Minghang is quiet green suburb south-west of the city, composing of a cluster of villa communities surrounding the area's international school campuses. Sporting better infrastructure than nearby Qingpu, Minghang now boasts its own healthcare clinic and supermarket. City shopping and nightlife, however, requires a 25-45 minute drive downtown, depending on traffic.

Minghang's housing options are almost 50% cheaper than those in adjacent Hongqiao. The up-and-coming area hosts mainly villa complexes, like Forest Manor (5226 0878), which offers pools, a gym, and tennis courts inside its green expanse. There are also large apartment complexes like Rancho Santa Fe (5226 0888), which abuts the Shanghai American school campus. The rents are the same as in Qingpu, and range from RMB 20,000 to RMB 60,000.

Minghang's Shanghai Racquet Club (2201 0000) has a western Country Market on the grounds. For bigger shopping trips, Minghang also has a Carrefour on 7388 Humin Lu (6412 8056), and a Pines the Marketplace on 421 Jinfeng Lu (5226 4137). Many Minghang residents drive to the larger Gubei Carrefour for weekly shopping trips. May’s Deli (5119 1289) on Gaojing Lu in Qingpu has a good selection of western meats.

Children enjoy Minghang for its green parks and wide streets, perfect for biking, rollerblading or hosting an impromptu football game. Many families belong to the racquet club, where they can swim, play tennis and work out at the large gym.

The Shanghai United Family clinic is located on the ground floor of the Shanghai Racquet club (2201 0995) and the expat-oriented TCM clinic, Body and Soul, (www.bodyandsoul.com.cn 6461 6550) is on nearby Zhongyi Lu in Qingpu.

Several international schools have their campuses in Minghang, including the Shanghai American School (6221 1445), Shanghai Singaporean School (6221 9688), and British International School (5226 3211). Qingpu's French School (ef.shanghai.online.fr 6405 9220), German school (www.ds-shanghai.org.cn 6405 9220) and the Western International School (www.wiss.com.cn 6976 6388) are 10 minutes away by car.

Cars, taxis and bikes are the only options in far-flung Minghang. The subway should transverse the area with a new line 9 by 2010. In the meantime, there's easy access to the A9 Expressway into the city or the Jiajin Highway to Hongqiao. The area is only a 10-20 km drive away from Gubei via Yan'an Highway. Expect a 25 to 45 minutes drive into the city, depending on the time of day.

Minghang is a safe place for children and parents, although the feel of community only resides within the individual housing complexes. Not many Chinese or signs of Chinese culture can be found out here, a common complaint of residents.