Youtuber who explores Chinese cities and villages. Goes to many off-the-beaten path areas.

[msteve60]

Hi everyone, I just thought I'd share a cool Youtuber I discovered recently. Basically he films himself walking around and exploring Chinese cities, but he goes to some really off-the-beaten-path and poorer areas that many foreigners never see. Just thought I'd share for those interested in this sort of thing.

 

Here is one video from his channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LArhIB_rVM

 

Let me know if I'm breaking any rules by posting this...I did read them and didn't see any that I would be breaking. Thought this would be the most suitable place to post something like this.

[Dawei3]

Thanks for posting this.  2 previous youtubers I liked left China and their pieces now are too polemic.  I look forward to checking out the one you posted.

 

Roddy can correct me - but my sense is that everything related to China, its customs & language are welcome.  Hence, just based on your description, the youtube sounds on point.

[abcdefg]

"Cool?" "Cyberpunk?" Well, I just watched, didn't play the music. 

 

I could make several hundred hours of stuff like this. Maybe I should start by filming my (tiny) bathroom for 15 or 20 minutes. 

[msteve60]

24 minutes ago, abcdefg said:

 

I could make several hundred hours of stuff like this. Maybe I should start by filming my bathroom for 15 or 20 minutes. 

 

It's fine if you personally find videos like this boring, but I dont see why you feel the need to insult the concept of walking videos like this. I personally love to play videos like this in the background while I do other things to create an atmosphere and simply see what life is like on the streets of various countries. Could also be useful for people considering moving to somewhere and want to get a feel for the place. 

 

Yeah these videos would be simple to produce, but so what? There is clearly an audience for them. One of my favorite Youtubers is Rambalac, who does this exact same thing in Japan...has over 160k subs. 

[abcdefg]

Well, then knock yourself out. I can look out the window and see the same stuff. I think such video is stupid and lazy. 

[msteve60]

12 hours ago, Dawei3 said:

Thanks for posting this.  2 previous youtubers I liked left China and their pieces now are too polemic.  I look forward to checking out the one you posted.

 

Roddy can correct me - but my sense is that everything related to China, its customs & language are welcome.  Hence, just based on your description, the youtube sounds on point.

 

Are you referring to serpentza and laowhy86? Yeah I am a huge fan of the two of them...although I do agree their content has gotten a bit less interesting since they left China...almost feels like they are struggling to find new things to talk about.

 

The channel I posted is quite a bit different from those two though. It is literally just a person walking though Chinese cities without any commentary.

[msteve60]

Just now, abcdefg said:

 I think such video is stupid and lazy. 

 

Why? If somebody wants to film videos like this then why not? Would filming nothing be less lazy? Those who are interested will watch, those that aren't won't. I don't understand your need to insult  simple videos like this. I actually wish there were more channels like this as exploring new cities is my favorite thing to do and it's great to be able to do it vicariously when not in a position to travel yourself.

[道艺]

I mean its the same reason I can't stand those eating videos. There isn't anything creative behind it, nothing that pushes boundaries, nothing thought provoking.

I may lean more toward abcdefg's view, although I have seen some YouTubers who use those types of videos as B-roll for their own content, and the final product looks really good.

I will say, some days I've thought about sticking a camera in my hat and showing my bike rides around Shanghai, if nothing else than to show how you can't ever take your eyes off the road when biking on 江苏路 or near 静安寺.

[msteve60]

21 minutes ago, 道艺黄帝 said:

I mean its the same reason I can't stand those eating videos. There isn't anything creative behind it, nothing that pushes boundaries, nothing thought provoking.

I may lean more toward abcdefg's view, although I have seen some YouTubers who use those types of videos as B-roll for their own content, and the final product looks really good.

I will say, some days I've thought about sticking a camera in my hat and showing my bike rides around Shanghai, if nothing else than to show how you can't ever take your eyes off the road when biking on 江苏路 or near 静安寺.

 

Fair enough. I guess it just comes down to preference ultimately. Personally, I prefer watching pure and unadulterated footage of the real conditions of a country rather than curated and often exaggerated travel vlogs that usually only give you a "sanitized" version of what a country is truly like and don't show the gritty and chaotic street scenes like in the video I shared. I actually find it surprisingly difficult to find raw on-the-ground footage of developed countries so I am always excited when I find channels that show this without any talking, editing, or other distractions. I like to watch videos like this before traveling places so I can get an idea of what I will be seeing on a daily basis.

 

Yeah videos like this wouldn't take a lot of effort...but if you are going out walking anyways why not just film some stuff to share with others who might be interested? I don't see the harm in that, and it's not like most these people are making money from it or anything. Except for maybe Rambalac, who has managed to garner a huge following making videos like this in Japan.

[mackie1402]

Personally, I don't see it as entertainment, but more like one of those 'walk around' videos when you're looking to buy a house. It's great for someone looking to move to China to see what it's really like. I didn't watch it all, but from what I did watch, it really is real China. A lot of vloggers travel to China and show you same old shots of the same old places. It gets pretty tiring and never shows you what it is really like. 

 

All they've gotta do now is cover their body in 360 degree cameras and walk the whole of China. Street View to a whole new level. 

