I love how you guys are traveling to China with an open mind and no preset prejudices. Of course there will be things you don't like and not used to, but trying out different things is what makes traveling amazing, right?! Hope to see more of your videos!
100%. Going to a new country with an open mind is the only way to do it that way you can make honest opinions for yourself. Plenty more to come don’t worry
I live in US, with most of American's cities are packed with homeless people's camping tents, rampant drug needles, daily gun violence, racial hatred... I wonder what Americans "preset prejudices" towards China could possibily be? LOL. I know this couple are not Americans, but believe me, many EU countries are not too far behind in self-destruction contest.
@@Alan_and_Shannon Regarding why you feel so few people in the street, I have not been to Shanghai for more than 15 years, but it's really not the Shanghai in my memory when it was really crowded. I guess the reason is, at around 2010, there were a lot of cities and companies starting to build Shopping malls. Before that time, when people need to do shopping, there were 2 or 3 gigantic shopping centres in each city's CBD where people normally go when they need to enjoy shopping. But after that year, a lot of mega shopping centres were opened here and there across each city. So people do no have to go to the shopping centre to enjoy commercial activities. Another possible reason is, it's winter, and online shopping and logistic, and food delivery in China is extremely advanced. So there is no need for people to go out to the city in cold days. Everything can be ordered online and delivered to your door. Finally, all personal thought :) Hope you enjoy your journey in China!
@@blue.mountainsnah, around that time of day probably most people at work thats why. but u maybe right about not as much people going out since its cold outside.
@@blue.mountains True dude, online shopping in China is extremely convenient. I hardly go to the malls when I was in China. Because of the super developed express industry, basically everything is free to ship no matter the price is. Meanwhile in United States, I have to pay for Amazon Prime so I can have free to ship.
Many foreigners' impressions of China still remain in the last century, thinking that China is as closed and backward as North Korea. In fact, China's level of modernization has long surpassed that of most European and American countries. When I arrived in European and American countries, I felt like I was walking into a backward country.
Taipei would be considered a Tier 3 city at best. Wasn't that impressed with the old crumbling infrastructure and the poor air quality from all the cars and scooters. Besides Hong Kong Taipei is another city in China that has a lot of homeless where in the mainland its like trying to find a needle in a haystack @@UnknownSend3r
As a Chinese. I wanna say thank you to show others about truth of China. There are too much fake news and negative news in western media. And i want to tell u that almost each city has it's own culture like The food. The tradition. Even the people.(like my city is Mongolian Autonomous Region )U will always have new things to explore. Hope to see more vlogs from u. Have fun❤
@@theasianjaywalker4455 Of course, many Chinese people will go to the Western media to see the things going on the rest of world. We cannot limit ourselves to our own media. Sadly, many Westerners are constrained by their own fake news and political biases, and they are unwilling to know the truth.
Haven't seen Scottish people visit China on RUclips yet, pretty cool! And glad you guys had a fun time in this often misrepresented country😀 So many regions to explore😎 If you guys are planning to stay in China for longer, I would really recommend visiting Harbin for the ice and snow festival. It's one of the prettiest places I've ever been to.
Here some tips for you : 1- all chinese city more quiet because many bus , cars , and bicycle are electric not fuel engine , you can know electric cars( EV )from green plate . 2- as you staying 3 weeks in china try visit Chong Qing city . Chong qing has nearly 35 M population but it’s new city . More cheaper than Shanhai or beijing . Or also you can visit Shenzhen city . Weather in this two cities more warm than shanghai . ( many foreign visitor they like go to Chong qing ). 3- use your mobile to translate to local peoples anywhere anytime if you stuck in understanding position , they will help you always . 4- if you want see nature and beautiful mountains and rivers go to Guilin city . 5- you can go outside to see nightlife and night markets in every place you are in china . It’s safety at night also even to 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 o’clock after midnight . 6- china have best infrastructure so do not miss sub way ( metro ) in many cities , also you should try high speed train to go between cities . There also magnetic train called ( maglef ) . 7- have a good time in china enjoy your trip .
If your guys haven’t returned to Scotland yet, I strongly recommend you to go to Hangzhou and visit the West Lake. West Lake is worth visiting just like Isle of Skye. You can reach Hangzhou in about an hour from Shanghai Hongqiao Station, and you can also experience China's high-speed rail.😸
I went to 杭州this summer it’s near to my hometown and that’s was gorgeous WEST LAKE, the pagoda , the center of the city ,(a lot but a lot of crowds)I even visited the Zoo but the panda wasn’t working these day 😂😂😂 I only see monkey , white tiger, elephant and 🦙
Wow, the city looks absolutely breathtaking at night with all those lights reflecting off the water. Explore the old streets, try new foods, and experience the city's unique atmosphere-what an incredible adventure! Can't wait to see more of your journey in China. Safe travels!
Really amazed to see Scottish RUclipsrs’ videos of exploring China. I personally spent 3 years in Stirling for university, I feel so good hearing you talking about China in the accent 😊 have a nice trip !
As a Chinese, I recommend you to travel to Xinjiang. The level of modernization in Xinjiang is definitely far beyond your imagination. Xinjiang is not what the Western media spread rumors and smear stories about. Every time I see Western media spreading rumors and writing lies, I become extremely angry.
Local Shanghainese here. To answer some of your questions: 1. The reason you don't see many people is you went in a quiet season as well as during the day (a weekday I assume). If you are unfortunate enough to go to the exact same road during October or May golden week, you will feel like a sardine. Also Shanghai is very decentralized - If I live in the SW corner of Shanghai I would never go to the NE corner of Shanghai. 2. Shannon was right, the mystery ball is made of shrimp and flour. 3. The places you went to are very touristy - hence the expensive but mediocre food. If you go back to Shanghai on your way back then I'd suggest go to WuKang Road or Huaihai Road, that area is in the old French/British concession and has the proper Shanghai feel to it. Also you can get a cruise on the Huangpu River near the bund for about 50 RMB, very worth it.
You are really a lovely couple. This video is really amazing. After watching so many Chinese travel vlogs, I can't wait to see it. It's really a beautiful country.
