Since I now have a working Chinese phone and phone number, I can make use of the greatest invention ever. The Shanghai Call Center, also known as The Magic Number, is known among the expat crowd and foreigners as a number to call when in need of help. You call to speak to a live representative who speaks both fluent English and Chinese and is able to assist you with directions, be it to talk to the taxi driver in Chinese or give you instructions while you are walking, possibly lost. They can even inform you of the approximate cost of the taxi ride, to avoid any rip-off. But then again, in China, you can always bargain your way out if you think the price is too high.
