Interested in how a Chinese citizen lives in the biggest city in China? How does she spend money? What are her work schedule and weekend like? No need for cash and a wallet?
I live in Shanghai and I use most of these apps. This is not an ad, they REALLY use these apps, including me, all the time, since work takes most of the time of the day. Work hours are much longer in China
@@hammondnordland4822 Do you still have physical debit/credit card on your home and can you access alipay and wechat pay from desktop/laptop without phone in hand? I mean when someone lose/break the phone, from the time between the phone lost until getting a new phone, how do you access your financial account? In the meantime of no phone, how to buy a new phone, commute, pay for food, do you use friend/family/relative's phone and borrow their money? I know the money on your account will be secure, but since you're not holding phone but all of the payment apps is there.
@@jaycc3365 Lmao, that girl's paying just $330 rent in fucking Shanghai, one of the best cities in the world and you think her quality of life is lower than an average American's?
Apps are a lifeline in Shanghai. Even street beggars have QR code’s to pay them donations as nobody carries cash anymore. I haven’t went to an ATM for over an year now.
This is how it should be. It avoids robbing elderly of their cash and other stuff. To those that says that cash is king, it's not. It's a huge pain....
@@delacroixx if you want freedom go back to before internet invented. There is no such thing like complete freedom and privacy when the whole world is connected with internet
@@xiaomose7495 well, in my, and probably in your country too, rn it is not compulsory to be connected to internet. It is a choice. If you don't want to - you can simply throw away your phone and use cash and live like that, it is not forbidden. It's just important to leave that choice. Plus there are ways to stay private on the internet if you really want to.
@@delacroixx thats what mean you can go back to the era before internet ofc only by yourself not other, since it's a matter of choice not mandatory. But you must know for some matter in today modern society its needed to connected with internet
The impression I got: Her young life is series of transactions on a phone. She doesn't have time to cook, socialize much, or do anything outside of work besides eat takeout and drink. She has to work Sundays and extra time with no extra pay, and at the end of the day she can't even save money. If life is an endless cycle of this it's no wonder so many young people are depressed.
To be fair, they only followed her around for a day. Just how interesting would your life look to an outsider if a random day was picked to follow you around?
She only works 54 hrs a week and has no commute time to work, she can walk. Copywriting has unavoidable overtime because there are deadlines. She does have a social life which is where some of her money goes. She probably has time to cook but can't blame her I used to eat out all the time too when living alone, food really not that expensive. I think most of her money waste is in fashion and beauty services
While I agree with some of what op says, the difference between Western and Asian countries is eating out is cheaper in Asia than in say USA where eating out every night would result in high credit card bills
@@mnraiders8546 I fking cringe at the amount of tips we pay. I'm in NY and I get people who get mad at me for not tipping 25% minimum. Needless to say, these are the same type of people who are broke and can't manage their finances. Honestly, if you look at the history of tipping in the US and its racist past, it's fucked up. But it's the norm now....
@@Scarsofevil that's why I stopped eating in and started doing pick ups. I know it's not good for their business but tips are indeed ridiculous in USA when I get twice the service in Asian countries
I thought the same. But for example fashion and beauty for them is perhaps unskippable... She said at the beginning that make-up was a big thing there...
@@dissolved5920 i know but its the culture in china.plus it smarts to save X% income for rain day or U just live on paycheck to paychecks.That is the problem in american and the worst world where we spend more money than we earn then complain how we no room to pay for stuff.Granted i know most place are expensive and the some wage could not support their necessity but we got to save some money.
I love how similar our daily life is, yet people judge Chinese people for being so "different". Very subtle differences between young American people and Chinese people. We pretty much do the same thing
Their judgements are usually guided by racism and ignorance, as well as propaganda against China. Our lives are very much the same, both crushed by our harsh reality and the constant work ethic promoted to younger generations, we both alike suffer.
Honestly Colin not many people in the west actually care about how Chinese people live, and certainly don’t judge them as much as the Chinese like to think they are being judged.