Unfortunately too many westerners are too brain washed by western paid anti-china MSM to only report negative about China. I have met an American couple in Thailand after they have visited Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and going to Vietnam after Thailand. I've asked them why not visit China too since they are in Asia. The answer to me was according to American media reports they have been reading, China is dirty, people are very anti-foreigners and the most unsafe country for western travelers.
It's really cool to see you guys having fun in China! I'm a stan. You should visit Hong Kong and make the most out of this travel. It has a lot to offer in the city. You would definitely love it there.
As a student studying in Uni of Glasgow, im really happy to see you guys visitting China and i lived in Scotland for over 2 yrs. I met so many warm and friendly scottish people and i hope you can have great time in ur China journey.
Fantastic video guys, just stumbled across it randomly. Great to see you enjoying shanghai a city i've called home for 8 years now. The area you're in is one of the many centres of shanghai and surprisingly not the busiest one considering how developed it is. East Nanjing and most of that part of Huangpu area is very touristy and not a lot going on unless its during a holiday when a lot of people from other parts of the country visit. Shanghai is a huge city area wise and very very spread out. Other parts of the city at certain times you would definitely start to see how busy the city can be. If you do make a return to Shanghai i highly recommend venturing to other areas like Jing'an and the French Concession. it's an awesome city to explore and great to see you guys enjoying yourselves
17:42 The bowl you ordered is 虾滑, which means shrimp paste (shrimp meats chopped into paste) mixed with flour and cooked into balls. He did ask whether you want one after raising his fingers, and took it from your expression that you indeed want one.
You hit the nail on the head with the bikes with no padlocks...I've left my bike put lock on its back wheel outside a Day to day shop in glasgow to nip in for literally a minute and it got pinched. Some may say this is cos of the presence of cctv but we have more cctv per head in the UK.
My hometown Harbin city highly recommended, known as the ice city and oriental Paris, the snow and ice world( one of the biggest winter festivals in the world)will open on December 17th I think, hope you guys enjoy your trip in China❤
It's a mixture of the cold, the season, the population density, and great urban planification that makes you feel that there isn't much people at that time. The scale of the city is just different. They build buildings and roads thinking about thousands of people in mind. Everytime when I go back to Spain, the first thing I will notice is just the pure difference in scale of the infrastructure.
Why does the Chinese government care so much for their citizens? In Canada the government is so corrupt. We spent $188 Million Canadian dollars to build just 1 KM of subway train track, in total $12.6 BILLION! 😭 Corruption masked as “democracy”… I wish we were more like China!
If you pay attention to car number plates, green plate is for EV, i would say 40-50% of the cars running on Shanghai streets are EVs, plus all taxes, buses and scooters are run on batteries rather than petrol engines now. And no seas of three-wheelers ( as you saw in India) in China either, people either use buses, metro, taxi or shared bicycles, and honking is banned in Shanghai.
We actually noticed the different coloured plates on cars, pretty cool! Yeah we definitely appreciate the quietness of the city, much more relaxing to wander around
Honking is not banned in China. But the civilized and well mannered Chinese only honk when it is emergency and necessary to provide accident. Very different from the uncivilized country "I" you have mentioned. I was told in that country "I" if the car have got no brake, no light, no door they still can drive. But if without honk, they have to park the car aside and people won't drive a car that the honk is not working. To them it's too dangerous to drive a car without honk.
First is the time.If it's holidays like National Holiday,there would be more people. Second is the online shopping.You could buy almost everything online in China,so people don't need to get out of their houses to buy things. Third is maybe the locals just get used to the scenery😂
It's quiet in China because most cars and motorbikes are EV. Also less people on the street because the amazing infrastructure, if you want to see more people during the day go to the subway.
There are so many people are looking downward to see their phone while walking, so they added the tiles that change color, hoping people can see it and stop while it's red.
As a Chinese, I highly recommend you visit Yangshuo, it boasts one of the most beautiful sceneries in China. And I suggest you stay at the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, you get to have a very wonderful view from that hotel. Also if you like winter and snow, visit the northeast city of Harbin.
@@Alan_and_Shannon Don't listen to him. Yangshuo is a terrible place in deep south China. The most beautiful places in China are Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong in Western Sichuan. Just copy paste Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong in google and you'll understand what I'm talking about.
Being respectful, friendly to the local culture and people will do the same to all visitors, Chinese people are the one of most nice people in the world, nice Video and good job
I guess more than half of the people in Shanghai have headed back home getting ready for Chinese New Year. We landed in Shanghai 3 weeks before the New Year, and we also found it quiet, not like the Shanghai I used to know. But on our way back around 20/02, it was crowded.
Hi,I 'm an Chinese international student studied in Canada.My hometown is Xi'an,which is an ancient capital for more than 3000 years.You can explore the most traditional culture and Chinese history in Xi'an.The old traditional Chinese buildings and musuems are really nice.Also Xi'an local cuisine and snacks are very good.I really hope you guys can come to Xi'an,I strongly recommend you guys to visit Wild goose pogoda,Grand Tang Mall,Ancient Bell Tower,Xi'an Ancient city wall,Qujiang Lake.I also recommend you guys to book a hotel in Qujiang area of Xian.The experience will be incredible.Hope you guys have a nice trip in China
Yeah the food near tourist traps are gonna be expensive and crap, it's understandable though, they have to pay crazy rent. They city is also still recovering from the lockdown, for example all of my fav pubs have closed, which is how I measure things, but if there's a plus side is it's probably more clean and orderly now, or at least it feels that way. I've done a lot worse than jaywalking and I've never gotten into trouble, so it's not true at all, not to say that you should be jaywalking.
I really didn't expect that someone as famous as Jordan Peterson would spread such rumors. My opinion of him has really gone down. As a scholar, it's really disappointing to make claims without doing any on-site research. Sometimes on the streets of China, you might see some delivery workers in blue or yellow uniforms riding electric bikes. Some of them often ignore traffic rules (not because of discrimination, just stating facts), especially during lunchtime. But if what Jordan said is true, wouldn't these hardworking workers who already have low incomes go bankrupt early? Keep in mind that there are more than 10 million people doing this job here.
