Shanghai is a city distinguished by globalization and superdiversity, a product of its historical heritage and contemporary development. A popular adage resonates among young urban elites in Shanghai: “Genuine Shanghai lies where plane (Wutong) trees flourish.” This study aims to explore how linguistic landscapes in the “Wutong District” employ multimodal semiotic resources to construct the qualia of this urban space. Following an extensive ethnographic linguistic landscape analysis conducted both on-site and online, the study unveils that the linguistic landscapes of “Wutong District” manifest a distinct “code preference” on commercial signage, deviating from the prescribed official language policies. This departure can be attributed to the combined influences of the city's historical narrative and the global diffusion of English and other foreign languages. These semiotic resources are marked by traits such as translanguaging, vernacular globalization, and a niche appeal, indexing their target audience, which comprises "young urban elites" possessing a multilingual repertoire and a discerning level of recognizing competence. Their practice contributes to the formation of an imagined community, especially in online spaces, where they endeavor to convince others that their envisioned refined lifestyles authentically encapsulate such sensuous properties of Shanghai. This study provides a social semiotic perspective on meaning-making in urban spaces through linguistic landscapes and offers valuable insights for a more profound comprehension of the authentic essence of Shanghai.