Whenever Simon Chang goes to a Chinese restaurant with his friends, they assume he wants the lunch special with a Coke, although sometimes he prefers the tofu.
 
Interracial children have been around forever in the United States and in other foreign countries. In China, mixed marriages and mixed kids form a newer demographic, but their numbers are climbing. Last year, there were some 2,600 mixed unions registered in Shanghai, a 5 percent increase from 2007.
 
But for many half-Chinese children in Shanghai, life takes on a whole new meaning, sometimes with positive or negative results.
 
Chang, who has worked in Shanghai for the last eight years, described his half-Chinese half-German heritage as confusing for most people in the city.
 
"Here in China, when I'm doing business with locals, the majority think I'm a foreigner, or they think I'm from Xinjiang," said the 31-year-old.
 
"But what irritates me are the small things; the assumptions that are made just because of my appearance."
 
Chang, who left his native Taiwan at 18 to study in Washington, said when it comes to food preferences for example, his tastes tend to be Asian, yet most people expect them to be Western.
 
Brian Strebel, whose mother is Chinese and father hails from Irish and German origins, opted to leave his New York City job earlier this year to work in Shanghai.
 
"I try to play to my own advantage by speaking Chinese, or by playing the Western card. Not even just when doing business, but also in everyday life, when getting into taxis, or negotiating rent," said the 28-year-old, who was born in Taiwan.
 
Yet, as much as weaving in and out of cultural boundaries is a plus, it can also weigh on mixed children.
 
Sometimes it gets a bit tricky, even in Shanghai, where people tend to be more open-minded, said Strebel.
 
"It's still hard to mix my friends," he said. "I have American friends, expat friends, Chinese friends; they all like to do different things, and what they talk about isn't the same."
 
"So I tend to hang out with my friends separately, which kind of sucks," he added. "(Being mixed) is an advantage, but there are some disadvantages."
 
While social misconceptions are common when it comes to mixed kids in China, most Chinese attitudes towards half-Chinese kids, specifically those of a Western mix, tend to be met with approval these days, according to Sun Zhongxin, a professor of sociology at Fudan University.
 
"Many of the half-white and half-Chinese may be regarded as xiao laowai (little foreigner), and only receive favorable discrimination, including frequent comments on how cute or beautiful they are," she said.
 
Shanghai local Vivien Yin, who has a nine-month-old daughter with her American husband, worries this kind of attention could be detrimental to her daughter's upbringing.
 
"Lots of people comment on her look and say, 'She's so pretty; she's so white,' but I see that as a bad thing; I don't want her to grow up focused on her looks because that's superficial," she said.
 
Half-Chinese kids in China typically go through their own adjustment period before settling into a comfort zone, according to Laura Cowan, a counselor who works for Shanghai Community Center and Shanghai American School.
 
But once they find their footing - a balance between the two worlds they live in - they often excel quickly due to their early exposure to more than one language and culture, she said.
 
Half-Chinese Matthew Wong, 13, was born and raised in America, his mother's native country, before arriving to Shanghai three years ago. He admits it took some time for him to get used to his new surroundings.
 
"But now I feel at home here," said Wong. "I don't want to move back."
 
"When I lived in the US, I didn't know what it was like to be Chinese, so I thought I was American," he added. "But since I've been here, I really feel like I am Chinese and would rather think of myself as more Chinese."
 
Wong said he likes that his duo heritage allows him to have the best of both worlds in Shanghai.
 
"The best thing about being mixed is you can pick sides; it's awesome," he said. "If I want a privilege from China that a Chinese can't have, I present myself as American. If I want something from China that an American can't have here, I say I'm Chinese."
 
Another reason he doesn't want to go back to his native Texas is because everyone there is "so American".
 
"Americans never go anywhere," said Wong. "Shanghai is so international [with] all its people and the culture."
 
Another benefit that helps mixed children in the long run is their ability to be open to other cultures and experiences, and they know how to break down preconceived notions because they see different cultures at home, said Cowan.
 
"They look at similarities as opposed to differences," she added. "The world is getting more globally-minded so people that can show and respect and get into the mindset of another culture are going to be successful."
 
Shanghainese Jenny Wang and her German husband Thomas Gronen believe this strong sense of cultural awareness must be taught to their three-year-old son and expectant child.
 
Beyond having their kids learn each other's respective language and culture, they want their kids to be raised from an international perspective.
 
"We choose to raise them this way because we are expats," said Wang, 32. "No one knows where we will go in five years; we probably won't stay in China."
 
"They need to be internationally-minded because we want them to be able to go wherever they want in the future, whichever country it is that they choose they want to go to," added Gronen, 34.
 
Having lived in both the East and West, Chang considers Shanghai his second home. But he muses in a year or so, after a decade in the city, he will be ready to return to Taiwan, where he feels most at home.
 
"It's hard to put into words," he said. "I know my own identity, but there's always going to be times when I feel conflicted about where I feel most comfortable, whether it's my Taiwanese side, German side, or American side - and I'm okay with that."
 
"I do look at my identity and think that it's cool," he added. "In a way, I'm in my own helmet even if my face doesn't show it."