@@seekx2y556 I do like Jordan Peterson, he's smart and gets the fundamental ideas right, but the problem is a lot of the times his conclusions just goes way over the top and lands somewhere else
@@Alan_and_Shannon The pub scene in China is surprisingly good, especially in Beijing and Shanghai... if you're into that kinda stuff. Although since the lockdowns a lot of the foreigners have left, and the surviving pubs have had to change the taste to suite the local customer base. Now you get some very out there flavors to catch the eye, but I still prefer the more traditional stuff. Having said that as you say it's recovering well and things are looking good.
Shanghai is very large, with an area three times that of New York. You can take a look at its subway lines, which have the longest, most numerous, and most complex subway system in the world.
at 20:00 . What you're eating is shrimp paste or shrimp ball. We usually only eat the shrimp paste in the soup, and don't usually drink the soup itself. Of course, it's fine if you want to drink it. A price of 40 yuan for this is reasonable and not expensive, as the shrimp paste here is generally around this price. The other item is a chive box. We can also find it in our regular snack streets, usually priced around 8 yuan. But the one you're eating is quite large, so the price is about right.
Why do you not usually drink the soup? I think for the amount of food that you got it seemed really expensive compared to other street food we have had
@@Alan_and_Shannon The soup is drinkable, there's no issue. However, I noticed that you ordered the spicy version. This kind of soup is too spicy and greasy for us, and most people don't prefer to drink it, unless it's the original tomato soup or mushroom soup. Shrimp paste is inherently a bit expensive, and considering you ordered it in the city area, it's normal for the price to be a bit higher.
@@Alan_and_Shannon Shanghai is indeed one of China's first-tier cities and can be considered the financial center of the country. If you want to experience a thousand years of Chinese history, you can visit Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Terracotta Army. For a taste of a hundred years of Chinese history, Beijing is the place to go, with the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and more. But be aware that many places in Beijing require advance reservations, so you need to plan ahead. If you're interested in experiencing a modern, high-tech, digital city, consider visiting Hangzhou or Shenzhen. For food enthusiasts, I personally recommend Guangzhou, which tends to suit the tastes of many foreigners. If you want to experience beautiful landscapes, Yangshuo is highly recommended by many foreigners. And if you like spicy food, head to Chongqing, a magical 3D city famous on TikTok, whose night view can rival that of Shanghai's Bund.
@@Alan_and_ShannonShanghai is the financial center of China and a tier-1 city. So expect it to be more pretty expensive city compared to rest of South-East Asia (except Singapore).
26:16 The bells and the clock on top of the Shanghai Custom House is built with the same design of the Big Ben by the British administration back in the time.
Winter honestly isn't a good season for traveling in China, maybe Shenzhen GuangZhou, zhuhai and Dali, Xishuangbanna these places in southern China are much warmer places for visiting.
@@Alan_and_Shannon 1. it is cold, 2 it is working time at daytime 3. it is not holiday, less visitors wander on street 4 local residents are always staying away from tourist resort
The good news is from December 1st, 2023 to next year November 30th, 2024 for French, Dutch, Spanish, German, Italian and Malaysian citizen no need China visa to enter to China for 15 das and in Hainan Island stay for 30 das.
That green/red light on the pavement is so convenient. I can't remember how many times I have stood next to a traffic light looking at my phone, not knowing that the light has turned green. haha so definitely that will be very convenient for people like me who always stare down at the phone while walking.
Great video as always! Are you planing to go to other places in China? The only thing I've got saved on my Shanghai map is Tron Lightcycle Power Run, not sure if you interested, I'm just big fan of TRON visual style
You are very welcome to come to China and make such lovely videos. China has undergone great changes in recent years. I hope more and more foreign friends can come to China to see the beautiful scenery and eat delicious food. Communicate more and feel the goodwill flowing between each other. I hope you had a good trip. You're so cute
Thanks for your vedio. Me Chinese and I used to live in UK for like 7 years, mostly in West Midland but also been to Yorkshire and the Humber several times so thats why I immediately recognized your Scottish lol and I just love your accent so much. I am gonna travelling back to UK next year OMG I missed UK so much and just cant even wait after watching your vedio so thats it you take care in China and have a good trip!
go to Columbia Circle, you will like the resturants there, Lenbach bistro, or Casa Baja, sit by the pool where it once was US navy club. you will like it there.
Where are the 26m people? The city is soooo spread out so they won't all be walking around the city center :). Also runnig a pedestrian red light won't get you a fine and have your money taken away. Technically that's not difficult to do but it's not a thing at all.
It should be fairly easy to navigate in China, look for young people who look like students, and they can speak English just fine. And when it comes to foods, look for crowds, where there is crowd/line/queue, there’s good food.
In China, you cannot use Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc., but there are more exciting local software in China, such as using Amap (or A map) to replace Google Maps, using Dianping to replace Yelp, using Bilibili to replace RUclips, using Didi to replace Uber, and 12306 is also a necessary software for buying train tickets. China's electronic system is very developed and convenient.@@Alan_and_Shannon
19:14 What you have is actually kind of boiled dough made of shrimps and 18:33 that crepe is called “jucaihozi “ which is fulfilled with Chinese leek and it’s famous in mainland of China. Hope you have an awesome time in China!❤from Hong Kong❤
At 15:44 you are walking past the Old Municipal Building, which is now being restored and expanded to its intended shape. A piece of work by the renowned British architect David Chipperfield.
not sure how long you plan to stay in shanghai, some places to visit 1/Jing'An temple and the french concession(many creative stores/nice cafes in this area) 2/ Pudong Art Museum 3/ Xintiandi, old shanghainese style buildings turned into shopping mall, there're also some christmas markets in the city center you can explore
I would rather stay indoors on such a cold day. Cars in downtown are not allowed to honk, and half of the cars are electric. Most people don't like to yelling in public places. Shanghai is four times bigger than London. It's impossible for all the people to be concentrated in the city center. That's all the reason why you feel quiet or empty.
as a new Chinese fan of yours, Actually I don't know your travel plan, But I highly recommend Suzhou for you if possible, a city right near Shanghai, It's the only city in China that has preserved a huge historical districts, and it also has a modern CBD. I'm sure it won't let you down!
