The Travel Show: China Special (2015 Week 33)
Summary
TLDRThis travel show follows a journey through China, guided primarily by a smartphone. The host navigates the challenges of cultural differences, language barriers, and China's Great Firewall while using apps to explore vibrant cities, scenic landscapes, and remote villages. From the bustling streets of Hong Kong to the tranquil mountains of Hunan, and from using WeChat for local guides to tasting authentic Sichuan cuisine, the host experiences both modern and traditional China. The journey highlights how smartphones can enhance travel, bringing unexpected connections and unforgettable experiences.
Takeaways
- 📱 Smartphones are reshaping how people travel in China, offering convenience but also new challenges due to censorship.
- 🌍 China's vast size, cultural differences, and language barriers can make it intimidating for travelers, especially with the Great Firewall restricting access to Western apps.
- 🌐 The Great Firewall blocks access to popular apps like Twitter, Facebook, and Google, forcing travelers to rely on Chinese social media and apps.
- 🐴 The narrator uses apps to explore various locations in China, including a virtual horse-riding experience in Jang X National Forest Park.
- 📲 WeChat is a major tool for travelers in China, blending social media, messaging, and service directories, with over 500 million active users.
- 👥 The narrator finds an English-speaking guide using WeChat, highlighting how social media can connect travelers with locals despite language barriers.
- 🍲 Translation apps can be hit or miss, with some mistranslations leading to funny or confusing moments, but they are useful for food and simple interactions.
- 🏘️ The Dong minority village of Tongan benefits from a Tencent-backed project that provides smartphones to help preserve their culture and enhance communication.
- 🍽️ The narrator experiences authentic Sichuan cuisine, including dishes like pig's brain and rabbit head, discovering the diversity of Chinese food culture.
- 🔒 VPNs are commonly used by foreigners in China to bypass internet censorship and access restricted Western platforms like Facebook and Google.
Q & A
What challenges do travelers face when visiting China according to the script?
-Travelers face challenges like language barriers, cultural differences, and the sheer size of the country. Additionally, internet censorship, such as the Great Firewall of China, limits access to common websites like Google, Facebook, and Twitter.
How does the host plan to navigate through China during the travel show?
-The host plans to use his smartphone as a tour guide, relying on apps to navigate, communicate, and find local guides and experiences, despite the limitations posed by Chinese internet censorship.
What is the Great Firewall of China, and how does it affect internet usage?
-The Great Firewall of China is a system that the Chinese government uses to control and restrict internet access. It blocks popular Western sites like Google, Twitter, and Facebook, significantly impacting how travelers can access information and communicate.
What role does WeChat play in helping the host during his journey?
-WeChat, known as Weixin in China, is a versatile app that combines messaging, social media, and service directories. The host uses it to find a local tour guide and communicate with locals, showcasing how integral the app is in Chinese society.
What was the host's experience at the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park?
-Although the host was expecting a tranquil getaway, the park was crowded with domestic tourists. However, using shortcuts and a guide, he was able to find quieter areas to appreciate the natural beauty of the park.
How does the host describe his interaction with translation apps in China?
-The host finds translation apps like Google Translate somewhat useful for basic communication but acknowledges limitations, especially with voice recognition. However, the apps proved effective for translating food-related terms.
What is the significance of the social media experiment in Tongan village?
-In Tongan village, a project by Tencent provided villagers with smartphones and 4G connectivity to help preserve Dong ethnic culture. The phones allow them to share their traditions, stay connected with distant family members, and even sell local products online.
What cultural insights did the host gain from his visit to the Dong minority village?
-The host learned that the Dong people take pride in their traditions, and modern technology, like smartphones, is helping them preserve and share their culture. Video calls allow villagers to stay in touch with family members working far away.
What unexpected food items did the host try in Sichuan province, and how did he react?
-The host tried unusual dishes such as pig's brain, duck tongue, and rabbit head. He found some items difficult to eat, particularly the pig’s brain, but appreciated the authenticity and unique experience of trying local Sichuan cuisine.
