Where are the videos from riders in China?

[Richardo]

watching some of TheGrandeurLife's old stuff, I'm kind of disappointed that most of the heavy city traffic riding videos I see come out of NYC. 

Are there people filming delivery style rides in Shanghai or Beijing? Do we have to look at some other website because YouTube is blocked in China?

[houseofjob]

1 hour ago, Richardo said:

watching some of TheGrandeurLife's old stuff, I'm kind of disappointed that most of the heavy city traffic riding videos I see come out of NYC. 

Are there people filming delivery style rides in Shanghai or Beijing? Do we have to look at some other website because YouTube is blocked in China?

This has kinda been covered over the years, but it's a combo of several things:

1. The Great Firewall of China
   • Mainland China blocks everything and then sets up their own version, so if you're really feening for China EUC content, you'd better get yourself familiarized with stuff like BiliBili, Weibo, Baidu, Douyen (Chinese Tik Tok), etc.
   • You will see a minority of Mainlanders use VPNs to access stuff outside of the Firewall, but this is technically illegal and, when the government feels like it, they can arrest you for this offense (ie. probably not worth it to post some EUC stuff on illegal YouTube).
2. Culture
   • China city culture, like with many asian countries, is a high vanity materialistic society, so stuff like name brand luxury foreign cars are more symbols of status & wealth (think Mercedes, BMW, Lamborghini, Ferrari, etc.), and thus cheaper PEV, like EUCs, are considered more of a poor people's transportation. Remember, in the grand scheme of history, China only recently started getting rich.
   • considering the above, you'll see more niche EUC riders more in the less affluent rural parts of mainland China, although not as much as a US/France/Russia.
3. Cost
   • even if EUC appeals to Mainland city folk, they are still way more overpriced to the dime-a-dozen, bigger industry trad/electric bike & scooter markets, considering the lower overall cost of living (salary, disposable income, etc.) compared to places like the US.
4. Infrastructure
   • Asian city streets are waaaaay bigger and more dangerous than US city streets; they are much more like highways than PEV-friendly US City streets, often being 10+ lanes.
   • Asian subways/trains are way more efficient, punctual, and ubiquitous than our US counterpart public transportation.

 

Note, most every lay Mainland China ex-pat I've showed my wheel to in NYC, they almost never know what it is, even though the damn thing is Made in China.

Another note, way back when I broached this subject circa 2016, to a fellow NYC rider & Chinese ex-pat, they responded to me that the minority of riders in China, most of them ride generic wheels, not the name brand ones we are accustomed to... not sure if this is still the case. Obviously, this is due to cost. Everyone who knows knows in China, you never buy anything initial price, you always haggle, and this is all for a reason.

 

Edited November 11, 2021 by houseofjob

[level9]

My understanding is that EUCs are banned in the major cities in China. Not that some people don't ride them anyway but considering the political environment, advertising yourself riding a banned vehicle on youtube is probably not the best idea.

[Bizra6ot]

1 hour ago, houseofjob said:

 

1. The Great Firewall of China
   • Mainland China blocks everything and then sets up their own version, so if you're really feening for China EUC content, you'd better get yourself familiarized with stuff like BiliBili, Weibo, Baidu, Douyen (Chinese Tik Tok), etc.
   • You will see a minority of Mainlanders use VPNs to access stuff outside of the Firewall, but this is technically illegal and, when the government feels like it, they can arrest you for this offense (ie. probably not worth it to post some EUC stuff on illegal YouTube).

 

Mainly this + try with chinese characters like 电动独轮车 for EUC, you'll find some content even on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkPboWWSXi0

 

[houseofjob]

1 hour ago, div said:

To add to what's already been said: it's mostly* an American thing to film and broadcast yourself doing stuff. In many countries it would be looked upon as showoffy or narcissistic. 

*Not everyone of course, etc etc, but in the big lines.

Eh, if you follow China, especially the major first-tier cities (again, super vain and materialistic), you'll know the celebrity and social media influencer culture has blown up just as big as it has in the States (except their influence is more the Korean version); I'm not sure this point is really applicable.

The more important x-factor is, if you start to tread on the CCP's red lines, you can easily and instantly be erased from the Chinese internet.

 

21 minutes ago, Bizra6ot said:

Mainly this + try with chinese characters like 电动独轮车 for EUC, you'll find some content even on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkPboWWSXi0

Gotta remember, lot of ex-pats outside of the Mainland, you're probably only gonna find like Taiwanese, Chinese abroad in like Canada etc, or just re-posts from BiliBili / Douyen.