Hi you gorgeous people❣️ Graham here again. You need to take the ferry over the Huangpou river and go up Oriental Pearl. Go to the glass floor level. When you finish, go to the bottom, and there is a brilliant museum there of Shanghai past. You need to head down to Nanning and Beihai. Then over to Hainan island, and go to Sanya . Graham and Peng.
I think that the reason of the no crowdness is that there're a lot of commercial centers in Shanghai which makes the people evenly distributed. For example, I barely go to Nanjing Road because I can buy anything from the shopping area near my house or online.
35 yuan for a beanie is quite a fair price, especially when you asked a deal for 2 hats. Shang Hai is a big city, vendors pay higher rent and higher wages for people. We don’t expect to pay 10 yuan for a beanie. Plus those looks pretty good quality stuff.
not a good time to visit northern china now ,it's too cold in winter. so ,visit southern cities like Chongqing,Chengdu, Guilin,Lijiang,Sanya, Kunming, Guangzhou ,Shenzhen, Xiamen, Changsha
shanghai is quiet because it has implemented traffic rules with a penalty if an auto is found honking. ALSO, the city promotes EV use. Look for the "green/white" license plates. Gas auto owner has to pay some RMB 100K to draw from a lottery of a very small pool of new license plates.
shanghai such a city of contrast....a big city yet so so so clean... amazing. incredible....
Yeah we were amazed at how big and orderly it was! China is a very clean country from what we have seen so far
China’s rural areas are also very clean
All of the east asia countries are clean and safe .Confucian teachings teach people to abide by social rules. @@Alan_and_Shannon
@@chankaan888 是的,不过这种变化也就是最近十年来才比较明显
感谢公知这些年不断的督促
I love how you guys are traveling to China with an open mind and no preset prejudices. Of course there will be things you don't like and not used to, but trying out different things is what makes traveling amazing, right?! Hope to see more of your videos!
100%. Going to a new country with an open mind is the only way to do it that way you can make honest opinions for yourself. Plenty more to come don’t worry
I live in US, with most of American's cities are packed with homeless people's camping tents, rampant drug needles, daily gun violence, racial hatred... I wonder what Americans "preset prejudices" towards China could possibily be? LOL. I know this couple are not Americans, but believe me, many EU countries are not too far behind in self-destruction contest.
@@Alan_and_Shannon
Regarding why you feel so few people in the street, I have not been to Shanghai for more than 15 years, but it's really not the Shanghai in my memory when it was really crowded. I guess the reason is, at around 2010, there were a lot of cities and companies starting to build Shopping malls. Before that time, when people need to do shopping, there were 2 or 3 gigantic shopping centres in each city's CBD where people normally go when they need to enjoy shopping. But after that year, a lot of mega shopping centres were opened here and there across each city. So people do no have to go to the shopping centre to enjoy commercial activities.
Another possible reason is, it's winter, and online shopping and logistic, and food delivery in China is extremely advanced. So there is no need for people to go out to the city in cold days. Everything can be ordered online and delivered to your door.
Finally, all personal thought :) Hope you enjoy your journey in China!
@@blue.mountainsnah, around that time of day probably most people at work thats why. but u maybe right about not as much people going out since its cold outside.
@@blue.mountains True dude, online shopping in China is extremely convenient. I hardly go to the malls when I was in China. Because of the super developed express industry, basically everything is free to ship no matter the price is. Meanwhile in United States, I have to pay for Amazon Prime so I can have free to ship.
Many foreigners' impressions of China still remain in the last century, thinking that China is as closed and backward as North Korea. In fact, China's level of modernization has long surpassed that of most European and American countries. When I arrived in European and American countries, I felt like I was walking into a backward country.
I think the tier one cities have no comparison anywhere in Europe or America (Tokyo, Taiwan, Singapore and Seoul would be the closes).
谦虚,兄弟。
没有办法,狭隘的视野,极端的思想,早就那些人对整个世界的认识非常狭隘、浅薄。
@@UnknownSend3r
Sorry to tell you that Taipei is not at in the same level of Shanghai, Tokyo or Seoul.
Taipei would be considered a Tier 3 city at best. Wasn't that impressed with the old crumbling infrastructure and the poor air quality from all the cars and scooters. Besides Hong Kong Taipei is another city in China that has a lot of homeless where in the mainland its like trying to find a needle in a haystack @@UnknownSend3r
As a Chinese. I wanna say thank you to show others about truth of China. There are too much fake news and negative news in western media.
And i want to tell u that almost each city has it's own culture like The food. The tradition. Even the people.(like my city is Mongolian Autonomous Region )U will always have new things to explore.
Hope to see more vlogs from u. Have fun❤
@@theasianjaywalker4455 Of course, many Chinese people will go to the Western media to see the things going on the rest of world. We cannot limit ourselves to our own media. Sadly, many Westerners are constrained by their own fake news and political biases, and they are unwilling to know the truth.
@@theasianjaywalker4455 当然可以
@@dorom-fx9hu It's called RUclips. American media.
@@theasianjaywalker4455 有什么问题吗
Haven't seen Scottish people visit China on RUclips yet, pretty cool! And glad you guys had a fun time in this often misrepresented country😀 So many regions to explore😎
If you guys are planning to stay in China for longer, I would really recommend visiting Harbin for the ice and snow festival. It's one of the prettiest places I've ever been to.
Check out for all life's adventure, he's a Scottish RUclipsr who lives in Beijing
有一位苏格兰美女,和她的新疆男朋友,在中国逗留了一个月,留下了非常美好的旅行回忆。
冬天没啥看的
哈爾濱零下二十四了都
Here some tips for you :
1- all chinese city more quiet because many bus , cars , and bicycle are electric not fuel engine , you can know electric cars( EV )from green plate .
2- as you staying 3 weeks in china try visit Chong Qing city . Chong qing has nearly 35 M population but it’s new city . More cheaper than Shanhai or beijing . Or also you can visit Shenzhen city . Weather in this two cities more warm than shanghai . ( many foreign visitor they like go to Chong qing ).
3- use your mobile to translate to local peoples anywhere anytime if you stuck in understanding position , they will help you always .
4- if you want see nature and beautiful mountains and rivers go to Guilin city .
