I Went To The Venice Of Shanghai, China 🇨🇳

In this video, we are going to explore the Venice of Shanghai, a water town about an hour away from the city center. I am quite excited to see a different side of Shanghai, some more rural areas away from the big downtown area we have seen in my previous videos. We will also try lots of authentic Chinese food there and we will meet a local who was so kind to invite me into his house. So what is rural Shanghai like and will I like the local food there? Join me and let's go. All right, I am now at the railway station a bit outside of the city. I'm trying to find my friend Joseph and his girlfriend now and then we are going on a little adventure to like another place which is like an hour away from Shanghai actually. But first I have to locate my friend which might be difficult at a huge busy railway station here in China. Oh, I think I might have a problem because I think I can't enter the station without a ticket and I don't have a ticket yet. But I'm actually not sure where we are going. What's the name of the station? Okay, my friend has sent me his location which is inside the metro station. So this is the railway station but actually I need to go to the metro station which is I think underneath here. I want to go to the metro station. Google translate here. Go in and walk downstairs. On the left side is the subway station. Okay, people here are friendly and always willing to help. I had that many times before that people just get out a translation app. I'm not sure which app they are using and then actually try to communicate with me with the translation app. Okay, so we have security checks here like at an airport and this, wow, this actually looks like an airport as well. So this is the railway station right here and similar vibes to a big airport I would say. Okay, what did he say? Go down somewhere to the subway. Okay, we do have some English signs here. Tickets, restroom, drinking water. Oh, I'm wondering what this is. Something in red. Usually that's not a good sign. Looks like a timetable maybe. Anyone knows what this is? Let me know in the comments. Ah, there's a sign. Metro. Oh, there we go. Okay, I see a metro sign right here. Can I go down here without another security check, without a ticket? Yes, I can. Oh, good news. Oh yeah, this looks like the entrance to a metro station. Okay, my friend just sent me a picture and he said I need to go to line 17. So far I don't see any line 17. He's also just calling right now. Man, this station is like the biggest railway station I've ever been to. I think I'm at the entrance to the metro station now. Okay, I think that this is the entrance to the metro station. But here I do need a ticket. Okay, now the next question. Where can I buy a ticket? I don't see any machines here. My friend is already inside, so he can't help me now. Oh, actually I love situations like this. This is what traveling is about. Being somewhere completely lost. Okay, where can I buy a ticket? I think I can buy a ticket here. Now the question is will I be able to pay with cash? I think I can pay with cash here. English. Okay, line 17. So I just got the information from my friend. And then we are going to... I think it's this one right here. Oh, okay. Oh, 6 yuan only. That sounds very affordable. Can I just put it in here now? It says bills rejected. Acceptable types of coin. I can't pay with notes here. So I need coins. Okay, let's see if I can buy something to get coins. It's taking me like 20 minutes just to get inside the metro station here. Oh, what is this? The right Coca-Cola. Can you... I need coins for the tickets. Can you change this to coins? Oh, I think that's enough. Okay, thank you. Okay, problem solved. Actually these situations are really good to improve your problem-solving skills. If this would be my first time in a situation like this, I would be completely overwhelmed to be honest. But yeah, because I am experienced with traveling already, situations like this are still a bit stressful. But at least I'm used to it. So I usually know how to figure out situations like this. When you're somewhere completely overwhelming, you have no idea where to get, how to get around. So let's do this again. 