i forgot how to be chinese so i went to china!

[00:00:00]Everyone on the internet is becoming Chinese. They're drinking hot water.

[00:00:03]They're practicing Tai Chi. They're buying lab boooos and even consulting Chinese medicine. Which is interesting because for most of my life, being Chinese was not exactly cool. People made fun of the food I brought to school. They thought the posters in front of my house were weird. And don't think I forgot this. But apparently, we were just early. China is officially here. But China itself has also become an online fantasy. Depending on which video you watch, it's either a futuristic civilization where your food is delivered by robots or a pastoral wonderland where you can collect tea leaves in the mountains and nobody knows what a team's meeting is. And I realized despite living there for the first four years of my life, most of what I currently knew about China was also coming from the internet. I think I forgot how to be Chinese. So I went back to China. [music] But first, we needed to get there. 22 hours in the air, first class purchase with what financial advisors would call my entire liquidity. Guys, this is the best airport lounge I've ever been to.

[00:01:01]I'm currently [snorts] at Delta 1 lounge in JFK. And holy [ __ ] this feels like a five-star hotel, a six-star hotel. It's like gorgeous in here. There's so much food.

[00:01:11]I'm like, wow. And the food looks absolutely delicious. Holy [ __ ] guys. I just need to show you guys this. Even though it was 5:00 a.m. in the morning, I needed to get my money's worth. So, I was scarfing down all the food I could get my hands on. Then, it was time to get on the plane. And [music] guys, I'm sorry to say that after you fly first class once, you permanently become an [music] annoying ass [ __ ] Once you just get first class and you you honestly just can't go back. And I wish that wasn't the case, but holy [ __ ] guys. Being able to [music] lie down flat on a 20our flight, boy. Oh, boy.

[00:01:41]Life [music] changed.

[00:01:44]Wow. You guys really don't understand.

[00:01:47][ __ ] You guys really don't understand the [ __ ] turmoil I just went through. My Delta flight to SF was delayed by an hour. So, I nearly missed my connecting flight to Shanghai. I literally ran through SFO and now I like just made it like as they were closing the [ __ ] day. I just made it. But my check back won't get there for another 3 days. So, I'm going to be without clean underwear for 3 days. Hello. Honestly, it's just an excuse to go shopping in Shanghai.

[00:02:14]So, I'm excited. All I did on the flight was sleep or watch Pursuit of Jade.

[00:02:17]There are a few joys life better than discovering a new Chinese drama [music] that you want to binge. But I finally landed in China and then they told me my luggage did not land with me because it didn't make my connecting flight. So I just left the airport people my phone number and I hope that [music] my DJI cameras, underwear, and two bags returns to me.

[00:02:41]>> [laughter] [music] >> We have landed in China, folks. We're at a mall right now. I think Chinese malls are actually just on like a different level compared to American malls because there's so many options. People are like always here. Like, I feel like American malls are dead, but Chinese malls, guys, this is where the party is. There's just endless options.

[00:03:07]Malls in America are dead. empty parking lots, one sad pretzel stand, and antians. And that's because American malls were designed to do one thing, sell you stuff. But Chinese malls were designed as indoor cities. When e-commerce took off and people stopped buying things in stores, American malls had nothing left. But Chinese malls pivoted to selling an experience instead because you can't ship dinner with your friends in 2 days. So eating out now is the real anchor here. Like [music] in this mall I went to, the top three floors were just pure restaurants. This one mall had cat cafes, dance classes, head spots, and even a daycare. And a lot of these malls also sit directly on top of subway stations, so people pass through them constantly after work, commuting, meeting friends. You don't just make a trip to the mall. The mall is just on the way. Hello everyone. It is day 2 in China, and boy, has it been a day. I woke up super early. Well, I didn't get any sleep. I literally got 1 hour of sleep the entire night, but we had to wake up at 6:00 because my parents wanted to take me to the hospital. I've been having some health problems. I did a vlog of my hospital trip and the Chinese hospital system is like on a different level. It's extremely efficient, extremely cheap, but there's also like downsides. Like it's really chaotic. Everything's like first come first serve. There's definitely no like bedside manner or no privacy. Like we walked into examination room and immediately just see this like big pool of blood and someone lying on a bed. And yeah, I feel like it was just like very chaotic in there. I got like a CT scan. And I got blood work and examination all done for 100 USD, which is unheard of in America. I went to the hospital and then we got breakfast. And now I'm going about to get my hair done because I just want like a little a little trim, a little cleanup. And yeah, I'm doing some work right now because on this trip I really want to balance work with travel and exploring China. But yeah, I just want to keep on top of my videos. That's my little update for you guys. Right now I'm looking on Xiao for a haircut inspo. I got a haircut in the morning and then spent the day wandering by myself in and out of a bunch of stores. Cheers.