5- you can go outside to see nightlife and night markets in every place you are in china . It’s safety at night also even to 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 o’clock after midnight .
6- china have best infrastructure so do not miss sub way ( metro ) in many cities , also you should try high speed train to go between cities . There also magnetic train called ( maglef ) .
7- have a good time in china enjoy your trip .
If your guys haven’t returned to Scotland yet, I strongly recommend you to go to Hangzhou and visit the West Lake. West Lake is worth visiting just like Isle of Skye. You can reach Hangzhou in about an hour from Shanghai Hongqiao Station, and you can also experience China's high-speed rail.😸
Nah… Hangzhou is different but still similar to Shanghai…
I went to 杭州this summer it’s near to my hometown and that’s was gorgeous WEST LAKE, the pagoda , the center of the city ,(a lot but a lot of crowds)I even visited the Zoo but the panda wasn’t working these day 😂😂😂 I only see monkey , white tiger, elephant and 🦙
Suzhou is better
Isle of Skye, beautiful but really different landscape
Wow, the city looks absolutely breathtaking at night with all those lights reflecting off the water. Explore the old streets, try new foods, and experience the city's unique atmosphere-what an incredible adventure! Can't wait to see more of your journey in China. Safe travels!
Really amazed to see Scottish RUclipsrs’ videos of exploring China. I personally spent 3 years in Stirling for university, I feel so good hearing you talking about China in the accent 😊 have a nice trip !
Because Shanghai is so huge and has so many different commercial areas, so people don’t really gather to one place I guess
As a Chinese, I recommend you to travel to Xinjiang. The level of modernization in Xinjiang is definitely far beyond your imagination. Xinjiang is not what the Western media spread rumors and smear stories about. Every time I see Western media spreading rumors and writing lies, I become extremely angry.
Yeah great place lets ask the Uyghurs how they like what is happening to them in the prison camps.
@@joeshmooo5327 yeah, please do so if you could find any of them.
Don't forget to vlog it and share to us.😏
Good point the authorities would never let me film. WAKE UP Governments are not good they are made up of flawed people. @@Yk-pc2do
@@joeshmooo5327Do not be fooled by the anti-China propaganda.
@@joeshmooo5327foolish , European is over ,double standard and devide et impera
上海城市安静的很重要原因有两点。第一是上海禁止汽车鸣放喇叭,第二是中国有很多电动车,引擎声小。所以城市就安静了。
Nice to find this channel! Very interesting to watch. Planning to visit China too someday. Now studying the language. Greetings from Finland.
Local Shanghainese here. To answer some of your questions:
1. The reason you don't see many people is you went in a quiet season as well as during the day (a weekday I assume). If you are unfortunate enough to go to the exact same road during October or May golden week, you will feel like a sardine. Also Shanghai is very decentralized - If I live in the SW corner of Shanghai I would never go to the NE corner of Shanghai.
2. Shannon was right, the mystery ball is made of shrimp and flour.
3. The places you went to are very touristy - hence the expensive but mediocre food. If you go back to Shanghai on your way back then I'd suggest go to WuKang Road or Huaihai Road, that area is in the old French/British concession and has the proper Shanghai feel to it. Also you can get a cruise on the Huangpu River near the bund for about 50 RMB, very worth it.
You are really a lovely couple. This video is really amazing. After watching so many Chinese travel vlogs, I can't wait to see it. It's really a beautiful country.
Thank you so much 😆 we still have two weeks left in China and already cant wait to come back, its one amazing country!
Unfortunately too many westerners are too brain washed by western paid anti-china MSM to only report negative about China.
I have met an American couple in Thailand after they have visited Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and going to Vietnam after Thailand. I've asked them why not visit China too since they are in Asia. The answer to me was according to American media reports they have been reading, China is dirty, people are very anti-foreigners and the most unsafe country for western travelers.
Shanghai is so Beautiful . . .
It's really cool to see you guys having fun in China! I'm a stan.
You should visit Hong Kong and make the most out of this travel. It has a lot to offer in the city. You would definitely love it there.
As a student studying in Uni of Glasgow, im really happy to see you guys visitting China and i lived in Scotland for over 2 yrs. I met so many warm and friendly scottish people and i hope you can have great time in ur China journey.
Fantastic video guys, just stumbled across it randomly. Great to see you enjoying shanghai a city i've called home for 8 years now. The area you're in is one of the many centres of shanghai and surprisingly not the busiest one considering how developed it is. East Nanjing and most of that part of Huangpu area is very touristy and not a lot going on unless its during a holiday when a lot of people from other parts of the country visit. Shanghai is a huge city area wise and very very spread out. Other parts of the city at certain times you would definitely start to see how busy the city can be. If you do make a return to Shanghai i highly recommend venturing to other areas like Jing'an and the French Concession. it's an awesome city to explore and great to see you guys enjoying yourselves
17:42 The bowl you ordered is 虾滑, which means shrimp paste (shrimp meats chopped into paste) mixed with flour and cooked into balls. He did ask whether you want one after raising his fingers, and took it from your expression that you indeed want one.
Yeah it was lost in translation 😂
@@Alan_and_Shannon Us your translation app more often, that will help. There are trans apps that could scan a menu or photo and tell you what it is.
You hit the nail on the head with the bikes with no padlocks...I've left my bike put lock on its back wheel outside a Day to day shop in glasgow to nip in for literally a minute and it got pinched.
Some may say this is cos of the presence of cctv but we have more cctv per head in the UK.
My hometown Harbin city highly recommended, known as the ice city and oriental Paris, the snow and ice world( one of the biggest winter festivals in the world)will open on December 17th I think, hope you guys enjoy your trip in China❤
It's a mixture of the cold, the season, the population density, and great urban planification that makes you feel that there isn't much people at that time.
The scale of the city is just different. They build buildings and roads thinking about thousands of people in mind.
Everytime when I go back to Spain, the first thing I will notice is just the pure difference in scale of the infrastructure.
This is about one of the best channel showing Shanghai for foreigners.
Why does the Chinese government care so much for their citizens? In Canada the government is so corrupt. We spent $188 Million Canadian dollars to build just 1 KM of subway train track, in total $12.6 BILLION! 😭 Corruption masked as “democracy”… I wish we were more like China!