17 right here. 6 yuan. Oh, that was complicated. Okay, let's enter the station and find my French. All right, here we go. Do you know how complicated it is to get to this point? Really? This is the biggest railway station I've ever been to. This is not even the biggest. Took me now 20 minutes to get from the taxi inside the station. But now I have my local friend with me, so I'm not gonna get lost again here now. I made it to the subway and now I can relax. Half an hour ride. Half an hour later and we have reached the outskirts of Shanghai. We are now basically in the countryside which I am very excited to see. Okay, the goal is now to reach the old town of the area here. Okay, so this is the map of all of Shanghai. And so the city center is around here and we are now out here. I'm impressed like even here in the countryside the metro stations are looking super modern, decent and clean. If I compare that to like railway stations in rural Germany, it's not looking like this. But this is not really rural China yet, right? Yeah, this is not rural China. Yeah, just outskirts of Shanghai. Even outskirts of Shanghai is not normal rural China. Shanghai is different. Okay, so we want to reach the old town now. We have several options. We can take a taxi, we can get these bicycles and seems like we can also take a boat taxi. That would be the most interesting option, I think. Okay, I think it's electric wooden boat that we are taking now and the price is 30 yuan per person. Actually, it looks peaceful and calm here. I like it. And yeah, the place where we're going to is also called the Venice of Shanghai. So I guess it will be like the old town and then we can take boats through the canals in between. So I'm very looking forward to that. Cute little wooden boat right here, electric boat. And we are leaving. And yeah, it is so quiet. Electric vehicles are always so quiet, right? So we do have canals here and then we have people. Hello, ni hao. People having the terrace right here by the canal. That actually is pretty beautiful. Like imagine this is your house and every morning you can sit here, enjoy your coffee. And it's actually very interesting to see the houses here being built right by the river here, by the canal. And then basically people having their window just overlooking the canal. Very different side of Shanghai. Like in the previous videos we have seen like the big modern skyscrapers of Shanghai and now this is more like a local countryside of Shanghai. Very interesting. Okay, and we have arrived in a lovely little town, a water town. And now we are very hungry. So let's see if we can find a little restaurant. What is the speaker saying? It's like it's a rainy day and it's slippery. Be careful. Oh, be careful it's slippery. Okay, that makes sense. Especially you. But actually this is a pretty cool view here. Look at this. I really love the little houses right here. We have these typical Chinese red lamps on the houses. Lots of shops on the left, on the right, selling food, little snacks. I think this is pork right here. All right, we have stinky tofu right here. Stinky tofu? Stinky tofu, yeah. So this is something popular to eat here? Yeah, really popular. Okay, let's see. Different types of sauce here. Sweet? Okay. Garlic. And this one? Spicy. So she has the stinky tofu right here. And then she puts it inside the oil. It gets heated up. Fry it a little bit. For eight pieces? Oh, wow, okay. Oh, it looks good. Looks good. Yeah, I tried it before in China. Yeah, and I remember the taste wasn't as bad as the smell. Actually, the smell is not that bad. And usually stinky tofu has a very strong smell, which many people already can't stand. But here, the smell is not that bad. Yeah. Like it's not a not a strong smell. Okay. So stinky tofu is popular all over China? All over China. All over China. Ah, so we can choose sauces now. Okay, okay. Maybe the sweet one. I would like to try. Which one was the sweet one? I think this one right here. Ah, she just mixed everything. Yeah, yeah. Ah, I see. Okay, okay. Okay, so we're just mixing all the sauces here right now. Getting all the flavors in our mouth. How much is it? 15. 15. Okay, 15 yuan for like eight pieces of sticky tofu. Where's the smell actually coming from? It's fermenting? Fermenting, I guess. Yes, it's fermented. It's fermented. Okay, that's where the smell is coming from. Okay, that was my guess. Have you tried it before? The black one. Oh, the black one. Okay. Very hot. Really hot? Like spicy hot or? I think hot from the oil. Okay, let's give it a try. Oh, it's quite salty, yeah. And there's a, there's a bad, not really a bad, but a salty. Strong taste to it. Yeah, yeah. Let's say like there's a strong taste, which I think I'm not a big fan of. I prefer the black one. Black one has less taste. It's a really strong taste. This is real fermented tofu, like fermented beans. I mean, it's okay. I can eat it, but I think one piece is enough for me. But you really like it? Yeah. Yeah, okay. Okay. Interesting taste. Stinky tofu in China. Oh, check it out. It's such a lovely village here. Little bridges like this here. We have the canals everywhere. And then these authentic old Chinese style houses here just along the side of the river. And then yeah, everywhere we have these little shops on the left, on the right. Oh, and I see more interesting things right here. What is this? Mushroom with Chinese style. That looks very delicious actually. Okay, so let's see what he's doing here. So he's heating it up a little bit. It looks like a mini dumpling. Yeah. That's what it is. Oh, because I've never seen them in like small bite sizes like this before. Oh, he