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When I moved to Shanghai for the first time in 2015, I did so with the intention of starting my long solo journey of the world. But then I fell in love with China, Chinese language, Chinese culture, and a Chinese man… My life plan changed from never wanting to get married or settle down, to finding my place in rural China and the person I wanted to share life with. Here is the story of me and Yong Hong. Me and my Chinese husband I got an invitation to an event in Shanghai When I moved to Shanghai as an exchange student in February 2015, I took my first steps on Chinese ground. I had no expectations for what I thought would be my one semester in China, but I was open for the new experiences that were awaiting me. When I found myself more an more curious about China, I decided to extend my exchange for another year to learn Chinese. During the second semester a good Chinese friend of mine, Ya Ting, and her husband invited me to attend an event in Shanghai. It was a market and lectures about organic food and small scale farming. Ya Ting…

What a cheerful topic to start this column on! Glad to be here to impart this information to readers. So. You’ve been picked up by the police. Let’s talk about it. In order to better explain what happens, let’s get a few basics down. Who Exactly Has Detained You? How Police Agencies Are Organized in Shanghai Police agencies in China — called “public security organs” — are classified into jurisdiction levels. They are from the top down: • the national level - the Ministry of Public Security • the province level - the Provincial Public Security Department (PSD). Note: the city of Shanghai is classified as a province. • the district level - the Municipal Public Security Bureau (PSB) • the District Branch of the Public Security Bureau For criminal offenses, the police station that we’re usually dealing with is the dispatched organ of the District Branch of the Public Security Bureau, set up in various residential communities within the territory of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. For example, we have the Shanghai Public Security Department at the city (“provincial”) level. Below it, we have the Pudong Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, which is in charge of Pudong…