Thank you😁
It really shows that a lot of effort and thought has went into the infrastructure of these cities, makes life so much easier for everyone
@@Alan_and_Shannon or maybe is because Communism is just crashing into the ground and the socialist economy is going to hell.
If you pay attention to car number plates, green plate is for EV, i would say 40-50% of the cars running on Shanghai streets are EVs, plus all taxes, buses and scooters are run on batteries rather than petrol engines now. And no seas of three-wheelers ( as you saw in India) in China either, people either use buses, metro, taxi or shared bicycles, and honking is banned in Shanghai.
We actually noticed the different coloured plates on cars, pretty cool!
Yeah we definitely appreciate the quietness of the city, much more relaxing to wander around
they should ban honking all over the world, such a nuisance.
Honking is not banned in China. But the civilized and well mannered Chinese only honk when it is emergency and necessary to provide accident. Very different from the uncivilized country "I" you have mentioned. I was told in that country "I" if the car have got no brake, no light, no door they still can drive. But if without honk, they have to park the car aside and people won't drive a car that the honk is not working. To them it's too dangerous to drive a car without honk.
他说的静应该是相比印度和东南亚,按喇叭的少。电动车很多,但是绝对不会超过30%,全国最多10%,上海因为电动车不限号,最近几年飞跃增长。中国大街上尤其是小城市,连5%都没有,这是好事,大城市优先发展新能源汽车
@@weizhang2834我没有数据,但我平时在街上看到的上海电动车应该超过50%了
尽量去大的超市购物,东西更便宜。质量也会好。
Great tip, thank you!
I love your guys' videos so much!!!Can't wait to see more❤❤❤
First is the time.If it's holidays like National Holiday,there would be more people.
Second is the online shopping.You could buy almost everything online in China,so people don't need to get out of their houses to buy things.
Third is maybe the locals just get used to the scenery😂
Amazing, I can't believe that you guys can actually ordered a robot-make coffee by yourself without any English. Great job!
Its super crowded on national holidays in any city in China.
It's quiet in China because most cars and motorbikes are EV. Also less people on the street because the amazing infrastructure, if you want to see more people during the day go to the subway.
You guys need to use the Google translate camera function, it'll translate anything in Chinese instantly on your screen.
Google shuts down servers in China, citing too few users
微信就可以
@@Aapiguse VPN…they most got vpn already.. or otherwise how do you think they uploaded the video to RUclips
There are so many people are looking downward to see their phone while walking, so they added the tiles that change color, hoping people can see it and stop while it's red.
如果你们需要帮助,比如说想知道哪有好吃且便宜的食物,你只需要问问当地人,在上海会英语的还是很多的,中国人也很热情,他们会像朋友一样帮助你,如果你会中文他们会觉得更亲切。
20:9 that’s mashed shrimp ball you guys were eating. Just shrimp meat made to a ball. Goes absolutely well with hot pot.❤
It’s written on the paper bowl. Xiahua 虾滑
As a Chinese, I highly recommend you visit Yangshuo, it boasts one of the most beautiful sceneries in China. And I suggest you stay at the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, you get to have a very wonderful view from that hotel. Also if you like winter and snow, visit the northeast city of Harbin.
Yangshuo, I'd second that. Although it's a bit far from Shanghai. You would need to take a plane ride I think
Thanks for the tips!
@@Alan_and_Shannon Don't listen to him. Yangshuo is a terrible place in deep south China. The most beautiful places in China are Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong in Western Sichuan. Just copy paste Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong in google and you'll understand what I'm talking about.
@@Alan_and_Shannonyou definitely should go Yangshuo
😅
@@Alan_and_Shannonnot now though. Summer would be better
Shanghai is just big. The land area used by Shanghai is 10x of Mumbai. The people are just spread out. (6300km2)
GREAT INFORMATIVE VIDEO 👍
I just saw your video with backpacker ben, thought i would come and check you guys out. Excellent work.
Being respectful, friendly to the local culture and people will do the same to all visitors, Chinese people are the one of most nice people in the world, nice Video and good job
Gloves and hats were bought at a high price.Shanghai is within the free shipping zone, so when you shop online, it may arrive on the same day.
Excellent viewing guys something about yous on the tele seems to give me a little bit of comfort for some reason lol. Safe travels guys👌
Love that🥰 thank you for watching
@@Alan_and_Shannon thank you for the uploads hope you guys smash it. The world is yours 🌎
I guess more than half of the people in Shanghai have headed back home getting ready for Chinese New Year. We landed in Shanghai 3 weeks before the New Year, and we also found it quiet, not like the Shanghai I used to know. But on our way back around 20/02, it was crowded.
20:02 it’s shrimp balls, shrimp smashed into mushes, then rolled into a ball, then cooked
cool vid guys. love your positive look on traveling through china. cheers
Thank you! We are absolutely loving China so far, such a cool place
I’d sincerely welcome u to Chongqing and Changsha, they both are my hometowns, big cities with 10+ million ppl with amazing food
We are in Chongqing right now, we are going to make a video tomorrow if you are about to join us?
@@Alan_and_Shannon cool, cant wait.
@@Alan_and_Shannon Are you guys still in Chongqing right now?
It's cold out. People take shelter inside. Some have holidays / vacation and would rather go South, e.g. Sanya (Hawaii of China).
Hi,I 'm an Chinese international student studied in Canada.My hometown is Xi'an,which is an ancient capital for more than 3000 years.You can explore the most traditional culture and Chinese history in Xi'an.The old traditional Chinese buildings and musuems are really nice.Also Xi'an local cuisine and snacks are very good.I really hope you guys can come to Xi'an,I strongly recommend you guys to visit Wild goose pogoda,Grand Tang Mall,Ancient Bell Tower,Xi'an Ancient city wall,Qujiang Lake.I also recommend you guys to book a hotel in Qujiang area of Xian.The experience will be incredible.Hope you guys have a nice trip in China
Yeah the food near tourist traps are gonna be expensive and crap, it's understandable though, they have to pay crazy rent. They city is also still recovering from the lockdown, for example all of my fav pubs have closed, which is how I measure things, but if there's a plus side is it's probably more clean and orderly now, or at least it feels that way. I've done a lot worse than jaywalking and I've never gotten into trouble, so it's not true at all, not to say that you should be jaywalking.