How do VPNs help foreigners in China overcome the Great Firewall?
-VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) allow users to bypass the Great Firewall by tricking it into thinking they are accessing unblocked websites. Many foreigners in China use VPNs to access restricted websites like Facebook, Google, and Twitter.
Outlines
🌏 Exploring China with a Smartphone
The narrator introduces China as a vast country with rich culture, diverse landscapes, and modern technology. Despite its attractions, the size, language, and cultural differences make it challenging for travelers. The narrator plans to navigate China using only his smartphone, leveraging apps to guide him through his journey. He begins in Hong Kong, where he notes the stark difference in internet freedom compared to Mainland China, and prepares to face challenges posed by China's 'Great Firewall.'
📱 Using WeChat for Travel Assistance
WeChat, a Chinese app similar to Facebook, WhatsApp, and Yelp, becomes the narrator's main tool for navigating China. After downloading a local SIM card, he uses WeChat to find a local tour guide, Nikki, who helps him explore a popular tourist destination, Hallelujah Mountain. Despite initial crowds, Nikki takes him to quieter, more scenic spots. The app proves helpful for avoiding the tourist rush and finding peace in otherwise crowded areas.
🍜 Navigating Language Barriers with Translation Apps
The narrator travels to Phoenix Ancient Town and experiments with various translation apps to communicate with locals. Despite some amusing mistranslations, he manages to engage with locals about food and culture. His smartphone proves useful for translating food menus, allowing him to better understand local dishes. However, the limitations of Google Translate in China become apparent, particularly due to the 'Great Firewall' restricting access to many apps and services.
🌍 A Social Media Experiment in a Remote Village
The narrator visits Tongan, a remote Dong minority village in Guizhou Province, where Tencent has provided villagers with smartphones and 4G connectivity to preserve their culture. He meets villagers who use WeChat to communicate and stay connected with family members living far away. The project, although possibly a PR move by Tencent, is positively impacting the community by improving communication and access to information. The narrator also experiences Dong culture through their traditional songs and craftsmanship.
🍴 Discovering Sichuan Cuisine with Weibo
In Chengdu, Sichuan Province, the narrator uses Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, to find a local foodie, Ann, who guides him through an authentic Sichuan dining experience. He tries exotic dishes such as pig’s brain, duck tongue, and rabbit head, pushing his culinary boundaries. Despite initial hesitation, the narrator finds the experience enriching, and appreciates the power of social media in connecting with locals and discovering new cultural experiences.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Great Firewall of China
💡Smartphone
💡VPN
💡Social Media Experiment
💡Censorship
💡Tencent
💡Tourism
💡Ethnic Minorities
💡Translation Apps
Highlights
China offers travelers a diverse experience with its vast cities, 3,000-year-old culture, and landscapes ranging from mountains to deserts.
The Great Firewall of China significantly limits internet access, making platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Google inaccessible for travelers.
The use of smartphones and local apps like WeChat has revolutionized travel in China, allowing tourists to navigate, communicate, and find services.
WeChat, with over 500 million active users, functions as an all-in-one platform for messaging, services, and even finding local tour guides.
Virtual horse-riding tours via apps provide unique ways to explore Chinese national parks, though real-world experiences may differ from digital expectations.
Using WeChat, the narrator finds an English-speaking tour guide in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, showcasing the app’s effectiveness in navigating language barriers.
Social media like WeChat helps travelers find lesser-known, quieter spots in overcrowded tourist locations, providing a more authentic experience.
The narrator attempts to use translation apps like Google Translate and others but faces challenges with offline translations and sketchy voice recognition.
Tencent’s social media experiment in the Dong minority village provides smartphones and 4G access to preserve culture and improve communication.
The introduction of smartphones to rural villages like Tongan enables locals to connect with family, sell goods online, and share cultural information.
Despite the Great Firewall, many in China use VPNs to access restricted websites like Twitter and Facebook, which are essential for foreigners.