I feel like since social media is a very huge thing nowadays, we dont do much aside from scrolling our phone. Work, and chats with friends, eat, watch TV, and eh its already 7pm. Time to do more work, and then sleep. Then you realise you didnt do much in your daily life, and wonder how people spend theirs, and realised its basically the same.
@@rumbaenbois6554 investing, lol. Just as the video showed, she wastes a lot in "beauty" stuff that is not really necessary, hell, if you are in debt every month you shouldn't be going out to restaurants, you are killing yourself willingly. Now Imagine putting that money in stocks or even crypto. This is the kind of people that live in debt because they want to. Don't spend more than you have.
Someone should be quite fооlish to invest in something that can drop in price so easily just because some random guy on the internet posted a tweet. I'm not making a statement that it is impossible to make money on crypto currency trade. I'm just telling that it's more like gambling. You either get profit or take a financial loss. There are a lot more stable ways to obtain money without entering the modern slavery that being employed in a company and wasting six days a week to pay the bills and make your boss rich is.
@@Gunbardo Just start an online business. Believe me or not, you can do it without any previous money investments these days. Make money out of your hobby or something. At first, it won't be much, but it will be better in the long run than your average "office slave" job or throwing money in crypto recklessly and praying for it to not go down leaving you with nothing.
@@twoone7877 I bought a sim card and chose a mobile plan including wifi. There are different wifi plans you can choose. The day before I was leaving, I called the LianTong Company to stop all service. As long as I pay 5 yuan per month, my phone number is saved and I can reactivate it anytime. I put enough money in my phone account for number keeping fee. I can also pay more fee through wechat or Alipay when I am in Canada.
my parents always say to me life is easier now. everything is online. while it is easier in one aspect of life, its depressing in the other. its a mistake for parents to underestimate the hardships of the future generation. everything isnt as easy as it seem.
It is easy for them now. Only thing they lack before was accessibility and resources, their money management was always on point. Now we have accessibility and resources but our money management is poor.
This really does show daily life. I've been to Shanghai, Wuhan, Anhui, Beijing. I've eaten and many local restaurants, purchased food from many local shops (using wechat), and seen the convenience of a phone based society. I've taken the metro, the bus system, and taxi's. I've also done a lot of walking the streets of Wuhan and Shanghai. Amazing country, for sure. My wife is from Wuhan.
@@Muhtodem Yes. Wuhan is where the virus was first discovered. My wife and I had been to the wet market that they claim was the source of the outbreak year before.
you know my energy drink just fell out of a height of approximatelly 1,5 meters onto my plate, which I had just put there after finishing my pizza and the astonishing thing is, the plate didnt break - I just wanted to tell you that
@@velyvely6479 I've spent plenty of time living in other places and I can say London is worth it, if you're on a decent wage. If you're on a shit wage, its a miserable city, but otherwise it's fucking ace.
In almost every major city in China, the cost of buying vs the cost of renting has a significant gap. Renting is super cheap compared to buying, and the average worker can at least live in a decent place like this young lady in the video who is only paying USD330/month rent. In places like California, many people can't afford paying the rent even with a full time job and more and more people are living in their cars.
2050 nobody can ever buy house and housing projects are only built for the mega rich 1 percent separated in isolated rich communities who are made to look down on the poor with hate whilst everybody else either lives in the streets or in shacks illegally built which the government attacks and tears down even to the point of murdering its own people. Constant false propaganda and frauds rampant everywhere. People have no choice but to commit crime and life expectancy drastically reduces. People no longer can afford kids and have grown to hate raising children and young children in general with increased child violence. The population drastically decreases which means more work to do and more division between rich and poor with the middle class becoming the working class. Society will completely fail and having a family will be almost impossible for anybody who wants to survive we are going down a terrible road and no country is doing better than any other.