[00:05:09][music] [music] >> [music] >> We're going shopping because freaking Delta lost my luggage. So, I am without any clothes. I'm literally still wearing the clothes that I wore to the airport 2 days ago. We We need some clothes. So, we're first going to check out this brand in Belleville.

[00:05:44]This is actually super crowded and I'm over simulated already.

[00:05:50]>> I feel like the stuff here is basically what you would see at regular brandy.

[00:06:00]That was such an overstimulating brandy.

[00:06:03]I like ran in bought like just a few things that I know that I could wear and ran out. Like that was a horrendous experience actually. But I'm at this road. I think it's like a really big shopping road. But um there's a lot of cute stores I'm going to wander into and just kind of see where the day takes me.

[00:06:21]I'm I'm ready to spend some money, guys.

[00:06:23]I think I'm in the mood to shop.

[00:06:31][music] >> [music] >> Hello folks. It is day three of Shanghai and it is a gloomy morning. Well, currently it's technically like monsoon season here. So, I think it's just raining every single day. We're getting a little bit of a later start today. I finally got some sleep last night. So, yeah. I feel like the the hack to be jetlag is to you just have to cold out and not take a nap during the daytime and it's like miserable, but then you like fall dead asleep at night. Update on the luggage. I think my luggage is sent back to New York, so I have no idea what I'm going to do. The thing is like they haven't even found the luggage, so I don't know if it's like lost, if it's like whatever. So, I I currently still have zero clothes, but I am wearing this new shirt that I bought from Brandon yesterday. We're about to get some breakfast now. And I think today we're going to have a little spa day and I want to check out this like huge vintage like luxury bag shop. Guys, I ate good on this trip. And I was going through my footage and it's literally just me eating. That's like the entire trip.

[00:07:32]That's the whole video apparently. But here's what's actually really cool about the food in China. Every city is a completely different cuisine, and that's because Chinese food isn't just one thing. It's regional. Satan food is numbing and spicy. Cantonese food is light and refreshing. What we call just Chinese food in America is mostly just one region's cooking adapted to American taste buds. So, traveling between cities felt less like moving around one country and more like crossing borders. I think my favorite cuisine there is still Shanghai food because that's what I grew up with. And people in Shanghai cook with sugar and soy. Everything is a little bit sweet, a little rich, and you [music] know, I am at heart a person who likes sweet things. Also, takeout in China is on another level. Like the packaging was top tier. It has zippers.

[00:08:14]The packaging for my food isn't just like a flimsy paper bag and a stapled receipt. This is sealed, insulated.

[00:08:19]There's a structurally sound container.

[00:08:21]And also, I never paid more than $10 for dinner. Like, not $10 before fees, $10 total. And that's because delivery in China operates at a completely different scale. Hundreds of millions of people order food every day. Okay, so the entire system, the apps, drivers, zipper bags, is built around delivery being the default, not just like the exception.

[00:08:39]We're on our way to get some breakfast this morning. It is around 900 a.m. I really have been craving like traditional Chinese breakfast every single morning, like and the first day I was here, I had like the best jang ever. So, we're checking out this new spot today though, right now. We will see.

[00:09:01]>> [music] >> We just got to our breakfast place. It is this extremely um traditional hole in the wall, but I'm really excited. It looks really good. I feel like everything in Shanghai has been like very gentrified and like super modern, but this reminds me of like Shanghai when I was back in 20 2008.

[00:09:20][music] >> [music] [music] >> Water.

[00:09:40][music] >> [music] >> I also got my beauty treatments here, too. I got a full head spot and my mom made me do this traditional Chinese massage where they steam herbs on you and it's less about relaxing and more about like correcting you. So, at one point, the lady was literally just massaging my stomach so hard and I was so ticklish.

[00:10:08][laughter] So, I'm literally just being tortured despite laughing. This was probably the most miserable I was the entire trip. I would actually never do this again.

[00:10:21]And last but not least, I got a photo shoot done when I was in Shanghai. Help you pick your outfits and take so many photos for you. I found this studio on and my mom and aunt did it with [music] me, but they first helped me pick out some simple outfits. We each got to pick out two and they sent me straight to the makeup chair. I've had my makeup done before in America, but it's always turned out so bad. But guys, getting Chinese makeup done was actually life-changing. I feel like she did my makeup so well and really just accentuated my features. I literally still watch this video back to learn how she did it. I just got my makeup done and I am amazed, guys. I wish I could have had my makeup done like this every single day. But, drum roll please. Here are the photos.

[00:11:00][music] After Shanghai, my mom and I took the highspeed rail to my dad's village and I was able to spend some really nice [music] time with my family. I didn't end up filming much during that time, but I spent a few days with my family, eating whatever my relatives put in front of me, understanding maybe like 60% of the conversation, and being fully happy. Anyways, every time I [music] come back to China, I love it more and more and slowly remember what it means to be Chinese.