0:03 Look what I just found. It's Washington
0:06 DC. We got a double whammy here. It's a
0:08 Stalin nesting doll.
0:10 >> We wouldn't take the cigarette, so he
0:11 went to the store and got us little popsicles.
0:12 popsicles.
0:16 >> It's time for a nightlife tour.
0:18 >> I'm Catherine, and I've just embarked on
0:20 a year-long bike tour of North China
0:22 with my husband, Asagon. Even though
0:24 we're both constantly being mistaken for
0:26 being Russian or Soviet.
0:28 >> I don't have the heart to tell them the
0:30 Soviet Union is gone. comrades. I'm
0:32 actually from the US and he is from
0:34 Qashqar which is on China's farthest
0:36 farthest farthest western edge. Yeah,
0:37 the US and Singinjang is kind of an
0:39 unusual combination and in terms of
0:41 cultural background, we are about as
0:43 different as possible. But one thing we
0:45 do share is a love of biking. Today's
0:48 vlog is over 300 km worth of the rust
0:50 belt scenery, friendly strangers, and
0:53 lush landscapes of Mudanang. From the
0:55 Russian knickknack warehouse to the
0:57 forest growing in a volcano crater. From
0:59 the mundane to the spectacular, many
1:12 >> Last night, we stayed in the little city
1:13 of Mulling, which isn't known for
1:15 anything in particular except maybe
1:17 corn. But it really charmed us with its
1:19 interesting architecture and its
1:21 non-pork versions of traditional
1:22 northeast Chinese dishes. Love me some
1:24 sauerkraut, but it's just so hard to
1:26 find it without pork in it. But I found
1:28 us this halal restaurant in this tiny
1:29 tiny city.
1:31 >> It's okay.
1:32 >> Devastating. He doesn't even like it,
1:34 but I like it. So, it's a win regardless.
1:36 regardless.
1:38 From the city of Muling, we are headed
1:40 in the direction of a little town also
1:41 called Muling.
1:42 >> So, it's pretty common to see random
1:44 political slogans all over the place in
1:46 China. But, I'm not going to lie, that's
1:48 a lot of text to have to digest in like
1:51 3 seconds as you're driving past it.
1:52 They're at it again with the billboards.
1:54 That is so many letters to read when
1:56 you're whooshing down this road. This
1:59 place is actually only about 30 km away
2:01 from the China Russia border. Although
2:02 you don't really feel any Russian vibes
2:04 in the villages, there is some
2:06 interesting architecture to be found in
2:08 the towns. Don't mind me guys, just
2:10 having a lovely afternoon hanging out at
2:14 the Russian church themed gas station.
2:16 The architecture here really is unlike
2:17 any other part of the country I've been
2:20 to. Lots of columns, lots of little dome
2:22 things. It definitely gives the place an
2:24 exotic vibe, that's for sure.
2:26 >> We're passing through another roadwork
2:28 zone and they added eyeballs to the
2:31 little flag wavy guy to give him more
2:33 character, but he just looks depressed.
2:35 My man just looks miserable. He's like
2:42 Little taste of home right here. An
2:44 abandoned railroad track. There were a
2:46 bunch of these near my university in the
2:48 US. We used to like go walk around on
2:49 them and there are a bunch of them in my
2:51 grandma's hometown too. But now that I
2:52 think about it, I've actually never seen
2:54 these in China. It's not common to see
2:57 an abandoned railroad and it's basically
2:58 turned into the local hangout spot. Like
3:00 grandma's just chilling here. There's
3:02 just random people like walking around
3:04 on the track as though it's like a trail
3:07 to go on a stroll. I love looking at
3:09 these billboards. This one says Sa
3:13 Chunza Town, National Specialty Town.
3:33 >> people are always asking if we're lost.
3:36 We are almost never lost. We just enjoy
3:38 wandering in these tiny places cuz it's
3:40 these kind of roads that make the trip
3:42 interesting. If we were just on the main
3:43 roads the whole time, it's like what is
3:45 there to look at, you know? There's
3:46 nothing there. All the good stuff is on
3:49 these tiny roads. Love the granny's in
3:51 the clashing floral prints. Never gets
3:54 old. We are moments away from today's
3:58 destination. This tiny town. This is our
4:00 last place we'll be staying in before we
4:11 Mudang. [Music]
4:28 Everywhere you go in, make a friend and
4:32 get offered a cigarette. [Music]
4:37 >> We wouldn't take the cigarette, so he
4:39 went to the store and got us little popsicles.
