(Yicai Global) Feb. 17 -- The novel coronavirus epidemic has not only changed the lives of local residents in Shanghai, but also given many expatriates living in the world's largest city a very different life experience.

There were some 163,363 long-term resident expatriates in Shanghai as of the end of 2017, with Japan, the US, South Korea, Germany and Australia ranking the top 5 by nationals in the city, according to the Shanghai Statistical Yearbook 2018 issued by the Shanghai Municipal Government.

South Korean Jang Chang-min, who has lived in the city for more than a decade, works in the Shanghai office of a large South Korean trading company. He has lived around the 'Korean Street' in Minhang district for years.

Even in the toughest times for Korean companies the street was not so empty, Jang told Yicai Global while pointing to an empty scene. This makes him, a South Korean that has lived in the city for years, feel really bad.

Deserted Street

There were only a few pedestrians on the street, Yicai Global noted. Moreover, most stores were closed, and only a few Korean supermarkets and restaurants were offering services.

A notice posted by the Minhang district government in front of the street's landmark Jingting Seoul Square commercial building, home to many South Korean restaurants, malls and training agencies, calls for a 14-day quarantine for those returning to Shanghai, including South Koreans, and closed-management during the period.

The commercial building has suggested that except stores that provide essential services, others should postpone going back to work, a security guard said, adding staff temperatures have to be checked before they enter the mall.

Sales of instant food have risen five-fold from a year earlier since the end of January, when the epidemic started to intensify, said the manager of K-Mart, a Korean supermarket that is still in operation. Stocking of goods is difficult for the supermarket for now due to the reduced number of flights between China and South Korea.

Almost 10,000 Koreans live an area of less than two square kilometers around 'Korean Street,' which has one of the densest South Korean populations of in Shanghai.

Climbing Stairs

Marianne, a Frenchwoman who has lived in Shanghai for nearly four years, told Yicai Global that she takes the stairs to her office on the 18th floor, if she has to go in to work.

"My employer allows me to work from home, and I don't go to the office unless I have to use the company's computer," she said "I heard that taking the elevator increases the risk of infection, so I'd rather take the stairs. Besides, my gym is closed, so I can take the opportunity to work out.

She has stayed at home for most of the past month. Marianne and her husband need to take turns to care for their two children at home as schools are also closed.

Stefan, a German executive at a consumer goods company, told Yicai Global that he now avoids working from the office or going to crowded places as much as possible.

"I communicate with the global team by phone every day from home, and it doesn't have much of an impact," he said. "Most of the company's employees have returned to Shanghai, and only 20 percent are still affected."

Both Marianne and Stefan believe the Chinese government is handling the crisis well, and they will still choose to stay in China as long as there is an open and transparent urban governance environment.

Some expats said that the epidemic had not disrupted their pace of life. Guillaume, a French owner of an orthopedic clinic, works at a relatively free pace on a daily basis.

He has been out every day for the past month, taking lots of photographs. "I rather enjoy this quiet city. Such an opportunity is very rare," he noted. "The [iconic] Bund is usually teeming with people but it has become mine. I feel a bit extravagant."

Jerome Tauvron, owner of Blanche, a Western-style restaurant on Wukang Road, told Yicai Global that they worked overtime to develop a new takeaway menu during the Chinese New Year holiday, factoring in the impact of the outbreak on the business.

"The takeaway menu introduced on Feb. 3 was well received by many of our regular customers," he said. "I appreciate their trust in the restaurant's hygiene."

Fortunately, the restaurant's staff didn't need to be quarantined as they are all Shanghainese who didn't leave the city during the holiday.

"Measures like delayed rent payments and cuts to or exemptions from social security taxes introduced by the local government and relevant departments can help us pull through," Tauvron said. "We still need to pay full salaries though our revenue has fallen."

He loves the city so much that he won't leave no matter what happens.

Warmth in Shanghai

In fact, though the epidemic has had an impact on their lives, several South Korean expats told Yicai Global that Shanghai's efficient response and smart anti-epidemic measures have made them feel some "home warmth" during the outbreak.

Kim Yong-deok, vice president of the Korea Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, told Yicai Global that the Minhang government, the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of Shanghai and other agencies reached out to them immediately after the outbreak. They have had frequent communication on how to release information to Koreans in a timely manner and have been doing a good job together during the outbreak.

Only a few days after the outbreak, the subdistrict office and local police station published information in Korean regarding measures for epidemic control and prevention via organizations like the Korea Chamber of Commerce and co-operated with institutions, including the South Korean Consulate General in Shanghai, for joint publication of a Korean manual with addresses of fever clinics and a clinical guide.

The 962288 hotline, jointly hosted by the Information Office of the Shanghai Municipality and the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal Government, has also helped South Koreans in Shanghai. Jang Chang-min told Yicai Global that one of his Korean friends felt uncomfortable, so he called the hotline. The operator took pains to provide him with contact information of the neighborhood committee and the hospital address, relieving his anxiety.

"Over more than a decade of operation, we've never explained anything related to infectious diseases," the hotline director Le Di said in an interview. As an international metropolis, Shanghai will not forget expats who work or live here during this special period. "We need to show them the warmth of Shanghai."

Editors: Tang Shihua, Peter Thomas