North China vs. South China - The Honest Differences 

As long as it tastes delicious, don't care whether north or south.

Northern men often thought of southern men as a bit too 'girly'; Southern girls often thought of northern girls as a bit too 'manly'. It's true in a certain way haha.

NorthEast here. It's like a Rust Belt of China. We used to be a heavy industry powerhouse, with higher GDP and better education, literally top of China when the people's republic was found. And then we stuck there, Industrial upgrading failed, young people going southern for opportunities. People there are enthusiastic，talking bit loud and with a cute accent. There is a small forbidden city and an industry museum in my hometown Shenyang. You can get some Russian food and check out the Ice Festival in Harbin every winter.

I'm a southerner. I'll share another fact is, northern Chinese are taller and fatter than the southerners (maybe the cuisine's effect). However, I'll say that just like the dialects distribution, many aspects of the south may be more diversed than the north. For example, the inner southerners adore chili pepper, while the southern coast can't bear any spicy food.

As a Beijinger, I really appreciate the diversity of my city and country. It offers so many options, take duck cuisine for example, we have Beijing duck, Nanjing duck, Cantonese suimei, I just never get out of options. There are cultural differences between regions and I just appreciate the difference cuz that's what makes us Chinese.

As a Scot I always find it funny when English people have the north vs south debate. You're all southerners to us! haha

You can pretty much understand most northern dialects if you're fluent in Mandarin...but spoken southern Chinese is impossible to understand with just Mandarin (looking at you, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong)

Because there are so many Southerners commenting, as a Northerner I just had to chime in. I'm originally from Changchun (in Jilin) and my family is from the Shandong area. I've also been living in Hong Kong for the past few years, so I have a little bit of experience with southern China. I would say for food, I definitely prefer northern (I totally agree with the noodles thing Nico - noodles are the best!) and western (like Shaanxi - where liang pi is from!! - and Chongqing). Landscape wise I do have to say most of the more beautiful places are southern - I'm more drawn to water and the sea. Sadly, because economic development has not really caught up with the south, as you mentioned, many northerners move south for job opportunities. At the same time, that is also a double-edged sword, as I know that southern living spaces tend to be smaller than in the north, where you usually get more space for less money. So it's give and take. Thanks again for your awesome video Nico and Jack!

i am from the southern part of china（hongkong）. i love hongkong food and i like living here.

North South divide is actually everywhere. North Korea and South Korea. for the people of Hong Kong, everyone who speaks mandarin or putonghua is usually considered a northerner.

I don't know why I am so addicted in this channel?? Luv ur contents. It refresh ma mind .. g keep going dude

I was born in northern China and raised up on the ‘fence’ then settle down in southern China… It really has a mix feeling for me… I like southern food while northern climate; I like southern culture but northern ppl. Since eating delicious food is one of my biggest hobbies, I guess I prefer southern China slightly over northern China… 😂

Very interesting analysis. Love the insights for both China and Britain regarding comparisons between Northerners and Southerners.

I'm a new fan of your channel. I went through many of your videos this morning and found that Nico is from Newcastle. What a coincidence that I am now studying in Newcastle. I've been away from my hometown for 1.5 years, and your videos made me so homesick. I'm so touched that you took so many beautiful videos of China and spread the actual Chinese image to the whole world. Your emotion toward China should be as much as mine toward the UK. Just looking forward to your videos on the ongoing travel in China : )

Loved this one. Stay SAfe and healthy!.

great podcast., just wish little bit longer~! 加油

Another great one

The best comparison between North and South (and Central) China I've heard is related to an Alien from Outer Space visiting each region... They said the Northerners would wish to study the Alien. The Central Chinese prefer to try and do business with it and the Southerners would want to eat it but not before also doing business with it before hand.

I am from Guangdong (the south), and I absolutely hate the weather here in the deep south, which is muggy and stifling most time of the year. On the flip side though, we do enjoy better air quality compared to that in the north.

It is said that there are only two types of Laowai in China: Shanghai lovers ang Beijing lovers. Food tastes in China are salty in N sour in E sweet in S and spicy in W. Languages: hard and more nasal sound from N while soft and quick in S. The North can hardly get it right for N and L in English while the South always do the both wrong in Chinese.🤭 Culture is more with North by Politics while economy wins in S. Said that, the Chinese minorities are completely different stories. Today there is a huge population movement heading south. Now it is time for you to do the W&E part. My personal feeling is: the more westward you travel in China, the more interesting life you get. All the best you both!

I love video, you guys have great insights on the difference between north and south China, they are mostly true.

Love your video.

Great topic. I'm extremely jealous of you two... we in Melbourne experiencing yet another locked down! I love to see just 1 or 2 places that you guys had mentioned...

