Expats Living in Shanghai

As the sound of revving engines and the smell of burning rubber leaves the city of Melbourne for Sepang in Malaysia, fans of the Formula One in Shanghai are already gearing up for the fast and furious frenzy of the Chinese Grand Prix. Many tantalizingly big names will soon be accelerating round the Shanghai International Circuit for the eighth year running, including the British McLaren duo Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, the current World Champion Sebastian Vettel and the living legend Michael Schumacher.

Situated in northern Jiading District, the Shanghai International Circuit cost an estimated USD450 million to complete and was the most expensive track ever created when it opened in 2004. It was built by Hermann Tilke, the architect behind many of the newer Formula One racetracks, including the Yas Marina Circuit, which is rumored to have cost USD1.322 billion to construct, making the Chinese venture look almost modest.

Despite attracting around 260,000 visitors in its inaugural year and filling the arena to capacity, the attendance has since dropped, with around 155,000 people heading out to the suburban location last year. Bad news for the management but good news for the punters, as this has translated into much cheaper prices for tickets in 2011. Whereas weekend passes for the Chinese Grand Prix 2010's Stand A seats - situated directly opposite the pit lane and overlooking the entire track - were at minimum RMB3580, the upcoming event will have the cheapest Stand A spots going for RMB1980, as well as the more frugal viewpoints for as low as RMB380. Naturally, the local government hopes that this will entice more fans of the sport to spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday enjoying a few rays of sunshine and a lot of race cars shooting round the stadium.

Getting out to the grounds is as simple as hopping onto metro line 11, which intersects lines 3 and 4 at CaoYang Road Station, and line 2 at JiangSu Road. Make sure that the train is going the right way when it forks at Jiading Xincheng, or be condemned to wander the outermost hinterlands of Shanghai City.

Those that can't make it down to the actual track can always satiate their need for speed by toddling over to a nearby sports bar, as most will have live coverage, including Big Bamboo and The Camel, as well as places like the Marriott ChangFeng Park for more out-of-the-way locales. Prepare, Shanghai, for some high-octane, adrenaline-fuelled excitement, as the world's most skilled drivers zoom into the city for one of automotive racing's premier celebrations of skill and power.