doesn't have change here. Okay, that also happens sometimes here because the people are not prepared for customers with cash. Oh, and okay, now he's putting it inside the box right here. Okay, thank you very much. Okay, so she is vegetarian. So this is pork. So unfortunately okay, let's give it a try. These little balls here are perfect bite sizes. And they smell really good. You should try one as well. Just for the taste. Wow, it's really good. Perfect sizes. Little snack. You can snack it. And the pork flavor is really strong. I really love the pork flavor in it. Okay, so here we also have these lambs everywhere. And I've been missing them in Shanghai city because these lambs are so typical stereotype China for me. But this is now actually the first time that I see them. But what is the like, the reason or the history about these lambs? Like what are they actually used for? Honestly, I'm not an expert on this. Yeah, I think in my family, my family only decorate this during Chinese New Year. So it's like a like a holiday decoration. Only Chinese New Year. Okay, we don't have it anymore. Okay. And then here it's just because it's a touristy place. Actually, in China, you only have this decoration during Chinese New Year. Oh, okay. It's like Christmas tree in Western countries. Yeah, right. You don't have it anymore. So not all year. That's interesting. Because if you go to like a Chinatown in like Thailand, you see them everywhere. Yeah. Because it's so typical Chinese. Yeah. But then you actually come to China and you don't see them. This is not the first time I actually see them. Yeah. That's interesting. And also here everywhere you see these little stations where you can just get a power bank to charge your phone. So you scan the code. And then what was the price again? It's pretty cheap, right? 4 Yuan for one hour. 4 Yuan for one hour. And then you can you can actually take the power bank with you and then place it again at any random station that you come across. And they are literally everywhere. Every restaurant has these little shops like this. But it makes sense because everyone here needs the phone to pay. So if you run out of battery, it's like losing your wallet. Yeah. So that's why you find like these charging stations everywhere. Power banks for renting. Pretty smart. That's good. As a tourist, most of the restaurants I have been to so far also have a lot of pictures. So you can actually just point to the picture of anything that looks good to you. Or what I'm also doing is I'm using my Translate app. Google Translate, for example. So you can just actually I can show you right right now. So I have Google Translate right here. Of course, you need a VPN in order to use Google. But then let's see. White chopped chicken 20 Yuan. And then we have stewed water bamboo in oil. Sauce beef. So yeah, the Translation app actually works totally fine as well. Okay, we're going to have lunch at this restaurant right here now, right next to the to the canal here. That looks actually quite nice. Okay, so this is interesting. The plates here is it's all wrapped in plastic. Why is that? I guess it's not sanitary, but it's not new, right? It's not new, because they have a machine to sanitize and kill all the bacteria. And then afterwards, they wrap it up with the plastic. So avoid the dust. Yeah, that's the standard. That's the standard in Chinese restaurants. Most of them. So every customer gets. Yeah, this looks like brand new. You don't have to wash it and you drink directly from it. Wow, that's amazing. So you have really high sanitary standards here, actually. Actually, yeah. Okay, so we have a glass in here, we have a bowl in here, a plate and a spoon. And then this one is perfectly clean and fine. And then we have hot water here, right? Hot water, yeah. That's actually very popular in China, just drinking hot water. Because it's good for the health. Just hot water together with food. Okay, and the final dish has arrived. Mapo tofu. Yes. Yes. Yes. Ah, good. Actually, I learned how to cook this last year in the Philippines. Somebody taught me how to do this. You have to try one of the special here. Well, what is inside? Pork. Pork. And then wrapped with a banana leaf? No, there's no banana leaf here. What kind of leaf is it? I don't know. Okay, so we have this right here. And then we have, this is just egg and tomatoes, right? And then we have sliced beef right here. And then the Mapo tofu, which usually comes with minced meat. But since he is vegetarian, we're having the version without meat. And then, of course, also some rice on the side. Thank you. Okay, let's see if it's spicy together with the sauce right here. Oh, very soft. Very nice to eat. I really like the texture of it. Very delicious. According to Joseph, this is the highlight here. Yeah, in this town, I guess. So it's popular for the town right here. Yeah. Okay, so let's open it up like a Christmas present. Filled with delicious