From North East. Now in Canada. High quality channel 👍👍👍💐💐💐

Jack is back. yeay

great topic, actually the definition of North and South changes slightly through time. the borderline of North and South is 800mm isoprecipitation line. it used to be Qinling(秦岭)-Huaihe(淮河)but over time the line is slightly moving. so the definition may change in the future. And although the humid weather maybe insufferable sometimes, it might be good for your skin and also health(I actually have no idea whether it's the weather, food or water).

the heating line is not drawn by the yangtze river, it's the huai river and qinling mountain line, that is what usually used as the dividing line for the north and south, as well as the rice-wheat line

I am northerner from heilongjiang... I can't stand the heat in the southern China.. 10 years of lived in Sweden and now 3.5 years in Germany, i feel comfortable with the cool climate... Also i don't eat spicy food and i don't like rice noodles...i would say that i could be possible to survive in Shanghai city as if one day i have to live in a southern Chinese city.

Beautiful video ❤️🇨🇳 ...

Well， it's hard to take side. Life is a journey, just enjoy what you see and experience the difference.

You guys know China very well:-; I was from Hebei. When I was in college in Beijing I thought I don’t have accent like southerners or northeasters of my classmates. But I was wrong and did realize I do have accent. I still like my mom’s dishes the most, preferring wheat than rice, not complicated but feeling good.

fun topic，deep culture understanding.

After working about 4 years in the hot and humid south from June to October, I wanted a change. Now back to my home country but will find a chance to go back next year perhaps shanghai, hangzhou, Suzhou, etc.

U guys know China really very well!!! amazing!!spot on to me! Helping others to understand the diversity in China...

I'm from Yunnan.because of the comfortable weather and beautiful landscapes.many people may study or work in other province,but most of them are likely to go home in the end.And that's what hold back the economic growth.we are a little bit exclusive compared to other cities in the South.people in Yunnan may not have a very strong willing to make money,they know exactly how to enjoy the life.

My mother's family is from south and my father's from north, the most interesting and big influence for me is that I called my grandparents in different since I was kid. I call my grandpa & grandma 爷爷(yé yé)/奶奶 (nǎi nǎi) and call my maternal grandpa & grandma 阿公(ā gōng)/阿婆 (a pó).

I’m from Guangzhou, and I really can’t stand the northern super dry and cold weather lol

Life is short, hope both of you enjoying and keep exploring CHINA see ya.

southern cities like Chengdu, Zhengjiang, Shanghai also famous for their noddle varieties....Northern Shenyang eats a lot rice and all southern too...

I'm outside China. But I promise I'll visit China especially Suzhou, So Beautiful on the screen. I have to visit it in person. 💛

Totally agree with you guys that southern foods are more delicate, fresher, sweeter and I experienced the coldest indoors in Nanjing. I liked Nanjing though as it felt a lot like Beijing

喜欢你们！！

its nico calling cicadas cascadas for me... evacuate the dance floor haha

I'm from South China Yunnan to be exact and I've always preferred certain Northern foods over our Southern ones.

Interesting observations... next is to compare East and West... Port cities Qingdao, Shanghai vs Xinjiang, Tibet

I'm from the South West of China, Sichuan province, which is near the city Chongqing.

I am from South of China (Hong Kong) , I like the food here especially Dim Sun and roasted goose . I can’t eat the hot and spicy food .

5:30 from the UK but not coping with humid weather well? Boi

I am from south of China,the province of Fu jian,the city of fuzhou.you should really visit there ,it located near the sea. Many chinese in the US and Canada are from this city.

As a southerner living in the North (Beijing), I definitely prefer staying here during winter time. I am actually not afraid of cold at all comparing to the heat, yet I got almost frozen to the death when I was in the north of Guangdong on December in 2014.😅🤣🤣 While I got the advantage of heating in the north, you have no idea how I miss the greens of the south! There are so many kinds of vegetables in the south even in winter while we could only eat few kinds in the north.😢😭🙈 In the north foods are more salty while in the south there are more options: sweet in Shanghai-Zhejiang-Jiangsu, spicy in Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan-Hunan-Jiangxi, delicate in Guangdong etc.

north is more on the heavy industry and agriculture since the largest plain and the most fertile soil are both mostly in the north. also it does not have as many canal and rivers that can be used to transport goods (river transport was more important in the anceint time but still important). although the north has some big ports like dalian tianjin qingdao, but most of the largest seaports of china are mostly in the south. that creates the differences in industries

My dad's family is from the South but I've never been there. I am not sure where my mom's family was from. My Wegene test says I am mostly southern han with a little bit taiwanese, vietnamese, dai, miao, tibetan, lahu mixed in. My grandpa used to live in Vietnam

Eternal war between northerner and southern: should tofu pudding be salty or sweet? Should zongzi be salty or sweet? While in southwest they are all spicy, northwestern dips zongzi in sour yogurt and eats more milk products than soy products

Wow, didn't expect to see cao ni ma LOL

Ooh I like this one! Juicy stuff! I read an article recently about climate change in China's long history and how it affected dynasties' rise and fall. There had been multiple cycles of climate changes through out the thousands years of recorded history in China. The north used to be much like the south of today, greener and warmer, and the south back then was more like SE Asia these days - hot and humid. The difference is all in the precipitation level. Recent years (last decade or two) we have witnessed another picking up of precipitation in the north and it may be climate change is happening again now. Not debating how much human activities contributed to the climate change, it would appear that the north is likely to pick up on its past glory on economics in the decades to follow, which is in our lifetime! Examples of the north picking up on precipitation levels is the recent flood in Henan Province as well as the success of bush regeneration in deserts, in particular the Mao Wu Su desert which used to be green in ancient times and was completely covered in sand and now green again.