[DavyJonesLocker]

3 hours ago, msteve60 said:

Personally, I prefer watching pure and unadulterated footage of the real conditions of a country rather than curated and often exaggerated travel vlogs

 

 

This is why is I never took to seprenza , as it was often too forced. He many times deliberately put him self in a situation to show a negative aspect of Chinese society. E.g refused from a beach because he didn't bring a passport. A middle aged bloke looking like a cast member from reservoir dogs with a camera walking on to a beach full of little kids. They rightly should have stopped him! 

[Dawei3]

On 8/5/2019 at 4:49 AM, msteve60 said:

he films himself walking around and exploring Chinese cities

Now that I had a chance to look at the video, I agree with other comments.  It's not my thing & found it boring.  I thought there might be commentary & cultural insights.  A caveat to my origin post would have been, "be ready to hear the opinions of others on the video" - don't take these viewpoints as an attack on yours.  

 

 

16 hours ago, msteve60 said:

Are you referring to serpentza and laowhy86?

Yes.  In the past, they had some insightful videos on cultural issues.  However as DavyJones noted, at times they also provoke problems.  Now they seem to do so all-the time.   

 

In addition, they don't know the limits of their knowledge.  When they covered technical topics, their information was often wrong.  In a discussion on gutter oil, one noted that heat will kill bacteria (completely ignoring the health risks of ingesting rancid oil or what might the oil might have been mixed with in the sewer).  And their discussions on pollution were also off-base....  But I did like some of their videos.    

[msteve60]

8 hours ago, Dawei3 said:

Now that I had a chance to look at the video, I agree with other comments.  It's not my thing & found it boring.  I thought there might be commentary & cultural insights.  A caveat to my origin post would have been, "be ready to hear the opinions of others on the video" - don't take these viewpoints as an attack on yours.  

 

Yeah I think it's perfectly reasonable for many to find these videos boring...I agree with mackie1402 who said that you shouldn't really view them as entertainment, and they certainly aren't the type of video you would just sit down and watch for its entire length. They are the type of video you might put on in the background while you do something else (which is what I often do with these kinds of videos), or something you would watch if you are just curious about what a certain place is like on the ground, without all the fluff that commentary and fancy editing add. They would definitely be useful for someone looking to travel or move somewhere and want to get an idea of what a place is like.

 

I personally find it frustrating when I just want to see what a certain place looks like out on the streets, but all I can find are travel vlogs that focus more on the traveler than the place, or only show the tourist attractions, food, etc., but don't give you any idea of the overall feel of the place. So in that sense, there is definitely value in these kinds of walking videos...just don't view them as straight entertainment.

 

I think it would be really interesting to look back at videos like this in say 20 or 50 years and see how much things have changed. It's too bad videos like this weren't filmed 100 years ago...would've loved to see what the streets of China looked like back then.

[abcdefg]

10 hours ago, msteve60 said:

I think it would be really interesting to look back at videos like this in say 20 or 50 years and see how much things have changed. It's too bad videos like this weren't filmed 100 years ago...would've loved to see what the streets of China looked like back then.

 

Agree. Lots of change. Most likely in varying amounts, to varying degrees. Some places have modernized and westernized so much that they would be nearly unrecognizable to people who lived in them several decades ago. In other places time has more or less stood still.

 

Like you, I enjoy exploring new cities. It's only that I go about it in a slightly different way from the guys making these videos. I usually take an old fashioned approach and read books which were set in the period of interest. Fiction and no-fiction both help me get the feel of how it was back then to live, love, work, get old and die.  

 

[anonymoose]

On ‎8‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 3:36 AM, msteve60 said:

I think it would be really interesting to look back at videos like this in say 20 or 50 years and see how much things have changed.

 

Photos as opposed to videos, but you might be interested in this.

[abcdefg]

Those are splendid, @anonymoose!

[道艺]

A few Chinese friends share some of those 抖音 videos and I think I figured out why those scenic walk videos rubbed me the wrong way.  The video I saw was an American dude reading off the list of top ten most popular boy names in the US. 

 

After the first time, I completely raged hahaha... I had to ask myself why these types of guys and videos pissed me off so much.  I guess it's just the low-hanging fruit that some people will jump on for quick internet fame and reputation. I'm not sure if you can make money on 抖音, but that could be a factor, too. 

 

To me, those ambience videos are somewhat I the same category as that guy who read the list of names. Any shmuck with a camera can do that, upload it, and get a quick following.

 

But if the scenic video is done well, with good pacing, scenery, timing, not invasive, and with HQ footage, I can definitely get behind it. Same goes for those nauesating 老外抖音 videos. I've seen some where they are a very high level of Chinese, don't use constant quick cuts, and really go in depth to explain common misunderstandings between the two languages. I dig those, but I've had enough of those baby talk English videos. 

[Dawei3]

19 hours ago, anonymoose said:

you might be interested in this.

I agree with abcdefg  - splendid.  

 

On 8/5/2019 at 4:49 AM, msteve60 said:

the most suitable place to

Even though the videos didn't appeal to me (I recognize that others like them), your post gave anonymoose a chance to post the BBC photos, which I liked.  We're all looking to topics that trigger discussion & comment you did.  Hence, your post was a good idea.