Pubs reopening is exactly how you should measure it haha!
Yeah the story about the jay walking from jordan peterson seem’d abit far fetched
I really didn't expect that someone as famous as Jordan Peterson would spread such rumors. My opinion of him has really gone down. As a scholar, it's really disappointing to make claims without doing any on-site research. Sometimes on the streets of China, you might see some delivery workers in blue or yellow uniforms riding electric bikes. Some of them often ignore traffic rules (not because of discrimination, just stating facts), especially during lunchtime. But if what Jordan said is true, wouldn't these hardworking workers who already have low incomes go bankrupt early? Keep in mind that there are more than 10 million people doing this job here.
@@seekx2y556 I do like Jordan Peterson, he's smart and gets the fundamental ideas right, but the problem is a lot of the times his conclusions just goes way over the top and lands somewhere else
@@Alan_and_Shannon The pub scene in China is surprisingly good, especially in Beijing and Shanghai... if you're into that kinda stuff. Although since the lockdowns a lot of the foreigners have left, and the surviving pubs have had to change the taste to suite the local customer base. Now you get some very out there flavors to catch the eye, but I still prefer the more traditional stuff. Having said that as you say it's recovering well and things are looking good.
Welcome to my hometown. Hope you have a great time. Don’t forget to try the Xiaolongbao and Fried Buns.
What I find impressive is for a city of 26 million it doesn't seem crowded 🤔
it is winter now.
Well, Shanghai is a huge city and what they have experienced is just tip of the iceberg.
Shanghai is very large, with an area three times that of New York. You can take a look at its subway lines, which have the longest, most numerous, and most complex subway system in the world.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for watching!
55 was way Long expensive..it should be 15 yuan@@Alan_and_Shannon
at 20:00 . What you're eating is shrimp paste or shrimp ball. We usually only eat the shrimp paste in the soup, and don't usually drink the soup itself. Of course, it's fine if you want to drink it. A price of 40 yuan for this is reasonable and not expensive, as the shrimp paste here is generally around this price. The other item is a chive box. We can also find it in our regular snack streets, usually priced around 8 yuan. But the one you're eating is quite large, so the price is about right.
Why do you not usually drink the soup? I think for the amount of food that you got it seemed really expensive compared to other street food we have had
@@Alan_and_Shannon The soup is drinkable, there's no issue. However, I noticed that you ordered the spicy version. This kind of soup is too spicy and greasy for us, and most people don't prefer to drink it, unless it's the original tomato soup or mushroom soup. Shrimp paste is inherently a bit expensive, and considering you ordered it in the city area, it's normal for the price to be a bit higher.
@@Alan_and_Shannon Shanghai is indeed one of China's first-tier cities and can be considered the financial center of the country. If you want to experience a thousand years of Chinese history, you can visit Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Terracotta Army. For a taste of a hundred years of Chinese history, Beijing is the place to go, with the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and more. But be aware that many places in Beijing require advance reservations, so you need to plan ahead. If you're interested in experiencing a modern, high-tech, digital city, consider visiting Hangzhou or Shenzhen. For food enthusiasts, I personally recommend Guangzhou, which tends to suit the tastes of many foreigners. If you want to experience beautiful landscapes, Yangshuo is highly recommended by many foreigners. And if you like spicy food, head to Chongqing, a magical 3D city famous on TikTok, whose night view can rival that of Shanghai's Bund.
@@Alan_and_ShannonShanghai is the financial center of China and a tier-1 city. So expect it to be more pretty expensive city compared to rest of South-East Asia (except Singapore).
Wonderful! 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you! 😃
26:16 The bells and the clock on top of the Shanghai Custom House is built with the same design of the Big Ben by the British administration back in the time.
Winter honestly isn't a good season for traveling in China, maybe Shenzhen GuangZhou, zhuhai and Dali, Xishuangbanna these places in southern China are much warmer places for visiting.
In winter, go swimming in Hainan Island or see ice sculptures in Harbin.
Summer also not a good season, autumn is best
The wind in Dali is too strong and cold, so it is not recommended to come.
You are so charismatic and seen be having a lot of fun, keep it up! You should come to Yangshuo, Guilin, here we have the most beautiful mountains ;)
China is really beautiful and there are a lot of beautiful scenery.
Cars, bikes, and buses are all-electric in Shanghai; that's why Shanghai is quiet.
In day time, everybody is working. It is really normal that not many people at waterfront promenade!
Can see why it was freezing down there😂
@@Alan_and_Shannon 1. it is cold, 2 it is working time at daytime 3. it is not holiday, less visitors wander on street 4 local residents are always staying away from tourist resort
The good news is from December 1st, 2023 to next year November 30th, 2024 for French, Dutch, Spanish, German, Italian and Malaysian citizen no need China visa to enter to China for 15 das and in Hainan Island stay for 30 das.
That green/red light on the pavement is so convenient. I can't remember how many times I have stood next to a traffic light looking at my phone, not knowing that the light has turned green. haha so definitely that will be very convenient for people like me who always stare down at the phone while walking.
Yeah they are absolutely genius, I actually can’t believe they dont have these all over the world
@@Alan_and_Shannon 你想看到未来就去,深圳。你想看8d城市就去 重庆。
Great video as always! Are you planing to go to other places in China? The only thing I've got saved on my Shanghai map is Tron Lightcycle Power Run, not sure if you interested, I'm just big fan of TRON visual style
Yes we have a 3 week trip plan around China, so excited! We went on the TRON ride at Disneyland if that counts🤣
it is quiet because of a lot of cars and buses are electric. and most bike too.
对,这是安静最主要原因
Try Harbin, they have ice sculpture festival in winter
Where is that?
@@Alan_and_Shannon it’s the capital of Heilongjiang province, bordering Russia. Sculpture exhibition starts Dec. 17th
I’m so looking forward to visit China next year.
You are very welcome to come to China and make such lovely videos. China has undergone great changes in recent years. I hope more and more foreign friends can come to China to see the beautiful scenery and eat delicious food. Communicate more and feel the goodwill flowing between each other. I hope you had a good trip. You're so cute
First time viewer.... great content!!
