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Sun Kissed Bucket List sits down with the vlogger’s mother after her first trip to China. She describes a reasonably priced Air China flight, difficulties with the airline app and airport signage, and the helpfulness of people she met. The Maglev and high-speed rail impress her with their punctuality, organization and cleanliness, while security checks are thorough. She also talks about translation apps, locals assisting her to hotels, Shanghai’s clean streets and quiet traffic, and the number of electric vehicles. The conversation covers a 240-hour visa, blue skies and incentives for electric-car buyers, including a free license plate compared with a roughly 100,000-yuan fee for a petrol or diesel car.
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First impressions and getting around
Sun Kissed Bucket List’s mother describes her first trip to China in a candid conversation. Her Air China flight was reasonably priced, though the app was difficult to use and she could not check in advance. Airport signage and the language barrier created some challenges, but people helped her find hotels and communicate. She recommends downloading a translation app before traveling and notes that a few Mandarin phrases, gestures and a smile can make interactions easier.
The transportation system leaves a strong impression. She praises the Maglev and high-speed rail for being punctual, clean and organized, and says security checks were thorough. Compared with trains in the UK, she rates the Chinese trains very highly, while acknowledging that busy stations can take some work to navigate. She also mentions a 240-hour visa that let her travel between provinces.
Shanghai cleanliness and electric vehicles
Shanghai’s cleanliness surprises her, especially given the city’s size of 25 million people. She sees streets being swept and bins emptied frequently, with little rubbish. Traffic feels quiet and orderly, and she notices many electric vehicles. She says the skies were blue, which she did not expect in such a large city, and connects cleaner air with the shift toward electric vehicles.
The conversation includes encounters with everyday residents rather than actors. She says people were friendly and curious, sometimes staring because tourism had recently opened up. She recalls help with directions and communication and appreciates that people made an effort to assist. The discussion concludes with electric-vehicle incentives: buyers can get a license plate free, while the fee for a petrol or diesel car can be around 100,000 yuan. The family also discuss the contrast between China and the West and what the first-time visitor learned from the trip.
FAQs (From the traveler's perspective)
- Q: What was the flight to China like?
- A: The fare on Air China was reasonable, but the app was difficult to use and she could not check in beforehand. She found food adequate and especially remembers the sunset and sunrise from the window. The 240-hour visa was useful for traveling between provinces.
- Q: What did she think of the Maglev and high-speed rail?
- A: She found the trains punctual, organized and clean, although security checks were thorough. The Maglev was an impressive experience, and she rated the train system very highly compared with the UK, while noting that busy stations can be hard to navigate.
- Q: Were the people she met everyday residents?
- A: Yes. She says they were everyday people who were friendly and curious. She was stared at sometimes, which she thought was mostly curiosity, especially given China’s recent opening to tourism.
- Q: How did she manage the language barrier?
- A: A translation app helped her communicate. She also used basic gestures and found that people were willing to help when she made an effort to communicate, including assisting her with directions and finding hotels.
- Q: How clean did she find Shanghai?
- A: She describes Shanghai as very clean, even with a population of 25 million. She saw streets swept frequently and little rubbish, and she also noticed quiet and orderly traffic with many electric vehicles.
- Q: What surprised her about the air quality?
- A: She was surprised to see blue skies in large cities. She connects the cleaner air she observed with the adoption of electric vehicles, while describing this as her impression from the trip.
- Q: What incentives for electric vehicles did she mention?
- A: She says buyers of electric vehicles can get a license plate for free, while buyers of petrol or diesel cars may pay a large fee of around 100,000 yuan. This is one of the points discussed in the conversation about EV adoption.