The narrator visits a Chengdu restaurant known for its authentic Sichuan cuisine, where unusual dishes like pig's brain and rabbit head are served.
Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, helps the narrator connect with locals in Chengdu, illustrating the power of social media in finding authentic experiences.
The narrator highlights the ease of accessing VPNs in China, which allow travelers to bypass censorship and access global social media platforms.
The journey ends at a party hosted by expats, showing how a smartphone and social media can lead to unexpected connections and adventures in China.
Transcripts
[Music]
China has nearly everything to offer
Travelers has some of the biggest cities
in the world a culture spanning 3,000
years and Landscapes ranging from
towering mountains to endless deserts
but to many all this can seem pretty
impenetrable what with the language
barriers cultural differences or just
simply the sheer size of the place 1.3
billion people call home it can be a
daunting place for
travelers we all know China's got a lot
of people but it's also got a lot more
of these things smartphones than
anywhere else and it's changing the way
people
travel so in this travel show special
we're going to try something different
I'm hoping to make my way through China
with an unusual tour guide my
smartphone I'll be letting my phone tell
me where to go turns out it's not quite
the Tranquil getaway the app originally
suggested I'll test out the apps
designed to help you on your way I can't
believe it for the first time in my life
I understand
Chinese and even find locals through
social media to give me a taste of the
real china W you love brain I can tell
yeah at times it's bound to go horribly
wrong that could be ending up in the
middle of
nowhere and I'm probably going to have
to use this to contact the BBC and get
them to pick me up but whatever happens
it's going to be an adventure
I'm starting my journey in Hong Kong
it's just a few miles from mainland
China but in terms of Internet Freedom
it's another world once I cross the
border I'm planning on using the
internet to meet the locals and to help
me get around so Chinese censorship will
have a very real
impact to find out what challenges await
me I've come to Mok a neon bath shopping
district okay so this is pretty much one
of the loudest brightest and busiest
places I've ever been in my life um I'm
on my way right now to meet a man who's
going to explain to me how all this is
going to work when I get to Mainland
China that man is Professor Jack Chio a
guru in modern Chinese
communication it's a different Universe
okay in Hong Kong compared to Mainland
China it's because of the great firewall
of China in my opinion this great
firewall of China is the worst possible
invention in the history of the internet
in the world the great firewall is
basically how the Chinese government
controls what information citizens can
access on the internet Twitter Facebook
even Google are generally inaccessible
on the mainland so they won't be of much
help when trying to get around to try to
experience the great firewall of China
is definitely a okay punishing process
in in the beginning but once you get
used to it there's some strange fun when
you are no longer disappointed by what
you cannot access you get surprised by
the new things you
found so of pretty much accepted things
are going to get a lot more difficult
once I leave Hong Kong but luckily I
have figured out where I'm going to go
next and that is this place the Jang X
park I think it's pronounced I found an
app that allows me to explore the park
riding a horse which everyone does when
they explore national parks and even
though it's virtual it still looks
incredible so I'm going to go and see
what it looks like in real
life the park is 500 m to the North in
hunam Province but with no direct
flights I've flown into the city of
changa English no no English do you
speak
English no no English I have arrived at
Chang sha train station slightly nervous
heard a lot about Chinese trains so
let's how it
goes ahead of me is the joy of a 6-hour
Night
Train okay good news is I managed to
make it onto the train bad news is it
turns out Jack was right um Twitter
doesn't work Facebook doesn't work and
and even YouTube doesn't work so this
may be the big move to Chinese social
media I was expecting um for now though
it's bedtime so good
[Music]
night the next day and I've made it to
Jang X National Forest
Park but it seems like a lot of other
people have had the exact same
idea turns out it's not quite the
Tranquil getaway the app originally
suggested um it's actually the complete
opposite which is completely rammed with
domestic
tourists but when you take the trip to
the top it's easy to see why they come
[Music]
so I want to go to a few of the quieter