This is actually the modern world in a nutshell. People buy and sell like crazy (partly because of their stressful life), living paycheck to paycheck, end up being hustlers (which makes things more stressful). At the end of the day, half of the things we buy are overpriced garbage. If it's hard to relate how it's like living in China's big cities, imagine yourself would be moving to and working in San Francisco next month - just see how much you can earn based on your skill, and how much the rent is. Just for your reference, I live in Beijing which is basically the northern counterpart of Shanghai. My rent is $1200 just for a studio (only a single room + a small toilet + a small kitchen) and I don't really have as much entertainment and fashion expenses as her. Although I earn quite a lot compared to the average person, but to buy the same apartment, it needs $1.2 million which is more than 80 years of the rent, and more than 20 years of my income without spending. To get married in China, many parents are like control freaks and ask the couple to buy their house. To have kids in China and send them to school, a two-bedroom is pretty much needed which is basically doubled the price. Also now I look at the job market, couldn't even find many positions worker under 72 hours a week. I feel like we trade our life by being working like crazy, just for like put 500 different kinds of jeans and lipsticks on the market, and not even be able to own anything real. TBH back in the 'Soviet' time at least most people can own their own apartment while going home at 5pm, and have actual life.
Wow, what a comment! Would love to converse more. I clicked on this video because I searched "Everyday life young people China". I'm really interested in what life is like for people all over the world!
@@evelinericksson1611 Nobody was living on the streets during the communism time. What country did you live in? Nowadays in all communist countries only the old folk have a house, cause they had it since the communism age, they were handed out for free for gods sake... and prices inflated like crazy afterwards, democracy came!
Being over 60 years old and travelled extensively, I quite like these vids as it gives a view of how people live in todays world, she also seems nice 👌
Don't get me wrong, I love my card and paying with my phone but I realised I spend less by paying in cash because it's physically in your hand and it hurts to see it leave.. with the card it's just a quick contact with the machine and the money is gone haha Love the video btw, I watch it every day because I love the vibe and her chill energy
we were merely talking about paying for stuff (essential or non-essential for everyday life), but I do agree with you. 'Money can't buy happiness' is not one of the most popular sayings for nothing.. Just want to add that I think everybody should treat themselves to something they want but don't need once in a while. Life is short, after all, and as much as we are the sheep led by capitalism, we might as well make our time here on earth a bit more enjoyable.
@@David_Liu93 it means the same thing. Image of a knife "slashing" or "cutting" when there is a sale its more dramatic to say 'cutting' or 'slashing' prices than to say 'reducing' prices
I have been to China about 4 times and enjoyed every minute of my experience. This video was very interesting to see a city that I have not been to and to see one person's daily routines. More videos like this will enable North American people to understand more about China instead of just accepting biased media reports that portray a China from 50 years ago for propaganda purposes. China is very modern now.
I don't think their lack of modernity is the issue most Americans have with China in today's climate. I think it's moreso their treatment of minorities and work culture of 60+ hour weeks for extremely low pay. However, these are issues with the CCP, and the average Chinese person should not be demonized as they have been. Much of our media takes it too far, and ends up antagonizing anyone who is Chinese, when Chinese and Americans are the same at heart. We all just want to live our lives peacefully and enjoy the things we love. Thanks for your comment.
@@machina5 I do not think that America is better when it comes to treating minorities. Try to go back in history and see how Chinese were treated. But the mainstream media ignore these facts. This is still present in contemporary USA. Just look at the education system. East Asians do not have same conditions as others. In usa there is not any special requirements for negros when beeing admited to collegae other than the color of their skin. They can even get a master degree without writing a relevant subject. Although east asians have higher qualification than so called ' white' ( I never understood the american definition of black and white, a lot of so called white are considered black in our world ) they are often refused admission. I am not saying that this is wrong or right. East Asians that choose to live in the USA just have to accept this or leave. I never understood why they or anyone for that matter would choose to live in usa. USA and the western world always bash China for violating human rights (their definition) and yet USA is more or less constant in war killing children, women, and unborn children. Tortur…… But it seems to be natural for Americans just as it is normal to carry guns and shoot people. Just as humans breathe, Americans kill millions as if it was drinking a cup of coffee. When I confront Americans with this they are not able to grasp it. Usually they react with ‘ what are you talking about’ . At last. What minorities are you talking about in China? Muslims ? Where did you get this information ? Yes from mainstream media ?