4:44 Oh my goodness.
4:47 >> That's a first. That's a first. [Music]
4:56 >> We're on our way to the public bath,
4:58 which was not in today's itinerary
5:00 originally, but it turns out the hotel
5:01 we're staying at, you actually can't
5:03 take a shower in the evenings recently
5:05 because there's a water shortage in that
5:07 section of the town. So, they gave us
5:10 the address of a public bathing place. I
5:11 mean, we don't have to take a shower. We
5:13 could just like not take a shower, but
5:15 like we've liked 60 km today. Look how
5:18 bougie the front of it is. I have not
5:21 been to one of these things in years. Oh
5:22 my gosh. I don't think I can even
5:37 I keep getting asked if we're from the
5:40 Soviet Union. I don't have the heart to
5:42 tell them. The Soviet Union is gone,
5:51 >> There's a scale in here. And the minute
5:53 he walked in the door, he's like, "Ooh,
6:13 So, while we wait for to emerge from the
6:14 bathing room, let me tell you guys about
6:17 my public bath experience. It was very
6:19 bougie in there. It was some kind of
6:22 like marble or granite. Felt very fancy
6:24 in there. And I encountered a lady in
6:26 the changing room who was like, "How old
6:28 are you?" And I was like 30. And she's
6:30 like, "Oh, you're in such good shape."
6:34 And I was like, "Well, just wait until I
6:36 reproduce. I know that's when it gets
6:37 tough." It was just this lady like completely
6:39 completely
6:42 naked, just everything out there
6:43 striking up a conversation with me. Oh,
6:47 a foreigner. Let's chat. It's fine. It
6:48 was chill. I just thought it was funny,
7:01 [Music]
7:04 We're on our way to Mudandang. We have
7:07 heard mixed reviews about the road.
7:09 Trust me y'all. I searched the Sally map
7:12 up and down. There is no other way to
7:14 get to Mudandang than this one road. So,
7:15 we're stuck with it. Whatever it is,
7:38 [Music]
7:41 rolling hills,
7:43 beautiful countryside,
7:46 perfect sky. The road just sucks.
7:48 >> Never give up. [Music]
8:10 Today has been a rough day for sure. The
8:13 road conditions were not it. It keeps
8:15 raining on us over and over again, but
8:17 it's definitely been interesting. We've
8:19 seen a lot of interesting things and we
8:21 just stopped at this convenience store
8:24 to hide from the rain. Trying some local
8:25 bread. Doesn't really taste like
8:27 anything, but the texture is like a donut.
8:41 >> Saying goodbye to this lovely grocery
8:45 store that sheltered us for so long. We
8:49 got like 3 hours left.
8:53 Let's go. It's literally sunny outside.
8:56 Why are we being rained on?
8:59 Stop raining. [Music]
9:06 [Music]
9:09 from that rainy hellscape and that road
9:10 that looks like it's been through three
9:14 wars. Everything's been great. Look at
9:36 [Music]
9:47 >> Rural China ice cream truck.
9:49 >> You might be wondering how I could
9:51 possibly pass up the rural China ice
9:54 cream truck on a hot summer day. Well,
9:55 that street was actually right on the
9:58 outskirts of the city of Mudanjang. And
10:01 Mulan has bubble tea. Yep, it's time to
10:03 live the big city life for a couple
10:05 days. So, what I find interesting about
10:06 this mall is that there are these little
10:09 cart things that are just like roaming
10:11 around freely. Like most malls I've been
10:13 to will have a designated section for
10:16 like kids to drive these little carts
10:18 around, but not in this mall. They are
10:20 just in the hallway. This is their home
10:22 base, and they all disperse from here
10:26 like little soldiers scooting around.