more hidden places and to do that I'm
going to use WeChat which is kind of
like an amalgamation of Facebook
WhatsApp and Yelp to find myself an
English tour
guide WeChat or wayen as it's known in
China is huge here there are over 500
million monthly active users as well as
being used for messaging it's full of
local companies and
services it does use mobile data so I've
bought a local SIM card for the job
a few messages later and I've managed to
track down an English-speaking tour
guide called
Nikki video call
okay hi hello Nikki nice to meet you how
you doing where are you I don't I'm I'm
on a path I'm on a path near the
Hallelujah Mountain you stay there and I
will come to find you okay yeah we CH
Works successfully found me at
we told Nikki that we wanted to film her
arrival but hadn't quite factored in
just how quick she'd be oh my God like
that it's like that oh no I did not
expect you to be standing behind me that
was very terrifying of you thank you for
doing that let's go to see the
Hallelujah Mountain Hallelujah Mountain
very beautiful
[Music]
place our first stop is the 1 km tall
Hallelujah Mountain
this was actually the inspiration for
the floating mountains in the highest
grossing film of all time Avatar so
Avatar gave you a job in a way yes maybe
perhaps and we will go more beautiful
place that's but I found Nikki to help
me escape the crowds so after a few
sneaky shortcuts and some lesser known
paths we finally found ourselves with a
bit of peace and
quiet if you come to Here by yourself oh
this just a ro rock rock rock big rock
small rock but if you have got this is
look like monkey this look like a fairy
M it had been a successful first day in
mainland China it would have been all
too easy to get lost in the huge crowds
here but thanks to the power of social
media and English speaking guide I'd
found a tranquil corner to enjoy the
landscape
[Music]
the next day I'm on my way to Fang Wang
AKA Phoenix ancient
town it's a beautifully preserved
ancient
[Music]
city again I'm hoping to use my
smartphone to get the most out of my
visit but it's time to up the
anti this time I don't have a tour guide
to show me around this crazy place but
what I do have is some translation apps
on my phone that I'm going to try to use
to hold my face comp ation in Chinese
and find out what is good to do in this
place this is going to be
interesting I'm going to start out by
trying Google translate an app that
knows 90 different languages and it
isn't long before I found an
unsuspecting guide from the meow ethnic
minority group to try it out
on let's see how we do so you cannot
speak
English no okay BR it that's cool hello
what is your name
w
w what is your favorite
color red red very nice oh cool that is
that is my favorite color as well okay
brilliant this is working I like your
hat very much um and it has Jingles what
does your hat mean it's changed hat to
heart which is a whole new different
type of
meaning I like your heart very much it
has jingles what does your heart
mean basic translations can be done
offline but your phone will need to
access Google savers for the admittedly
slightly sketchy voice recognition
function Google's generally blocked in
China but as we'll see later in the show
The Great firewall isn't
impenetrable how would you rate this app
is it good is it bad should I now throw
my phone into the
river yes I got a smile
do not cooperate with us very happy okay
okay she says do not cooperate with us
very
happy I'm pretty sure that's not what
you
[Music]
said time to try something else high
five high five no it's just want high
five okay no worries no worries
I have an app on my phone called wo
which allows me in real time to
Translate from Chinese letters to
English letters let's go for an easy one
toilet do we have
toilet beef
ears it just seems to be going crazy
there you go restroom there you go
restroom hygienic all ones Life One
Number all
right not a strong start but actually
there did seem to be one type of
translation the app Excell that food so
I now know they have tofu with rice
pickled radish appetizing pickled
vegetables that's actually amazing it's
definitely good with food it translates
food very quickly which is good cuz I
very
hungry my time in hunam province has
come to an end my smartphone's
definitely made it a fun experience I
would like to buy a ticket to tongren
but there's no denying that the places
I've been to were a bit touristy now
it's time to go off the Beaten Track
coming up I visit a small village that
at the center of a social media
experiment and discover that authentic
Sichuan Cuisine isn't for the
fainthearted fight through the bone like
it's not there okay as well
[Music]
okay I'm trying to travel through China
using my smartphone as a guide
and my next stop is Tongan a village in
guo
[Music]
Province I managed to stumble across