I heard that the northerners r more interested in books/scholarly stuff while the southerners r more into business/making money

Hiiiii im from northwest (Qinghai Tibetan plateau)...all i could say is our region is super multi cultural😘😘No matter where I am, there's still a huge part of my heart stay in there..❤️Please go and visit there!! Stay safe!❤️

U guys are pretty accurate in capturing those N-S differences. Something to add... N food is much more substantial, while S is likely of smaller dish. All N dialects (han ppl) are kinda variation of std Mandarin, while S dialects are really mutually non intelligible. Precipitation,,, u draw a NE-SW diagnosi on map, it tells all. Although better alcohols baijiu is from S, N ppl are more capable drinkers. Heights, bones, body,,, N >S, but in terms of fighting spirits, much shorter Hunan, Chongqing ppl could be in upper hands (dare to hit) ......

well this video is way to general. you guys weren't so specific on much of the differences. also shanghai looks like it's more closer to the northern cities than to the south. Shanghai is north

Very good topic but I think you should try more south food. You have not yet try the most famous cuisine in my city: deep fired pigeon.

Most outsiders can't really relate to the differences between north and south England ( the ingrained stereotype of Brits is based on _Downton Abbey_ ). How about making a comparison of England and France and, or Spain, if you are familiar with these countries?

没有中文字幕

north or south doesn't matter...what matters are all those very delicious foods i'd like to eat..

Always best vedio skiils here

What happened to the Scottish part of the UK????

northern Chinese dialect sounds posher than southern Cantonese.. but in the UK its the way round.. the American think the queen English is classy..

That “ cao ni ma “ lmao 😂😂😂😂😂 I’m dying hahahahahaaha . As a north east person from China I can say southern part of China, especially Jiangsu, Zhejiang, winter is brutal!!!!! Haha

There is actually been a 'North-South battle' trending on Douyin in the past few days, search the tags like #南北大战 you will find some funny videos.

先嚟一句：咁嗨早吖

Hmm North vs South, from your video I guess there's differences of North and South all over the world, I've always been aware of the North vs South in the United States i.e., culture, ideology, societal norms, food accent, etc but I didn't really think about it elsewhere i.e, England, China

That's not even before more distinctive character in NorthEastern and SouthWestern China...

North I like grassland and south I like forests and fruits, most southern is dangerous poisoned insects.

Is it true Northen Chinese are commonly taller than Southern Chinese

Northern 🙋🏻‍♀️

Prefer southern food.

don't southern chinese people know mandarin as it's china's national language and official language as well????

Before the nation of china... the indigenous people of the south of yangtze are austronesians (Nanman, Yue people)

Geordies are great and so too are Dong Bei Ren!!! :)

The south has more night life. You'll find those ayi's dancing in parks and open spaces late into the evening in southern cities.

you love the northern food that said you got a strong character as well. HaHa.

Southerner are more shy compare to the northerner but they're friendly once you know them better.

Food

nico and jack: I love northern food me from the south: how very dare you!

I love living in Chongqing! I don’t like the food. I love the food of the north and Cantonese food.

This is the topic may trigger a civil war in any moment.

Please china mandarin langune

South🖐

Living in ShenZhen for many years and i tell you what would kill a northener, the cockroaches. When a cockroach is so big and it could actually fly, that definately will scare the shit out of you. Some northener I know thinks that cockroaches are just as big as your finger nail, come on😞

I don't know about now but 20 years ago when I went to northern China, they thought me strange for asking for a spoon for my bowl of soup. They just told me to pour it down my open mouth. When I got to Hangzhou I was relieved that dinner came with a spoon besides chopsticks. I think the north had been under barbarian rule for too long. Ok, I don't want to get rude.

as a Chinese from south China, only sweet tofu brain, salt and spicy one is unacceptable

Feel Pride for my northern blood

Prefer food in the north too!

YOU ARE STARTING A CIVIL WAR! Just Kidding! I prefer the east style! lol

SORRY!!! Nico, where is your GEORDIE ACCENT???

可惜没有中文字幕

Nothing tastes like American Chinese food.

next video: Beijing vs Shanghai. China's twin cities

Northern girls are better looking

I personally prefer southern because I am also from south😃😀😃

I think more natives prefer south side of China.🤔🤔🤔