Our FIRST DAY in SHANGHAI, CHINA - 144-hour TRANSIT VISA 

We are planning a new trip to China in 2024, please comment any recommendations :)

China is so vast, safe, friendly and diverse in various provinces and regions, it’s definitely worthwhile to get a tourist visa and explore the country properly! I’m flying to China next month, can’t wait!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

Shanghai looks different from what BBC reported.

There are so much more to see in China, not only the big cities. Please come back for a longer visit some day! 😊

I was pleasantly surprised when I went to China. It was nothing like we've been told back home. It has the most amazing Civic Infrastructures and cheap Civic Services. Their public transport is second to none. Their Bullet Trains between Cities, their driverless RoboCabs, EV's everywhere replacing the combustion vehicles, fast charging stations, their Internet is super fast with fast 5G EVERYWHERE in China, and soon to be 6G. Their smart AI Skyscrapers, the abundance of food, the cleanliness, the safety, and shopping without fear even at 3am in the morning. To see the REAL CHINA, people need to get themselves a passport and visit China. Our Media are not telling you the truth about China.

China is like a different planet. Amazing place to visit. Enjoy!

Such breath of fresh air to see real people going to real China, not like all these nasty western media been doing 🫶

For me it's a dream of a lifetime to visit China. I love this country so much, the culture, the history, the people, the countryside, the food, and basically everything. I'm making plans on visiting next spring so I'm watching videos of travelers like yourselves sharing their experience. I'm so happy you had a great time. Thank you for sharing.

There are no thieves, homeless people, drugs, or guns in China, and you can go out at night, which is very safe.China is a cashless society, and the Chinese don't use cash anymore. Foreigners only need to apply for an Alipay account, and bind it with VISA to pay electronically. Very convenient. That way you don't have to carry too much cash.

WOW China looks really beautiful and looks fun!

I'm so glad that so many people like Shanghai and China. As a native free guide, I would like to help every foreigner to explore amazing China.

Shanghai is a fantastic metropolis with amazing cityscapes. Love Shanghai from Toronto Canada ❤

Highly recommend travelling China - my wife is chinese and I lived there for a while. But dont go 'full rural' - you might be in for a bit of a shock if you do. Id highly recommend the yellow mountains - go down to Hangzhou and you can catch a coach out to the mountains. Hangzhou and the historic west lake is well worth a look too. There are hotels on the top of the mountains and if you get your timing right you will see the most spectacular mountain views (get it wrong and you will see a lot of clouds). Also if you do stay in a hotel on the yellow moutains, you have to go up cable cars and then climb paths, so back pack luggage only (although you can store suitcases at places in the town at the bottom of the mountains. Then you can cut back in to maybe Huangshan city and fly to shanghai from there. Beijing can take you well over a week just taking in the historical places and, of course, the Great Wall is a must see. If you go to the Great Wall I highly recommend staying at a good hotel in Beijing and getting them to organise a car and driver for a day to Badaling for you. Its not cheap but if you go on a coach tour you get limited time on the wall. if you have a driver youre free to pick your own times and you get the wall to yourself after the tourist coaches go, which is great. Badaling is the most 'touristy" of the major Great Wall locations but its the easiest to access if youre a casual tourist. If you drive there and spend the whole day there its well worth it. Shanghai is - or was - full of great restaurants. You dont speak chinese so its difficult for you but if you can find a local taxi driver they usually can recommend great places for food. As youve probably already figured out there is no real chinese food outside china - real chinese food is on another level. Also, in case you dont know, keep your passports on you at all times. Often even when you enter free venues the people on the door will want to record your ID. AT the national museum in Beijing you used to have to line up to get your ID checked and be given a ticket, then go to another gate to hand in your ticket and be let in - but it was, at that time anyway, free to enter. Ive experienced similar silly stuff in Guangzhou. Speaking of which you should definitely go up the high buildings in shanghai and definitely try the bubble cars on the roof of the Canton tower in Guangzhou. China and the ordinary people are great but there are a few downsides. The major ones for tourists are that out in the country you might not be allowed into local hotels (they have to report your presence to authorities and some places couldnt be bothered so they just bar foreigners), some places are EXTREMELY primitive when it comes to facilities (if you havent seen a squat toilet look that up) and unfortunately you do sometimes get targeted by small scale scammers and people trying to sell you rubbish.

I used the 144-hour transit visa to Beijing in May, and I went through without problem. I applied for a Union Pay debit card with my local bank and tested out while in Beijing to see if it worked. It allowed me to use it to pay cashless in restaurants and supermarket or any shopst that have the sign Union Pay.

welcome to china

normal day in China surrounded by people.And it's summer holiday now,tourists literally everywhere.