Thats just the way how it is. Shanghai is overloaded with populations. with the Non resident population shanghai almost triple the new york city. Just think about it. If you waited for people to get out, You would never get on the subway during rush hours. That just become a normal thing in Shanghai even it happens for taxi. But if you travel to other major cities with much less population like guangzhou, shenzhen. Most people stay in line for the subway because there is no need to rush.
Overall this slows the whole thing down but individually it gets you in there. This is not egoism, however, as often judged to be by many outsiders, but instead many different local village cultures that clashed simultaneously. In many western countries, people would enter the cities in waves which could adapt to the existing city culture and influence it a little before the next wave came. In China you will observe behaviours that require synchronization and tacit agreement much less often that in most other countries.
that's how it should be, stay whatever side cars take in traffic. It aggravates me so much to open the right side of double doors and someone on the other side stops, waits for me to open the door and they walk through my door instead of the other side. really don't need to be that stupid and or lazy...
People get out first than get in only fit in superb crowded metro occasions, if not that crowded and standby time are sparingly, get out and in at same time are reasonable. # bus should like front door in back door out, trains are get out first but get in later, but light railway or metro, whatever.
LOL you saw nothing bruh Here in Brazil (Search for "Metrô Sé rush hours") people fight for the slightly empty place at the corner There is no "Wait for the passengers to leave". Brazilian people are amongst the most individualist and "Advantage taker" people of the world.
@@Isomoar that might contribute to it but it’s not the root cause. Overpopulation causes extreme competition that’s why everyone works their asses off al day everyday to survive. Meanwhile the West reaps the benefit of these Asians’ hard work.
True, I made the mistake to move into a big city, expecting the thrilling and moving lifestyle. Hated it, learned that the slow and "boring" life of rural areas and small cities is the best thing. Even people seem... Happier? Everyone seems in a rush or disconnected from everything in big cities, they don't even need to be with their face in their phones, it's like they are in automatic mode.
I used to stay two months every summer in Shanghai. But as visitor, I don’t get to see how local lives. Very interesting perspective from a white collar non-native Shanghai person.
@@EnnTomi1 is it average? my ex does graphic design for Disney and that is his salary as well. I think it is fairly high considering another friend is a restaurant manager and also has same amount. Her rent is so small, she really needs to stop ordering 3 takeouts every day and on top of that going to restaruants and buying clothes. She could easily save 500-600usd.
@@Estonian4life All is about face dudes. You want to save money or being do more thing. Think its, there start working from 9am-9pm mostly current status in China. You don't have any extra time, only delivery can save times, you saying no saving. After you staying China about 1 Years you will know that, the more harder you saving the money you still can't do anything for buying house or anything. Medical don't worry, As long as you Citizen, Ur medical fee will be cheap.
Stop judging this girl’s life lmao just let her live her life at least she is happy and got a chance to have a video of her on the internet. Leave her be
Agreed we shouldn't judge but it would be wise for her to save for the future. I think hopefully she at least sees the comments about this and tries to do so. Also LOL at @Michael.
@@faye_isc whoever talks about merely shit things, are not supposed to watch Each thing has positive and negative vibes, but merely negative things are haters
I very like your filming style which is so natural. The theme, the visual design, editing, sound and music, the acting, screenwriting which is fantastic. Also, thanks for the clear subtitle that helped me to improve my English,. The video was so nice and informative. After watching it, I've had a general picture of a young girl's life in Shanghai and discovered that life is very convenient and way easier with support from new technologies there. Hopefully, you can create more and more videos like this! Thank you! A well-done job!
as a Chinese and Shanghainese, this is mostly accurate. My grandparents also live in a old house just like this. But my question is, why would someone wear makeup when she will go to the gym and sweat it right off?