this place on the internet and despite
the fact that I'm pretty much in the
middle of nowhere in China I've come
here because Tongan is the center of
what is a very interesting social media
[Music]
experiment Tongan is a dong minority
Village the dong are one of 56 ethnic
groups groups officially recognized by
China they Fame for their carpentry with
wooden houses and covered
[Music]
bridges I'm in one of the poorest
provinces in China but this is actually
one of the best connected villages in
the
country it's all thanks to a project run
by tensent a Communications
company they've given the villages over
100 smartphones and have even installed
the 4G Mass nearby
why you might ask well tensen claims
it's helping to preserve dong
culture having heard I was going to be
in town tent have sent along the the
beautiful Ling to to show me around
we're currently outside some form of of
factory where some of the ladies I
believe have being given phones yeah
this two on they had mobile phones okay
sorry to interrupt you in your beautiful
garments um what is it that you use your
phone for
here to make phone calls and to use
Rears and especially for some
information we like to share with
artists do you not think that could
potentially make you lose bits of your
culture as you take in bits from
everywhere else from the
internet usually we just um get the
information of our own culture so I
don't think it's a
problem she wants a photo with me so she
can share it on moments which is part of
the wehat app a bit shorter oh stand
shorter stand shorter okay okay I'll try
I'll try I'm not even told
visiting here it's clear that dong
people are extremely proud of their
traditions and it's hoped that by having
these phones this culture can be
strengthened dong produce can be sold
online and information can be shared
with each other including with family
members who live far
away Yang xao Ying works as a cook in
the village so what what do you use your
phone for uh
she told me she uses her phone to video
call her son who works in a factory
hundreds of miles away in Guangdong
Province and as Lu with have it he was
just on his lunch break he's calling
right now should
we so as I would be if I called my mom
and there was a random dude sitting next
to her his son is very confused but H
this this is clearly a good way to keep
in contact with him damn for a moment
seeing his son all that's a bit too much
for young shall
you it's easy to be cynical about the
project 10cent May well have just given
out these phones as a bit of a PR stunt
but it's clearly having a huge impact on
the people who live here and changing
the way this small village interacts
with the vast country around it I was
going to give a h
thank sh
sh it's almost time to leave Tongan but
before I go I can't miss out on a chance
to hear one of the songs that the dong
ethnic group is so famous
[Music]
for who knows what impact the internet
will have on the culture
here but certainly at the moment the
people of Tongan seem happy to be part
of this experiment seeing as I am in a
rural Village there are no hotels to
stay here so amazingly enough I've
managed to find myself a a local home to
stay in and someone who's very ni nice
to put me up for the night so I'm just
on my way there now I think this is the
man hello there nice to meet you how you
doing I'm going to get an early one
tonight tomorrow though I'm heading
north and although I'm not completely
sure what I'm going to do I do have a
plan for now though it's
bedtime changdu is the capital of
Sichuan
Province most tourists know this place
as the place to go and see pandas
but I'm hoping to find something a bit
more off the beaten
path this time I'm using waybo China's
answer to
Twitter and as sichuan's famous for his
food I want to find somebody in shangdu
who can take me to some authentic
Chinese
cuisine webo has got nearly 200 million
monthly active
users most us it to communicating
Mandarin but my little message in
English still got a healthy response
[Music]
it's had over 30 shares over 65 comments
and there's a specific one which looks
very very good from a girl called an H
she's an English undergrad here in
changu which is good because she speaks
fluent English and she's given me like a
specific restaurant and we should go to
a specific food she should eat which
seems very very
[Music]
good let me see if I can pick her out to
a crowd through the power of way B I'd
arranged to meet an and Chang d Anu
square but just to make things a little
harder the local police wouldn't let us
film there come on an before we get
arrested oh here she is here's
an nice to meet you nice meet you nice
to meet you thank you very much thank
you for meeting with me hello okay can
we stand here so the police don't don't
arrest
us an's offered to show me some truly
authentic sitan food she's chosen a