Also, YouTube being banned in CN, you don't have the carrot stick of getting paid by Google monetization like you do outside of CN.

 

Edited November 11, 2021 by houseofjob

[Richardo]

23 minutes ago, Bizra6ot said:

Mainly this + try with chinese characters like 电动独轮车 for EUC, you'll find some content even on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkPboWWSXi0

 

Thanks Bizra, here is a link to that search on bilibili https://search.bilibili.com/all?keyword=电动独轮车 &from_source=webtop_search&spm_id_from=333.851

 

There are lots of videos, but I haven't found the big city riding im craving yet.

[itsmark]

I would also like to see more off-roading videos from China. Every time a new wheel comes out you get one or two short clips from really high level riders that end up reposted on youtube. IDK if they're test riders or what but with their riding skill it makes me want to see more.

[Paul A]

Kuji was posting on YouTube though?

[alcatraz]

Wechat is what they use and most videos aren't vlogs, but just short clips here and there. Most of the time they do group rides and just travel around, and it's mostly in the south. Occasionally you see some offroading and tricks, or some girls in cute dresses riding along on their msx at 40km/h while staring at their phones.

It's a youth thing here. There aren't that many older riders. When someone gets like married or whatever, then their habits change. Young people need to focus on their future and make plans to become responsible pillars of their families. 

Relatives probably don't like that they ride so they nag them out of it. "Why do you ride that? Get a car instead. It's safer." Here it's super ugly to talk back to someone elder than you, so they usually fall in line unhappily.

Haha. It's just my observation from living there for a few years. Of course it can't be applied generally but I mean that's the feel I get.

[Kekafuch]

In major cities, public transportation is very good. For the cost of a euc, you can buy several mopeds which are more practical. EUC is prohibited device for public streets but the fines are $20. 
 

There are people who play with EUC. But they treat it like a toy or use them indoors. There’s likely pockets of EUC riders in certain regions. 
 

China is practical. If these devices are meant for the masses then they are too expensive compared to other more practical devices like an electric car for $5000 or $1000 moped. 

[eucVibes]

Land full of zombie riders

[Paul A]

 

[Paul A]

 

[Scubadragonsan]

When I was in Guangzhou and also Chengdu, I and my wife rented 2 EUCs--InMotion V10F and KS16X and rode around and had a lot fun. When I go back next time, I am hooking up with a group of EUC enthusiasts there. YouTube is not ban, but maybe censored in China. You have to pay an additional fee to access YouTube, likewise WhatsApp. Chinese driving may seem chaotic and crazy, but their drivers have a much higher awareness of their surroundings because they are driving in the midst of thousands of bicycles, scooters, mopeds...you name it. Most areas are permissible to EUCs as long as used with a little common sense. It is not always a matter of rights, but a matter of respect that you have for others. Respect seems to come before rights. The next time I go to China again, I am going to buy an EUC there and store it there for use whenever I travel there. You can take it on speed trains, travel to your destination and then ride and explore! The background profile riders in China are similar to everywhere else--crazy guys with a little extra cash???

[houseofjob]

16 hours ago, Paul A said:

Kuji was posting on YouTube though?

Yeah, cuz he's not Chinese.

The name is a dead give away, Japanese name.

 

58 minutes ago, Scubadragonsan said:

YouTube is not ban, but maybe censored in China. You have to pay an additional fee to access YouTube, likewise WhatsApp.

YouTube and WhatsApp by all accounts are super banned in China, what you paid for was a VPN.

The CCP doesn't care about you as a foreigner accessing these sites, they mainly only care about their own citizens accessing such sites because they cannot block and control stuff outside of China.

And the enforcement from what I hear was lax until of late, what with the pandemic and the tightening up of things under the Xi Jingping regime.

 

 

[Kekafuch]

7 hours ago, houseofjob said:

Yeah, cuz he's not Chinese.

The name is a dead give away, Japanese name.

 

YouTube and WhatsApp by all accounts are super banned in China, what you paid for was a VPN.

The CCP doesn't care about you as a foreigner accessing these sites, they mainly only care about their own citizens accessing such sites because they cannot block and control stuff outside of China.

And the enforcement from what I hear was lax until of late, what with the pandemic and the tightening up of things under the Xi Jingping regime.

 

 

 

 

China is a vast place. 

if people need or want to access western Internet, it’s available via VPN. University’s have open networks.  From China’s perspective, most of the population is still peasant level. Some of the western media will only want to destabilize their population. As China develops, they will open up more and more. 