Thank you for sharing the experience and giving us an idea how Chinese ppl spend and live overall. I really love the fact that you explained those individual apps she used and how convenient it was for her to have them. Would like to see more videos like this 😊 - China is as modern as any other countries in the world and moving even faster with technology and features. Loved the video.
This was exactly what I was looking for to learn about daily life in China! I haven't seen your other video yet (I certainly will later!), but I was saddened to see that there hasn't been any content in 3 years. I think I speak for many of us when I say that I would love to see more stuff like this, whether in China or elsewhere. Cheers!
Oh dear, one of my friend , pay for a young girl on smartphone after some worthful service he received , and one day he caught the trail by his wife, three days later I picked up him on the hospital.
@@vilmamattila7388 yeah but in the us, 2010= credit card and 2020 = credit card. China did skip the credit card altogether and before 2015 they were behind the us.
Very well put together video and gave me a much better picture of daily life in China. I was excited to watch more videos and saw you only have two =/ Hopefully this is only a temporary setback due to travel restrictions. I'd love to see more in the future.
Like the video. Lived in Shanghai for several years before came to the states. Shanghai is a special place in my life. Great to know more about new Shanghai!
A net salary of 2300 USD with a rent of 330 USD in a mega city. Wow! That is not bad! She spends more on fashion and entertainment than many educated people in the EU country I live in earn per month.
I think in the western world, many people still have the outdated impression towards living standard in China. In my personal experience, the cost of living in many cities in China is higher than many western european countries. So does the salary level.
@@fasttracklife I agree when it comes to the price of many consumer goods and services but rent prices are often way lower than in Western countries. 330 USD in Amsterdam or Frankfurt? Quadruple it and they consider you lucky. It is even impossible to find something decent in Eastern Europe for that money.
@@tomv7986 the room the girl rents in the video is from an old apartment with very bad condition, bad as compared to apartment quality in Amsterdam. The difference between rent vs. buy is just insane in Shanghai and many other cities in china. Real estate is anothet whole topic to talk about. If you buy one, the monthly payment would be much higher than if you buy one apartment in NL and Germany. So does the down payment.
@@fasttracklife Yes, real estate in China is very expensive mostly due to capital movement restrictions (the mainland). I never said buying real estate in China is a good deal. But, my only point is that it is great you can earn a good salary and spend little on rent if you want to. In Europe there is no such choice. Rent is high relative to salaries and there are basically no cheap options for Joe average. All I said was something positive.
Impressive video! Thanks for sharing it and letting us see how convenient the new technologies can bring to real life. Things are changing so rapidly in China. It's amazing that these rich mobile apps are not only affecting people's daily life but also introducing a new living style we have to adjust.
This is a wonderful video, so talented to reflect the modern life of China! The crativity and art skill s are amazing, and the significance of is beyond language! Bravo!
@@faye_isc he is a liar. He used to loved China. When there are more westerner making videos in China, he changed tune and deleted his old China living videos. I used to follow him and I stopped when he changed. A weird dude who craves attention.
2300 USD / month is what young people get paid nowadays? It's actually high. I work part-time currently and only get paid 700 USD, but would be only 1200 USD if full time.
my girlfriend is 26 and we live in Shanghai. She has a degree from an average university and makes about 2600 USD a month. I think she is slightly in a higher salary quadrant among her peers
It's scary to think that the apps are such necessities over there. Unfortunately, I can see the very real possibility of that becoming a thing all over the world. I say unfortunately because of the immense privacy concerns it would lead to.. I think people often overlook that part but eventually as we let our devices track more and more of our lives, it will also become easier for the companies and governments to manage and control us.
oh no. You don’t worry one bit. These apps ans smartphones are soon to be put to rest, and the smart cloud grid combined with 5g, Space x (Starlink satellites) and the smart RNA vaccice shots Dna operating systems will be rolled out. They are playing us like a game. This lifestyle is coming near a town near you!
