In the first end-credits scene, Bruce Banner is wearing a sling just like in “Avengers: Endgame.” So the year’s likely 2023.
Marvel Studios
Bruce injured his arm while using the Infinity Gauntlet to snap his fingers and bring everyone back who was lost at the end of “Avengers: Infinity War” in the Blip.
Snapping his fingers caused so much damage to his arm that he was then forced to put it in a sling at the film’s end.
When Bruce appears in the hologram speaking with Shang-Chi, Katy, Carol Danvers, and Wong, he clearly still has the sling on, signaling that “Shang-Chi” must take place not long after the events of 2019’s “Endgame.”
A reminder that at the start of “Avengers: Endgame” the movie jumped forward in time five years, meaning most of that film was set in 2023.
There’s a post-Blip poster near the film’s start.
Marvel Studios
When Shang-Chi heads to Katy’s house for breakfast, focus on the left side of the screen. Right before he opens the door, there’s a wall full of posters.
Among them is a sign offering help to those struggling to adjust with life post-Blip. The poster reminds people that they’re not alone and mentions a hotline.
The moment occurs soon after Shang-Chi and Katy catch up with their friends.
The math adds up, for the most part, if we make an assumption that Shang-Chi was born around 1998.
Marvel Studios
Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) meets his future wife, Li (Fala Chen), in 1996 near the film’s start.
We later learn that Shang-Chi left home around 14/15 and has been on his own for 10 years, the amount of time Katy (Akwafina) says she’s known him.
Later, Wenwu says he gave Shang-Chi a decade to live his own life before he sought him out. According to that math, Shang-Chi should be about 25.
“Avengers Endgame” takes place in 2023. If we assume Shang-Chi wasn’t born in 1996, but two or so years later, that would bring “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” to 2023 as well.