10:28 So, we rented out this tiny apartment
10:32 for me to edit videos and for us to rest
10:34 for a couple days. We get an interesting
10:36 little view across the street. You can
10:38 actually see into the windows of all the
10:40 people across the road. And he is fascinated.
10:52 >> The city life watching the drama of the
10:54 other people from across the street. Is
10:58 Sadan's first authentic Shinjzang kebab
11:01 place since Harbin? We have not been
11:03 seeing these around cuz we've been in
11:05 like such tiny places. They just don't
11:07 have them. But finally found one here in
11:09 Mudanjang. He's giving the guy a free ad
11:12 on Dowian. It looks like
11:14 the guy who runs it is actually from
11:16 Qashqar, which is already a coincidence.
11:18 And he's also from Yang Shahara, which
11:20 is the exact same district that Astone's
11:27 Yeah.
11:29 >> So, this restaurant under ordinary
11:30 circumstances would have a lot of
11:32 singing jang dishes, but because most of
11:34 their customers are students and
11:36 students are having summer break right
11:37 now, they're actually operating at a
11:39 much smaller scale than usual and they
11:41 don't have anything but skewers. So, the
11:42 owner actually was like, "Hey, if you
11:45 guys want like a proper Shinjang meal,
11:47 you should go to this other place." and
11:49 he called us a taxi and showed the
11:50 address of the driver and was like,
11:53 "Hey, take them to this restaurant." He
11:55 sacrificed potential customers and wages
11:58 so that we could have like the best 10
12:00 out of 10 shinjang meal. Is that not the
12:03 cutest thing ever? Cute or not cute?
12:05 >> Yes. Cute. >> Lovely.
12:07 >> Lovely.
12:09 >> He's so excited. Wow.
12:30 >> Wow, look at those beautiful noodles.
12:34 That is a classic handmade noodle. And
12:36 speaking of noodles, the romance between
12:38 Asadon and my noodle loving cousin is
12:39 alive and well.
12:41 >> I really miss those noodles. I cannot go
12:42 to noodle restaurants anymore unless
12:44 it's handmade. Every noodle other than
12:46 these are ruined for me.
12:49 >> I tried to make some and it was such joy.
12:50 joy.
12:52 >> People around here are so generous. This
12:54 is the naan that the Shinjang restaurant
12:56 from last night gave us. They gave us
12:59 all this naan got a haircut last night
13:02 and they gave him this. Not just one,
13:05 they gave him four of these local
13:08 pineapple drinks. So, we're about to
13:09 like take these with us to the Singong
13:10 restaurant and have them with lunch cuz
13:12 we can't bring all this glass. It's too
13:14 heavy for the bikes. But I'm just like,
13:18 "Oh my gosh, how cute is this place?
13:24 >> We're getting ready to leave and the
13:25 restaurant owner is like, "Watch out for
13:28 tigers." Apparently, he's actually seen
13:50 Off we go into the wilderness to be
13:52 eaten by the tigers. Just kidding. They
13:53 said the tigers probably won't eat us
13:56 cuz we're too bony.
13:59 >> We're crossing this bridge that was
14:01 built during like the Roman Empire or
14:04 something. Whoa, graffiti. I think that
14:06 might be my first ever like westernstyle
14:08 graffiti sighting in China. It looks
14:10 like a gang symbol.
14:21 Yo, check this out. Washington DC vibes
14:23 in these corn fields.
14:26 It's Washington DC. It feels abandoned
14:28 because of how high the weeds are, but
14:30 the sign does say it belongs to some
14:31 sort of university. though. I don't
14:33 know. Anyway, right down the street from
14:36 Wish.com, Washington, DC, is something
14:38 even more exciting. The Russian
14:40 Knickknack Emporium. Yeah, they have
14:42 other products, too. But come on now.
14:44 I'm here for the knick-knacks. Other
14:45 than the really annoying beeping going
14:47 on in the background, this place is
14:49 pretty nice. Right off the bat, they led
14:50 me into the makeup area, which I felt
14:52 was not really the vibe. Kind of boring,
14:55 but I have now found the place where I
14:57 belong. I'm in the ornate knickknack
14:59 zone. This is solid. Like, this is not
15:10 [Music]
15:11 And there are some things in here that
15:13 are familiar to me from the US, but not
15:15 in the same context. This, for example,
15:17 is like haunted house gothic theme, but
15:19 maybe to a Russian person, this is just
15:28 So, yeah, the nesting dolls go so hard
15:30 in this place.