Actually, because of the land redistribution back in the 1950s, almost every chinese family owns some property. This gets inherited and can be sold to buy new property or if worst comes to worst, they can move back to the original property the family owns
If I spent $880 on Fashion and Entertainment per month, I'd have a cat ears headband that performed the exact same function in my bathroom where no one is looking, than a cheap one too.
what a great video, i am from Shanghai and haven't been back for 3 years, the video is so impressive and shocked me. Shanghai have been changed so much and quick. what an advanced life there, the video stimulates my desire to fly back to shanghai right away. i have been in deep touch. it is the best video!!!!
@@faye_isc Under this video only, you have commented twice and recommend people to watch a that guy who demonizes China because of his bad experience. Have you ever been to China before? Try to search realy life in China and get some more feedback about everything, not just from mainstream media which brainwash you.
I really like this insight of her daily life - I admire the technological use in day to day to life. But man, that kind of life looks pretty flat and stressfull - also the apartment looks depressing
@@faye_isc oh, I know what you mean that guy. the one who demonizes China in many ways because of his some bad experience. And you praise him or his fan as I saw you post the same comments under almost every video talking about Chind highlighting "Don't delete my comment"
yes, it was from about a few years ago. Most of people, especially young people live live a cardless life, just with mobile to do anything from ordering food, buying anything online to taking metro etc.
She works almost all the time, almost no time to enjoy, but she drops down the sink most of her salary. "I don't know where my money goes, I buy only the necessary things." She is in a financial situation that is determined by her own choices and what she deserves as a consequence.
She's young. In a few years her salary will surpass her spending and she'll have money left over. The most important thing for people that age is socializing- without it no friend circle, no family, etc. You can't wait or your peer group will all end up having children and you'll be left behind.
I help a 23 yr old girl in Shenzhen with her English via WeChat and she earns half that. Amazingly. she has only been working for a year and has saved $4000. She came from a poor rural family so has always lived frugally. But she is so proud that she has amassed some money for the first time in her life that she'll sometimes shows me her bank balance. She'll jokingly say 'Call me Rich Girl'
When filming... how do you get out after them? Do they get off at the second last station and then cameraperson goes ahead first to the final stop and waits to film the person exiting?
its more like "depended" then "tech" i won't call internet high tech in nowadays standard by any measure. if you have to argue the face recognition is, then i have no words.
800-900 square feet is roughly 80 square meters. Buying the apartment would cost a million dollars. She says she still has two roommates and that her rent is $ 330. So the apartment costs about $ 1000 a month. From my point of view, a purchase would not be a good investment if you had to live in it for 83 years to get around the purchase price. Then rent and be flexible. Who knows where to work in 10 years? As far as monthly expenses are concerned, in my opinion that is also the fault of the cashless way. You don't even notice how much money you are spending and you spend too much money too quickly on things that you often don't need. I already see potential for savings :)
You can certainly survive but you need to deal with a lot of troubles. With so many information and account linked to your cell phone number if you don't act quickly you can easily get your identity and account balance stolen.
Wow this video was 4 years back, now Oct 2023 my country Singapore wasn't any way near that on cashless transaction, unbelievable modernization, thanks for this video showing every little details even on apps for payment n little red book.. incredible video 💕💕 love this even 4 years back is still worth watching 😊😊 thanks 👍👍
When I was a college student in Shanghai, I earned 1200 USD(internship) per month, spent 500 for rental, 300 for food and saved most of the rest. Because for our boys, no savings=no wife.
As a Ph.D. in the U.S., only half-time salary but with more than full-time work. My advisor encourages us to work at least 14 hr per day, and all of us follow it, because he works 16 hrs... Forget to mention that, we work 6 days per week~
@@echodone welp, I’ve been in London and Melbourne.. they also face immigrant issue… its common developed city problem.. the advantage from it the immigrant will increase a city population at the same time contribute to economic boom.. for low income, it depend what is your profession, if you want high income then you need change to highly demand career.. in KL junior front end engineer could get around RM5-6k per month.. i think that should be sufficient, with Scheme Rumah Pertama you will get quite good house.. if you ask 5k for graphic designer that doesn’t make any sense!
