However, for some Shanghai hosts, having too many guests at one time has been a daunting experience. Ruan Hongshan and Tang Lijia, a couple in their 30s living in Zhabei district, have had a hard time since accepting six guests at one time in their two-bedroom apartment.

Some guests are family while others are friends, but they have all come from different places and communicating has been somewhat difficult since they speak different dialects.

Nonetheless, they are trying hard to make guests happy. "We want them leaving with a nice memory of Shanghai," Ruan said.

"We have to work on weekdays and accompany guests at weekend. It's not easy and it's tiring. But it's indispensable if we want to maintain a good social network."

The couple takes guests to various events such as concerts, book clubs and galleries.

"When we visited our guests' cities in the past, they always treated us well," Ruan said. "Chinese people value reciprocation, so this time we are going to make their trip nice, too."

As hosts try to provide a pleasant experience for their guests and try to improve their image, guests are appreciative of the hospitality.

"They are very considerate, down to earth, very detail-oriented," said Li Cheng from Luoyang, Henan province. Li stayed with his aunt's family for three days, and he called the trip "something beyond expectation".

Yao Yuanmei, a 12-year-old girl from Xianning, Hubei province, said her trip was "unforgettable" because her uncle and aunt took her to a theme park.

"I think Shanghainese are more and more generous, and I can sense their sincerity," said Gu Nan, a visitor from Jiangsu province.

Gu said that as was a child, she didn't like visiting relatives in Shanghai because it seemed local residents thought they were superior because their city was much more developed.

"I would say nowadays Shanghai hosts are generous and open-minded, thanks to higher living standards and more opportunities to understand places outside Shanghai," Gu said.

Expo provides an opportunity for Shanghai people to reunite with their relatives and friends outside the city.