[Paul A]

https://www.statista.com/statistics/278566/urban-and-rural-population-of-china/

 

Urban and rural population of China 2010-2020

Published by C. Textor, May 12, 2021

 According to the Seventh National Population Census conducted in 2020, about 902 million people lived in urban regions in China and 510 million in rural in 2020. That year, the country reached a total population of approximately 1.41 billion people. As of 2020, China was the most populous country in the world.

[houseofjob]

On 11/16/2021 at 8:33 PM, Kekafuch said:

China is a vast place. 

if people need or want to access western Internet, it’s available via VPN. University’s have open networks.  From China’s perspective, most of the population is still peasant level. Some of the western media will only want to destabilize their population. As China develops, they will open up more and more. 

Man, you clearly aren't following news of/in China, esp on that last sentence, but I'll leave this one alone, as it gets political.

[Kekafuch]

3 hours ago, houseofjob said:

Man, you clearly aren't following news of/in China, esp on that last sentence, but I'll leave this one alone, as it gets political.

I have relatives in HK, Taiwan, and Mainland China. My wife is a Chinese national while I grown up in a western democracy. For average people (non political), I find the opportunities and access to be about the same whether you are in China or Canada… mostly life around work and raising a family and education/health. Have met young Chinese people who dislike the Chinese government and people who support it but most do feel it’s just better to be neutral... unless it affects their livelihoods and then shit hits the fan at the local level and things get done!! My observation is the avg Chinese person is more content about what their life is vs the average Canadian person regardless of status. 

 

 

[houseofjob]

13 hours ago, Kekafuch said:

I have relatives in HK, Taiwan, and Mainland China. My wife is a Chinese national while I grown up in a western democracy. For average people (non political), I find the opportunities and access to be about the same whether you are in China or Canada… mostly life around work and raising a family and education/health. Have met young Chinese people who dislike the Chinese government and people who support it but most do feel it’s just better to be neutral... unless it affects their livelihoods and then shit hits the fan at the local level and things get done!! My observation is the avg Chinese person is more content about what their life is vs the average Canadian person regardless of status. 

Just out of curiosity, do you speak Chinese and have you ever lived in the Mainland?

[Paul A]

Pop song banned in PRC.

Huge hit with diaspora and those with vpn.

 

[Mango]

On 11/18/2021 at 3:51 AM, houseofjob said:

Man, you clearly aren't following news of/in China, esp on that last sentence, but I'll leave this one alone, as it gets political.

I only watch because… Tiffany Meier.

But seriously, based on everything I’ve seen China is headed towards economic collapse and social unrest. The dominos are being set.

[Richardo]

Crikey fellas a lot more rehashing media takes on china than videos of euc riding. 

[shellac]

On 11/18/2021 at 9:49 PM, Mango said:

I only watch because… Tiffany Meier.

But seriously, based on everything I’ve seen China is headed towards economic collapse and social unrest. The dominos are being set.

Well of course you would think that, based on your sources. Tiffany Meier is a propagandist who writes for the Epoch Times, which is part of the anti-China Falun Gong cult.

On 11/18/2021 at 11:00 PM, Richardo said:

Crikey fellas a lot more rehashing media takes on china than videos of euc riding. 

Agreed. Lots of horrendously wrong media takes at that. It's nothing new though--In the eyes of Western media, China is perpetually on the verge of collapse. It's a self serving fantasy that makes the West feel better about itself, as things gradually worsen over here. Colleges getting astronomically more expensive, more expensive healthcare yearly that covers less and less, younger people no longer able to buy their own homes like their parents did and homeless filling the streets, while standards of living rise unabated in China. I hope we in the US decide to fix our own house instead of heading down the road of a new Cold War, which the military industrial complex is salivating for.

 

Bilibili is a nice resource. Thanks for the heads up. Here's a dude who caught some shit from cops for riding his EUC on the highway in China. Looks like they just told him not to do that anymore lol.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1dh411b75E?from=search&seid=18098887629728635331&spm_id_from=333.337.0.0

 

[Resko727]

On 11/11/2021 at 1:53 PM, div said:

To add to what's already been said: it is in big part* a US American thing to film and broadcast yourself doing stuff. In many countries it would be looked upon as showoffy or narcissistic. 

*Not everyone of course, etc etc, but in the big lines.

As a American I take offense to this. We as Americans have more freedoms than anywhere else and expressing that doesn’t make you a narcissistic.