lot of trouble keeping people from using them as their own personal bedrooms late at night. It's an interesting story, and it's something that I've personally noticed while passing by these restaurants late at night. Both the 24-hour KFC and the McDonald's down the road from my apartment have at least 20 people sleeping on the tables and booths between the hours of 11pm and 7am. It often hinders you from getting that late night ice cream sundae which you've been hoping for after a long day.

The stabbing that the story describes is not something that happens often, so please don't be worried about my safety. The area that I live in and everywhere that I've visited in Shanghai all seem to be quite safe in comparison to some places that I've been back in the U.S.

While I'm on the topic of the 'Sleeping Chinese' that I had mentioned in an earlier post (Sleeping Chinese and Poor Translations), I might as well share some images that I have collected during my adventures throughout the city of Shanghai which show how common it is to find a person napping in really any societal setting:

Here is a young boy sleeping on the front porch of a Xujiahui restaurant after watching the USA-Ghana World Cup game through the window.

This bus driver is catching some Z's while he awaits the tour group that he just dropped of in Pudong.

Here's a lady who need a nap in the local KFC after a long day's work.

This guy looks like he was forced into going to Starbucks at his girlfriend's command, and the caffeine in his frappuccino just wasn't enough to keep him from passing out on the comfy green couches in the dining area.

(Side note: Unfortunately, team USA got knocked out of the World Cup tournament by Ghana yesterday, for the second WC in a row.

Which means that I won't be able to rock my big red/white/blue Uncle Sam hat and American Flag on the streets of China anymore...aside from our 4th of July party at the brewery. But it does mean that I won't feel obligated to stay up until 5am watching World Cup matches anymore.)

--

PMM