Thank you for showing people what China is actually like :) Most people just go off what they see in the media!

Welcome to Shanghai! you guys are so sweet and smart. There are still a lot of people don't know 144 hours transit visa, the policy was there long time ago. I've seen some people complained on RU-vid that they can not connect their credit card to Alipay or Wechat, actually they are open for international credit card several years ago.

It is real Shanghai. I walked along Shanghai Waitan (the beach along the Huangpu River) for 2 hours. The night sight is just beautiful!

top tips: Go to Nanshan Bamboo Sea in Zhejiang and Jiangsu for vacation. The climate there is much better. There are bamboo forests to escape the summer heat. There are also giant pandas, ancient towns, Hanfu activities, bamboo forest cable cars, and bamboo forest food. You can experience it A very luxurious experience, the bamboo sea is only available in China，It can be called China's Little Switzerland.

China is a wonderful with various cultures and stunning views! I know that visa is a barrier for many travelers, but it is definitely worth it!❤

I would love to see more of your China tour. Glad to see people are out and about enjoying their life. Thank you for sharing

I'm literally heading to China for a month soon. Super excited to see what it's actually like in real life.

just moved to the uk from shanghai after living there for my entire life… how nostalgic it is to see this amazing video!! really really enjoyed seeing you two exploring my hometown (maybe just slightly bigger than a town…). thank you so much for showing the real shanghai and the real china to the rest of the world, hope you also enjoyed the rest of your trip in Asia 😊

You guys are such good travelers, so positive and respectful. huge thumbs up!

I can’t wait to visit China one day. I hope there’s another video! I love your videos

Thanks.....may never get to Shanghai but thanks to your video I really enjoyed seeing the sights with you....beautiful experience.

Welcome to Shanghai, China and enjoy your experience, cheers!

there are so many people in shanghai because it is summer vocation now, many parents are traveling with their children all over China. Welcome and hope you can be back someday.

Shanghai is my hometown and it's so nice to see a video of you guys visiting my home. Hope you enjoyed it!

Welcome🇨🇳😊For the rural area I recommend the mountains at the middle south. Those mountains some are so beautiful that you can actually touch the cloud. 😇

Lucky you two, enjoy your trip in Shanghai.

there're so many nice places you can visit in China, if you like landscape, please go to West part, if you like minority culture, please go to Gui Zhou, if you like noodle dishes, go to Xi An, oh, so many.....

I am glad you guys have a great time in Shanghai.

hey Joel, welcome to Shanghai! your video is amazing!

It turned out nothing was as difficult as you had anticipated. Great trip! One colour behind you is Puxi, the old colonial Shanghai and multiple colours in front of you on the other side of the river is Pudong, the new Shanghai.

Next month will get back to Shanghai, can't wait! Hope we won't put on too much weight😋

Thank you for sharing your experience. You are both amazing🇺🇸🇯🇲🖤🙏🏾

Thanks Joel, i enjoyed this video. Awesome mate

love the background music you choose, glad you liked it! I welcome you to my country again!

Hey lucky you guys got really good weather for your trip. 😊

Welcome to my second home Shanghai after 9 years here. Seems you did all the typical tourist things, Nanjing Road, Yu Garden, Pudong skyscrapers. I think French concession is nice to stroll around and see old Shanghai. Hope you had a good time!

Great video... Nice getaway pit stop.

Not normally busy like this. People from all over the country run into Shanghai for their summer school holiday.

Another great video guys

You're always welcome back to your second home of Asia - the land of adventure, delicious street food, ancient culture, outdoor activities and smiley locals.

Welcome and hope you enjoy your trip😊

Welcome to my hometown, enjoy Shanghai enjoy China. It’s a much different place than what media tells you. And the countryside is very modern too but with more nature. So you will enjoy it.

if you have more time, i recommend visiting Zhujiajiao in the outskirts, where you get to taste what life in 700 years ago was like, similar to Yu garden but far less touristy and locals still live there. enjoy your stay in china.

Hi Joel, your video makes me so homesick! I just left shanghai last month and starting my new job in EU. Hope you enjoy your time in Shanghai, and highly recommend you to visit Xintiandi (line1/14 to south huangpi road or line13 to xintiandi)at night （21:30） in the Refinery to enjoy the live band

Thx for making this beautiful video

Im so excited for you guys 🥰🥰

Beautiful easy going show well made👍, not only 144hr visa, business visit can have onsite visiting visa with business letter, even multi entry visa with the supporting evidence. It is the right way to go to open to the world. Shanghai's crowded streets at night is the most I ever seen as well.