15:33 Look how tiny the final little guy is.
15:35 Look at this little nugget. All right,
15:37 folks. Say goodbye to the Knickknack Emporium.
15:38 Emporium.
15:39 >> Just left the Russian Goods place and
15:49 [Music]
15:57 >> In typical Halo John style, he offered
15:59 us a cigarette. They actually roll them
16:04 >> He was like, "Put my chickens in the
16:06 vlog." So, here I am putting the
16:09 chickens in the vlog. [Music]
16:17 >> They give us pimmens. [Music]
16:41 People keep talking about tigers and
16:43 stuff, but like I really mean it that
16:46 the scariest thing on this bike tour is
16:49 northeast drivers. Like the tigers are
16:51 not even in the back of my mind in the
16:52 slightest. Like if I see one, we'll deal
16:54 with it when the time comes. So the
16:56 people here, as long as they're not in a
16:58 vehicle, are so nice. They're so warm
17:00 and welcoming and friendly. But the
17:02 moment they have enclosed themselves
17:03 within the confines of a vehicle, they
17:07 just become ruthless. So yeah, we are
17:08 being careful trying to stay on the
17:10 quiet roads. [Music]
17:43 said goodbye to our last patch of yard
17:45 corn and we are officially in the city
17:48 of Nan. Just arrived at our hotel. Look
17:50 at the tiny tiny hobbit door. And it's
17:52 not that people around here are super
17:54 short because there's literally padding
17:56 on here. And the owner has warned me
17:58 like 17 times now to watch out for this
18:00 low thing here. It's just the way the
18:02 building was designed. There's this
18:05 really really tiny door.
18:07 >> There's another one here. So, you have
18:09 to like duck under this thing. And look
18:10 at this cute little sitting area down
18:19 We only spent one night in Ningan and
18:21 first thing the next morning we headed
18:38 I love how basically wherever I am in
18:40 China, even in these really far-flung
18:42 random places, the riverbank is always a
18:44 place you can count on for some cute
18:46 community vibes. [Music]
18:54 [Music] >> Hello
19:29 Everywhere we go, he gets some
19:38 >> Why do so many convenience stores around
19:40 here have a mirror? This is not a thing
19:44 in Honjo, but it is here.
19:47 >> Quail eggs in a jar.
19:48 >> Fish. How
20:08 This was definitely one of our quietest
20:10 days. The corn fields stretched
20:12 infinitely into the horizon and we saw
20:15 more birds than people. [Music]
20:21 Although we didn't really get a chance
20:23 to chat with any friendly strangers
20:25 today, the quiet landscape was a good
20:27 opportunity to ponder the meaning of
20:46 >> Hello. >> Hello.
20:54 [Music]
20:56 We are milking the teeths of the last
21:03 [Music]
21:06 Finally, I can see the lights of human
21:09 civilization in the distance.
21:11 Okay, so it's pretty lit over there.
21:12 Apparently, they're setting off fireworks.
21:20 Upon arrival, we have been greeted by
21:23 this giant deer head and a green laser
21:25 sweeping back and forth. [Music]
21:34 [Music] [Applause]
21:35 [Applause] [Music]
21:37 [Music]
21:43 >> We finally emerged into this.
21:45 >> Except our hotel isn't over there. It's
21:47 over here in a quieter area. As much as
21:49 I do love the noise and the excitement,
21:50 I also don't know how I'd feel about it
21:52 if it was like 2 a.m. And you never know
21:54 how late these karaoke people are going
21:56 to go. So, yeah, we're heading into a
22:04 [Laughter] [Music]
22:17 [Music]
22:20 Let me show you guys our room.
22:24 Super cute log cabin style.
22:26 Love this wood aesthetic. It is very
22:29 nostalgic for me. Brings back those log
22:32 cabin memories. This is the yard. Also
22:35 really cute. More log cabin vibes.