Thanks and welcome😁
The spicy dough thing may be those type u find in dim sum restaurant. Call har gow. Like dumpling with prawn mixture substance. Can Google it.
har gow is the pronuciation of cantonese. should be Xia Jiao 虾饺 in Manderin. It just means Shrimp Dumplings.
go to the french concession area, you might get the food you like
大清已经亡了
❤❤❤❤ Nice i injoy it your video thnx
Thanks for your vedio. Me Chinese and I used to live in UK for like 7 years, mostly in West Midland but also been to Yorkshire and the Humber several times so thats why I immediately recognized your Scottish lol and I just love your accent so much. I am gonna travelling back to UK next year OMG I missed UK so much and just cant even wait after watching your vedio so thats it you take care in China and have a good trip!
literally forget there is FIVE GUYS in shanghai :D
hahahaa that girl to put the lid on the tea is hilarious
go to Columbia Circle, you will like the resturants there, Lenbach bistro, or Casa Baja, sit by the pool where it once was US navy club. you will like it there.
Thanks for the recommendations😃
it's quiet in Shanghai because the rate of Evs. All the scooters are EV, and lots of EV cars
Where are the 26m people? The city is soooo spread out so they won't all be walking around the city center :). Also runnig a pedestrian red light won't get you a fine and have your money taken away. Technically that's not difficult to do but it's not a thing at all.
Like the social credit score, I don't know who made up the lie
It should be fairly easy to navigate in China, look for young people who look like students, and they can speak English just fine. And when it comes to foods, look for crowds, where there is crowd/line/queue, there’s good food.
Everything has been pretty straight forward so far…
That’s the best tip, busy restaurant = good food
In China, you cannot use Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc., but there are more exciting local software in China, such as using Amap (or A map) to replace Google Maps, using Dianping to replace Yelp, using Bilibili to replace RUclips, using Didi to replace Uber, and 12306 is also a necessary software for buying train tickets. China's electronic system is very developed and convenient.@@Alan_and_Shannon
Go and explore Chengdu, another amazing city in China.
You guys came to Shanghai at off season. In summer time it can be crowded and chaotic. Enjoy your stay!
Thank you so much😀
@@Alan_and_ShannonAt this time of the year, you should go south to Zhejiang, or southwest to Yunnan provinces. It's cold in northern China.
Hi, I am a Shanghai citizen, welcome to my city, let me know if you want to hang out and experience the daily life of regular office worker.
Welcome to Shanghai. 欢迎来到魔都
Thank you🥰
You're welcome.@@Alan_and_Shannon
19:14 What you have is actually kind of boiled dough made of shrimps and 18:33 that crepe is called “jucaihozi “ which is fulfilled with Chinese leek and it’s famous in mainland of China. Hope you have an awesome time in China!❤from Hong Kong❤
At 15:44 you are walking past the Old Municipal Building, which is now being restored and expanded to its intended shape. A piece of work by the renowned British architect David Chipperfield.
Thanks so much for showing the true China.
not sure how long you plan to stay in shanghai, some places to visit 1/Jing'An temple and the french concession(many creative stores/nice cafes in this area) 2/ Pudong Art Museum 3/ Xintiandi, old shanghainese style buildings turned into shopping mall, there're also some christmas markets in the city center you can explore
Thank you for the recommendations
Most vehicles are electric: cars, scooters and bikes.
Yea we thought this, it’s crazy the difference it makes
EVs make the city quiet, I heard and I guess so.
theyve given you honest prices for the hat and gloves man.. 20 R is nothing in SH, things are expensive there.
No expensive
It is quite because of the EV cars
@19:04, it is meat ball of mashed shrimp mixed with corn starch.
Ahhhh we were pretty close with guessing what it was then
I would rather stay indoors on such a cold day. Cars in downtown are not allowed to honk, and half of the cars are electric. Most people don't like to yelling in public places. Shanghai is four times bigger than London. It's impossible for all the people to be concentrated in the city center. That's all the reason why you feel quiet or empty.
China is very technologically advanced.
It’s crazy!!!!
as a new Chinese fan of yours, Actually I don't know your travel plan, But I highly recommend Suzhou for you if possible, a city right near Shanghai, It's the only city in China that has preserved a huge historical districts, and it also has a modern CBD. I'm sure it won't let you down!
Hi you gorgeous people❣️
Graham here again.
You need to take the ferry over the Huangpou river and go up Oriental Pearl.
Go to the glass floor level.
When you finish, go to the bottom, and there is a brilliant museum there of Shanghai past.
You need to head down to Nanning and Beihai.
Then over to Hainan island, and go to Sanya .
Graham and Peng.
Those beanies and gloves are around that price, so you didn't really get ripped off. If it was 10 years ago, that could be the case.
I went to Harbin before, and they used ice to make a city, which is very beautiful at night, but it is very cold there.
I find that all foreign tourists who come to China will say that the streets are quiet😂
禁止鸣笛的原因吧
I'd like your guys doing shopping there, so nice.
I think that the reason of the no crowdness is that there're a lot of commercial centers in Shanghai which makes the people evenly distributed. For example, I barely go to Nanjing Road because I can buy anything from the shopping area near my house or online.
enjoy your trip in CHINA!
Thank you!
35 yuan for a beanie is quite a fair price, especially when you asked a deal for 2 hats. Shang Hai is a big city, vendors pay higher rent and higher wages for people. We don’t expect to pay 10 yuan for a beanie. Plus those looks pretty good quality stuff.
not a good time to visit northern china now ,it's too cold in winter. so ,visit southern cities like Chongqing,Chengdu, Guilin,Lijiang,Sanya, Kunming, Guangzhou ,Shenzhen, Xiamen, Changsha
我在深圳,现在是28度,今天我还吹风扇 😂
shanghai is quiet because it has implemented traffic rules with a penalty if an auto is found honking. ALSO, the city promotes EV use. Look for the "green/white" license plates. Gas auto owner has to pay some RMB 100K to draw from a lottery of a very small pool of new license plates.
We noticed the coloured plates right away! Its interesting to now know why, thank you!
@@Alan_and_Shannon EVs are tax-free in China