meat inside. But then it's just pork, right? Nothing else? Just pork. So we have pork inside. And then I think they cook it inside the leaves, right? Yeah. Okay, let's see how it tastes. Oh my god, this is amazing. Yeah. Oh, it's so soft. I can literally cut it with my tongue. Oh, the flavor is very good flavor. They cook it probably for half a day. Yeah, this feels like it's cooked like for a week or so. Oh, this is delicious. Although it is a bit oily, but the flavor of the pork is delicious. Eat it with rice to suck the oil out of the meat. That's a good idea. Mix it with rice. I have to say, I tried lots of different dishes here now and it all has been really good food. The only thing I didn't like was the stinky tofu. Yeah. In all the days that I am here now. But everything else, all the food you saw me trying in the previous videos, all has been really amazing. Okay, so how much does a full meal like this for three persons cost? 132 Yuan. 132 Yuan. And of course you're paying just by scanning the QR code again. I'm getting used to this actually. Okay, that was actually a very good meal. How is it? Delicious. Okay, we're going to get some desserts right here. Some interesting looking fruits with... It's cotton, right? What is it? Fruit coated in sugar? Yeah. Oh, that looks interesting. But it is a fruit, right? It's a fruit. And then like just sugar around it. You want to have the first one? I just want to try one. Yeah, just try it. It's really good. I think it's going to be very sweet, right? So just bite it. Yeah, just bite it. It looks like glass, like biting into glass, you know? Oh, feels weird. Okay. This one is 15 Yuan. When I was a kid, it's only one Yuan. Feels like eating glass. That is glass. You have to feel that first. Okay, just joking. It's very sweet. And then once you bite onto the fruit, there's like juice squeezing out. Then it gets really delicious. I think for me the outside is just too much of sweetness. Yeah. I want to see your reaction. I know this. I love this. It used to be only one Yuan. Yeah. 15 Yuan now. It used to be one. It used to be one when I was a kid. And now it's 15. Yeah. Oh, inflation also in China. Okay, let's see your reaction. Just the old taste. Reminds you about your childhood? Yeah. You can eat the rice paper? It's rice paper. Oh, wow. Okay. It looks like you're biting into plastic. Yeah, it's rice paper. Maybe it makes it like easier to eat. You can eat it with the strawberry. Yes, it makes it easier and less like Do you want to try a strawberry? Sure. Okay, this looks probably now very weird to just bite into it as if it's plastic. Plastic and glass and strawberry. Okay, let's give it a try. It's way better than this one. I love strawberries. What do you think? Which one is better? Which one do you like more? Also this one? I prefer the strawberry. Yeah. So we are like one street away now from the canals in a local neighborhood right here. And it looks pretty cozy. I like the architecture here of these old houses here with the lambs, the Chinese characters. That looks very picturesque for me. I think Joseph is offering some help. Should we help to carry it? He said it's okay. Oh, he has books right here, right? You can tell him the house looks very beautiful. I like the style. Oh, this is from his grandpa's generation. Oh, like how old is it? How many years ago? Oh, more than 100 years. More than 100 years old? Yeah. Oh, and you're living your own whole life here? He was born here. He was born here? Yeah. In the house? Yeah. That's Germany, right? How do I say I am from? Something like that. Very difficult. Can you ask him like how is it to live here? Does he like it? I definitely can tell he preferred here. He's really proud. He likes it here? Okay. He preferred here a little bit more. But I think it's better than the city as well. Why does he like living in a small place like this compared to the big city Shanghai? He said the air is really fresh here and the environment and they have a river as well. Yeah. Oh, that's nice. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, very fresh air here. I like it as well. And he can see the river from his house? He said you can come and visit. Oh, really? Oh, thank you. Should I put off my shoes? He said it's okay. It's okay? So this is his house here? Old Chinese style house. Oh, you can tell him I'm very happy to get invited into his house. He said you're welcome. You're welcome. Oh, nice. Wow. Oh, this is beautiful. Oh, look at the temple. Yeah, even like an old Chinese temple right there. Oh, you have a really nice garden here. Really beautiful. So he said this is the state, the government helped him to build here because in 2007 there was a like tourist campaign. They built the whole area, like refurnished it before it's stairs to river, but then they built it nicer, like in this way. Ah, so the government paid for it? Yeah, the government paid. Everything is paid by the government. Ah, so