chanan restaurant chanan is basically
all kinds of me meat fruit and veg saved
on
skewers but there are some items on the
menu that I had definitely not seen down
at my local Chinese takeover so what
what is this this is the pig's brain
yeah so I was thinking it may be a brain
because it looks like a brain but I was
hoping it wouldn't be a brain how do you
feel when you see a brain cuz not many
people eat brains I I would just think
how delicious it is yeah okay we are
different people okay okay let's do it
let's eat some
rain it's just the text yeah oh it's
bitter as well oh it's bitter bitter
bitter yeah oh god oh no that that was
very difficult to eat okay at least you
tried and now you know that you can't
handle
this but my trials we it's over oh it
smells
delicious time for a tour of the kitchen
oh wow that looks very scary
tongue of the scary the tongue yeah
tongue the tongue of the dck oh wow that
sounds nice oh just bite it just bite
through the bone like it's not there
okay swow
okay it's very
hard M how do you
feel it's nice this is rabbit head
rabbit head rabbit wow things have just
escalated very quickly up in here I'm
not going to lie I would never usually
eat a duck's Tong or a rabbited but you
know when in when in Sichuan just split
it oh to be honest the process of eating
rabbit's head is quite unnerving there
we go face face delicious nice bit of
face there you go okay
cheers that was actually delicious yeah
tastes a bit like chicken
yeah just a few hours ago I had no idea
what I was going to be doing today oh
you love brain I can tell but thanks to
waybo I've explored the inner wakings of
a Sichuan restaurant and tried some food
that's about as authentic as you're
going to
[Music]
get I've got one more night left on my
journey my smartphone has definitely
shown me another side of China so far
but thanks to sensorship I've mostly
been sticking to Chinese
apps but it's not hard to get access to
something a bit more familiar being
stuck behind the gray firewall of China
can be amazingly frustrating but one
thing you'll quickly learn is that
getting around it is very easy using
something called vpns or virtual private
networks for example there's a Blog here
in changdu called changu living this guy
has Twitter he's got Facebook he's
clearly using a VPN he also lists all
the cool things that are happening in
the city so let's go and meet up with
him and see what's going
on the Blogger is Charlie he's basically
the xack king here hey Jolly how's it
going good how are you nice to you there
are millions of people in China who use
vpns a VPN tricks the Chinese great
firewall into thinking that you are
accessing a different website than
Facebook or a different website from
Google you're accessing some website
that they've never seen
before whilst most Chinese people don't
use them vpns are pretty much a
necessity for any foreigners looking to
keep in touch with the people back
home and it turns out that tonight was
something of a big one for the expats
Here Charlie and some of his friends
were hosting a huge house party and who
doesn't love a good
party the party's got
everything visual artists Live Graffiti
and more DJs than seems completely
necessary so is this a place that
tourists would go to is it just like or
not at all generally not tourists are
welcome obviously but it would be
difficult for a tourist to find out
about this
[Music]
it might not be a tourist spot but many
of the guests here are a long way from
home where are you from I'm from us us
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan I've been to
Kazakhstan I'm from Russia oh nice I
double love tongu and I was like you
know what I have to move
here it's a surprising place to end my
journey surrounded by people from all
over the globe but it's fascinating to
see what's brought them here and to find
find out what they love about their
adopted country I started my travels a
thousand miles away in Hong Kong back
then I had no idea what I was going to
be doing or who I was going to meet I
certainly had no idea I was going to end
up in a random house party in the middle
of China this is the way traveling
should be meeting the locals and
throwing all your plans out the
window on my journey I've seen some
breathtaking Landscapes and started to
unlock a language that's totally alien
to me but it's the people I've met along
the way who who have made this trip
truly Unforgettable yeah so they've
taught me absolutely none of these
moves and I've got one thing to thank
for getting me here something a lot of
people take for granted my
smartphone phones are so often seen as a
distraction making us look down and
ignore the world around us but they
don't have to be come here with an open
mind and a good data package and an
adventure can be just around the corner
[Music]
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