22:38 Freshly grown veggies back there. Look
22:40 at those vegetables. I love staying in
22:42 cute rural places like this. They have
22:44 so much character and every single place
22:46 is totally different. It's not like when
22:47 you're in the city and you're staying in
22:48 a hotel and you forget what it looked
22:50 like the next day. These kind of places
22:52 you'll remember because every single one
22:56 has its own unique cute vibe. Oh, and
22:59 because we're next to a lake, everywhere
23:02 you can see these big fish tanks full of
23:06 live fish. The fish here is fresh to the
23:08 max. And speaking of the lake, it's time
23:11 to go check that puppy out. Jingpo Lake
23:12 is known for having this waterfall that
23:14 attracts a lot of cliff divers. And
23:16 every day at a few set times, there will
23:18 be a cliff diving performance to
23:21 entertain us peasants. So many people
23:22 come to watch this spectacle that
23:32 [Music] [Applause]
23:35 [Applause] [Music]
23:47 And apparently there's tigers around
24:01 We have entered the cave forest and it's
24:03 like 10° cooler down here than it is in
24:05 the rest of this place. Look at this thing.
24:06 thing.
24:08 >> This is crazy.
24:11 >> Nature's air conditioner. We're not even
24:13 fully in the cave. We're still outside.
24:16 We're just next to the cave and it's
24:19 radiating coolness off of it. Fascinating.
24:20 Fascinating. [Music]
24:40 We are hiking up to the top of this
24:44 forest inside a volcano crater. So many stairs.
24:45 stairs.
25:05 [Music] Yeah,
25:06 Yeah, [Music]
25:17 >> you can also leave this lovely place
25:20 with a big chunk of wood of your very
25:23 own. Ooh, she's thick.
25:25 And if you don't have space for these,
25:27 you can take a little nugget, a
25:30 fun-sized piece of wood, take one of
25:38 Of course, there's a gun.
25:40 >> There are so many guns here. Even this
25:42 place, which is just selling like
25:46 berries and stuff, they even have guns.
25:48 In case y'all need a reminder that we
25:50 are in a Russian border zone, we have a
25:53 double whammy here. It's a Stalin
25:55 nesting doll. In retrospect, I really
25:57 regret not buying this. I'm sure this is
25:58 the kind of thing you would never see in
26:00 an actual Russian person's house, but I
26:03 mean, it just has so much character.
26:05 All right, we've seen forests and caves
26:07 and waterfalls and even a bit of
26:09 wildlife, but we still haven't really
26:11 seen the lake yet. So, we're moving a
26:12 couple hours down the road. The previous
26:13 place we stayed was closer to the
26:15 waterfall. This time we're staying on
26:19 the lake for maximum scenic vibes. [Music]
26:27 [Music]
26:29 Okay, so completely different vibe from
26:32 the place we just came from. The place
26:34 with the laser deer and the people
26:36 dancing with fans outside of 100
26:38 restaurants with flashing lights. Yes,
26:40 this is a completely different
26:42 aesthetic. Not that that place was bad
26:44 or anything, but I also do want to feel
26:46 closer to nature, and I think we have
26:49 found that here. We have arrived at our
26:52 hotel in this forest on a lake. As a lot
26:53 of you all know, my grandma is from
26:55 Vermont, so we have a family trip there
26:57 every summer. And like 90% of my Vermont
26:58 memories are being on little beaches
27:00 like this in front of a lake that looks
27:02 just like that with mountains in the
27:04 background. This is like maximum
27:06 childhood memories right here. >> Hello
27:08 >> Hello [Music]
27:12 Hello. >> Hello.
27:24 >> Night has fallen. Of course, there's karaoke.
27:26 karaoke.
27:30 >> Is this karaoke? What is this?
27:31 >> Very traditional. [Music]
27:53 And that is all for today's vlog
27:55 everyone. Hope you guys enjoy the change
27:57 of scenery. In the next vlog, we are
27:58 actually heading to the neighboring
28:01 province of Jillin. In other words, it's
28:02 time to say goodbye to the Russian
28:05 border vibes and say hello to the North
28:07 Korea border vibes. Can't wait to share