the government is like, like making everything looks more beautiful here for the tourists? Repair the houses, repair the houses and stairs for free. Oh, the government isn't that bad here, isn't it? It's good. And then he can enjoy the view here every evening, every morning. Nice to meet you. Thank you very much. Oh, very happy. You can come back in the future. I will come back. Okay, I come back. Oh, very nice. Okay, okay. Thank you so much. Oh wow, what a lovely old man, right? Yeah. Oh, that was a lovely meeting. I'm always happy to to meet locals when I visit the country, to speak with the locals and they seem to be very happy and friendly and welcoming. That is such a good impression for all of China that just one person can leave being like welcoming like this, hospitable, friendly. These moments make me very happy while I'm traveling. China welfare lottery. Can I win the Chinese lottery as a foreigner? I'm not sure actually, because I never had it. How does it work? Can we play lottery? I never played, so maybe you answer. Because usually I always play lottery in every country, like in the Philippines. I did it before in Thailand as well. So you can buy different tickets right here. How does it work? That's like scratching. So I buy a ticket and then I scratch it and then maybe if I'm lucky there's a price. This is maximum 25,000. No, 250,000. So in theory I can win 250,000 yuan. Yeah. Can you ask him if I can get it as a foreigner? Yeah, kind of, but somebody has to get it for you. Some Chinese. Chinese have to get it for you. Okay, you are Chinese. You will not run away with my money then? If I win now, I give you 10 percent. Okay, okay. Okay, I want to buy one ticket for 10 right here. Just for the fun. Okay, so 10 yuan. Did somebody ever win a big price in his shop? Maximum only 5,000. 5,000? Oh, I would be happy with 5,000 already. Okay, let's do it. Okay, we have similar tickets in Germany actually. So you just scratch it and then if you're lucky there's like a price underneath, right? Oh, there's five. Oh, did I win something already? 250,000. Maybe you have to... What does it say? It says 250,000. Let me see. I think you have to have several similar, no? What's the rule? I don't know. So first of all, there are four crowns. Yeah. You just scratch the crown. As long as there goes a price, then it's yours. So I need to find the crown? Yeah, yeah. No, no, no. You scratch the crown. There's a number under it. If there's a number, then it's your money. And then here, three. You scratch three of these. Yeah. If the later you have to scratch this as well. If any of the number appears here, then you have the price as well. Do you think I can leave China with 250,000 yuan in cash? I think there's a maximum. Yeah. Okay, now we have all the numbers. If you scratch any of these, if you have the month here, then... Oh yeah, it's like this number. Yeah. It has to be the same as here, right? Okay, let's start with here. So 22. No, we have 21, no 22. Okay, next one, number four. Oh, you have number four. Oh, 10 yuan. Oh, I won 10 yuan. I made the money back already. Oh, and then we have 11. No. So, but okay, I won 10 yuan. And we have 12. Oh, can you hold it? Yeah. Okay, let's do the crowns right here. What do I need to collect here? If there's a number underneath, then... Oh, another 10 yuan. Another 10 yuan. Oh, so 20. You didn't spend any money. No, even more. I won 20 yuan. Oh yeah, you won 10. You won 10. Do I get it in cash now? Yeah. I think I won the Chinese lottery. Yes, you won 20 yuan. You spent 10 yuan, and then you won 20. So you make 10. Oh, thank you. Oh, thank you very much. I made a plus of 10 yuan. Yeah, yeah. Oh, Chinese lottery is great. Oh, thank you. Oh, that was easy. I should play more. Should we buy another ticket? You want? I can buy two more now. You want to win like 250? No, I don't want you to win. How do you say that in English? Over exceed your luck? I was lucky now, and I should be happy now. What is this? Tea? Flower tea. Okay, we have a red tea here. Okay. Very sweet and nice taste, actually. I can drink also the leaves? Yeah, you can eat it. Oh, drink everything? Oh, okay. It's hot, be careful. So you can also drink the leaves. And a funny thing, they said all the material is imported from Germany. From Germany? Okay, buying a little bit of Chinese tea here now. All right, we are back on the bridge right here, which is now a very popular photo location, because check out the view with the sun going down in the background over there. Wow, what a nice view right here. Okay, thank you, Joseph, for translating today. No problem, my pleasure, bro. It was a nice, interesting difference to see a different side of China as well. And if you're curious to see my previous video from Shanghai, where we explored some very local neighborhoods in the city, then check out the video right here. Stay healthy, stay positive, and then see you on the next episode. Ciao, guys.