Welcome to Shanghai. As a local in Shanghai, I recommend you go to the North Band, the scenery is the same but less people. Then Bund and Yu Garden where you went are basically for tourist, we normally don't go there.

thanks for this video! my bf and I are about to transit through china to seoul. hope everything works out🤗

During the begining of covid, my family and I came to Budapest from Shanghai actually. Suddenly 3 years past. Welcome to Shanghai and enjoy your furthe trips!

We have been to Shanghai a few times. It never stops to amaze me. You should go up the Pearl TV tower. Also go to the museum in the ground level. The bund is an amazing place. Also try to get a boat trip along the river at night. Love you both.

Welcome to Shanghai, esteemed guests. If needed, I can take a day off to show you around.

Good luck, enjoy the air.

Hi Joel, I'm Dennis Daniels from Cleveland, Ohio! Thanks for sharing your video about your tour of Shanghai!

Wait, ur camera must been lying to me! Cuz this is different China than my government and media have been showing to me!

In fact, many places in China have such a gorgeous night scene, I don't know if it can be called a light show, because every night they light up these cyberpunk like lights, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chongqing are more typical representatives. Although the development cycle of these cities is too short, they are still developing at an amazing speed, and in the near future they will become as sophisticated as Shanghai. China is developing so fast, it is an incredible speed.

Those potstickers must be incredible!

You guys are adorable! Please do come to visit more places next time!! You are definitely welcomed!

Hope you both have had wonderful days in Shanghai. I was there 8/8-8/10.

Great vlog Joel - interesting and engaging - well done.

Great video!

Thanks and like to see more about China

Shanghai dumpling is the best, brother. Thanks for sharing such a beautiful city.

Just returned from a trip through China and the Philippines, ending in Shanghai. Loved the city's vibrant culture, stunning skyline, and lively streets. The blend of modern and traditional is incredible. Eager to return!

welcome to Shanghai! I love Caption's bar!!

China is big and beautiful, and there are so many places to visit

I had been living in Shanghai for like several years before I moved to Suzhou city. Shanghai is a incredible city to enjoy. I have to admit during summer,Shanghai becomes the hottest spot for tourist,which means you will be putting up with long queue. The places the RU-vidr went are tourists attraction but if you wanna dive into Shanghai like food and life there,I highly recommend other areas like Jing’an temple and Xuhui district.

Amazing, I was there this May, hotel and food is so nice and so cheap! I wanna go there again next Apr!!

Welcome to my home town!

Yes , many visitors don't know there's some special program for the 144 hours visa. Thanks for mentioning this, some people start like from Hong Kong>Macau>mainland China.

cute couple, welcome to come to Shanghai my hometown again in future with a more deep dive

So futuristic. That swirl building.

Haha about 2 months ago I was just taking an internship at Shanghai Tower，so it is interesting to see your video. Shanghai is a magic city and I miss it so much especially after watching your travel reports

Very glad to watch and hear nice things said about China when the warmongers keep wanting chaos. Cheers

As Chinese I didn’t know there is a thing called transit visa, it looks like so much more foreigner friendly than the regular visa. And thank god that you can bind your credit card to Alipay just right now, this is a new feature that makes foreigners live in China so much easier! It charges though😂

welcome back

For the foreigner tourists, Shanghai is like the beginner village in the video games.

Welcome to experience new China

I am from Chongqing, which ranks 8-6 in China. But when I came to Shanghai, I felt like a rural person going to town.

OMG ! I just saw Ningbo Road, 宁波路， a small road very close to the Bund. Heaps of dim sum choices, Shanghai styles, nice outlets, out there.

I've been to the Captain Bar as well. Brought back many memories.

旅途愉快啊，玩的开心

Oh man, I really hope you guys get a tourist visa to China. I'm sure it'll be an epic trip.

Welcome to my country, have a good time

Like the video, there is so much energy and positivity!

Welcome to Shanghai. I'm a local from Shanghai. The time of your trip coincides with the summer vacation in China, China will have a large tourist crowd from July to September, which is distributed in the scenic spots of all the big cities in China, and the Bund in Shanghai is one of them. Next time, please choose the Chinese Spring Festival, because everyone will go home during the Chinese Spring Festival, you will not experience crowds, and you will have a better travel experience. Or avoid all Chinese holidays. I wish you a wonderful experience in China next time.

Welcome to China, I hope you enjoyed your stay

Yes, i found that many people didn't know the 144 hours transit visa, thanks for mentioning this.

Welcome to China ❤

欢迎再次来中国玩。上海、北京、西安、成都、重庆、哈尔滨、杭州、桂林、西双版纳、拉萨，每一个城市都有完全独特的风景。

144-hour transit visa are very useful for entry level traveler. Enjoy your journey in China. Hope you bring more interesting deep travel vlog in the future.

awesome vlog!

Very cool video😊

i was blown away by seeing such a clear and blue sky.