Living in a big city like Shanghai, noise is an unavoidable part of daily life. Photo: nipic.com

 As a rule, people marvel at a city's sights, not its sounds. Talk of a city's sounds usually takes the form of complaints about noise and its consequences: pounding headaches, frayed nerves and interrupted sleep.

A recent survey by the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau found that Chinese residents had their share of complaints about the sounds of the city, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

As usual, the list included the influence of Chinese characteristics - outdoor karaoke - but for the most part, it showed locals were bothered by many of the same kinds of noise that urbanites everywhere gripe about.

Apartment renovations topped the list, with more than 35 percent of respondents saying it was their top complaint. Traffic noise took second place with about 16 percent calling it their biggest headache, followed by loudspeakers outside stores, which garnered a bit more than 12 percent.

The municipal government acknowledged the problem when it introduced regulations last year that detailed the activities it deemed too noisy and how much offenders could be fined. The rules prohibit home renovations from 6 pm to 8 am and ban recreational activities that use loudspeakers from 10 pm to 6 am in public areas adjacent to hospitals, schools and residential areas.

Noise pollution may not be the sexiest of social problems, but it affects nearly everyone, especially in large cities. The AP reported in January that noise was the No.1 quality of life complaint in New York City. A city hot line received more than 260,000 complaints about noise in 2013, despite tough laws that allow police to fine offenders anything from $70 for a yapping dog to $8,000 for a nightclub blasting music.

As the Wall Street Journal report pointed out, the major surprise of the survey was the lack of concern for public dancing. The issue, which has received a fair share of media scrutiny in Shanghai and other big cities in China, came in near the bottom of the list. Only 8.6 percent of respondents put it down as their biggest complaint, two-tenths of a percentage point more than "other."

Public dancing mostly involves middle-aged women who gather at dawn and dusk in parks, residential courtyards and public squares around the city. The groups of women - often referred to as "dancing grannies" - usually spend an hour or so dancing in synchronized routines to pop music from a boombox. The music can be loud. 

Despite the media criticisms, the survey found 75 percent of respondents supported the dancing grannies.

The survey got us wondering about noise pollution and how much it concerned the expat community, so we pounded the pavements this week to find out if foreign residents thought Shanghai was a noisy city, and which auditory assaults they found most disturbing.

Chiara Gastaldi, intern, Italy

It's a bit noisy. It depends on where you go, but Nanjing Xi Lu (Nanjing Road West), yeah, it's noisy, definitely. People are really loud. That's the most disturbing thing. In general, even when they're talking on the street, they're pretty loud, especially women. Construction is another noise. Of course, it depends on where you go.

Sean Doherty, entrepreneur, the US

Most definitely, it's a noisy city. I ride my bike around town a lot, and that always comes with a certain amount of honking from vehicles, whether it's at another car that's not moving, or at a car that is moving, but is not going the way the other driver wants it to go. They're always honking at something.

Dancing women in the public squares? I'm in favor of it. Where I live, when I wake up in the morning and I go to work, there's a group of old people who do tai chi downstairs with nice, traditional instrumental music. That's fun.

When I come back home, there's a group of mostly old ladies dancing out on the street to loud hip-hop, or different mixes of tango music. And I think more power to you if you are getting out there and dancing. It's certainly loud, but I prefer it to the other noises out here.

Construction, for example. I'm on the fourth floor. It has been a quiet apartment for the year that I have been there, but just this week, the room right underneath me on the third floor became unbearably noisy. They must be tearing out everything and building a new apartment in its place because there's just jackhammering, drilling, pounding, sledge-hammer pounding, beginning at 7 am and going till late.

Hannah Robar, student, the US

Right now I live in Pudong, in a very residential area. Pudong is really quiet, but last summer I lived in Puxi near the Jiangsu Road Station and it was very noisy. There were a lot of stores - little shops - right below where I lived, so there were also a lot of people. At night it wasn't very loud, just during the day.

I'm from Michigan and I live in Detroit, which is pretty loud as well but from different noises. I go to school in East Lansing though, where there is no noise. China, in general, is a lot noisier - but just from the large number of people I think.

Michael Lemus, student, the US

I don't mind the noise whatsoever because it helps me fall asleep. I like the noise, honestly, it's not that big of an issue to me. It might affect other people, but I really don't mind it.

Barthelemy Saugrain, intern, France

Chinese people speak more loudly than I am used to. And there is a lot of noise pollution from traffic. There are too many people.

I think it's surprising people would complain about dancing in public. For the noise? I don't know. I don't live near this, so it doesn't annoy me. But I guess that if you live next to a square, it could be irritating.

Janelle, teacher, the US

During the day Shanghai can be loud with lots of honking and people talking loudly. But at night it's actually very nice and quiet because nobody's outside. I'm from Atlanta, so there's not too much noise pollution back home - I don't hear too much traffic at night, or even during the day, so it's definitely a lot louder here in Shanghai. As for the dancing grannies, I love them. I don't find them offensive at all. Traffic sounds and people shouting bother me, but the music I don't mind because I know it's social.

Carla, branch manager, Spain

In Shanghai there are many types of pollution. They aren't healthy but there are many things in life that are not healthy. There are other reasons why people come here. We know that the pollution and the weather here are not great. I live in Spain, where the weather is excellent and the sea is fantastic, but, in fact, I like Shanghai. I like living and working here. I've been here for one year, so after that time I think the noise is normal. For me, it's not a problem. This is China. I'm from Barcelona, where the population is 4 million people - compared to 27 million here - so, as you can imagine, there is a big difference between both cities: traffic, pollution, noise, everything.

Renaug, real estate employee, France

Like every big city in China, Shanghai is overcrowded, it's polluted, and of course it's very noisy. But after a while, you become used to it and you can enjoy Shanghai. I come from the south of France, from a very small city. It's not the same, but, you know, every part of the world is different. I came to Shanghai to enjoy the city, and to experience different things than I can in France.

Global Times