In this blog, we’re diving into the unforgettable moments, cherished souvenirs, evolving impressions, and city recommendations from our creators’ incredible journey through China.

Unforgettable Moments

Q: What was a “wow moment” from your journey that you would recommend to friends or followers?

A:

• 刘承宪: Hot pot, definitely. Chongqing hot pot is the best. I’ve never tried Chongqing hot pot before, and this one is really tasty and good. You should definitely try it.
• Simon Cade: I think Chongqing would probably be number one. It has amazing architecture and really unique landscapes and is just very, very different from home. So definitely a must-visit.
  Nigel Ian Laxamana: The one “wow moment” that I would recommend to my friends is always the day I get to see my Chinese friends. And my only Chinese friends and family are in Hollyland.
• Chandra Timothy Liow: First of all, there were a lot of things that wowed me on this journey in China. I think what I would recommend is the skywalk. Yeah, the one at the top of the building. You felt like Tom Cruise when you were there. So, yeah, it’s the skywalk experience.
• Landon Bytheway: Definitely the walking on the top of the building — the skywalk. Oh my gosh, that was incredible. Yeah, that was something I’ll never forget. So cool.
• Chrystopher William: The drone show, absolutely. Wow, when I saw it — the scale, the amount of drones, the accuracy — everything about that is something that I would recommend to everybody.
  Paula: Hongya Cave, Skywalk.
• Bryson: Chongqing is insane. Like the most crazy city I’ve ever seen in my life. Especially last night shooting Cyberpunk with all the lights. It was like, I can’t believe it. You guys will see the video later. It’s crazy. It’s so cool. So that’s a high recommendation. Yeah, just like walking around the city, the streets, just taking photos. It’s so fun. You can’t take a bad photo.
• Daniel Chang: The drone show was quite like a thing that a photo or a video cannot capture. You have to be there to take it in, to experience the highlight.
• Antonio Wimmer: One of the wildest moments was the drone show. Not only because of the drones, but also because of how the whole city is connected at the same time. It really speaks to China’s culture, on how they can all bring a show together for you. It’s very difficult in other parts of the world to connect hundreds of buildings to work together. In this show, you understand how China is so far ahead. That’s how they can connect all the cities just for one reason, and they make it seamless, dancing to music to make people happy. It really speaks of the culture.
• Lutfie Abdullah: To be honest, Chongqing surprised me. Like the texture of the city, every corner is beautiful. Very artistic; it’s not artificial at all. Like every corner, the mix between the ancient building and the ancient wall with the new building is so amazing. I’ve never seen any city like this. And I will visit Chongqing again, and I will recommend to people to go to Chongqing. It’s kind of a surreal moment for me.
• Galang Ganjar Kurniawa: When I visited Chongqing, I thought the place had good buildings that combined modern architecture with 90s-style classics. And yeah, I like this. And I think you can try to visit Chongqing.
• Jairo Daniel Eslava Ariza: Skywalk on top of the Raffle City.
• Andrew Wadid: Drone show, giant animals drawn in 3D.
  Kanitani Naoki: Drone show
• Kent Lamm: The skywalk on top of the Raffle City. You’ve got to do the hot pot.
• Jeff Loch: The drone show was definitely one of the top five most amazing things I’ve seen in my life.
• BYUNGIL CHOI: Taste hotpot.
• Chieng Gong Zhi: Chongqing, the entire city.
• Konstantin Ermakov: It’s just like an incredible part of the world where everything is so different but the same, and it’s exciting to be in a place where, for me at least, you don’t understand anything, but you’re discovering new things. It’s just like the city; the people, they’re so friendly. Everything was such a great experience. The first day when we got off the bus for the bunker, the smell of the hot pot hit me. It’s quite warm outside right now, so it was the pleasant warmth that carried the beautiful smell of the hot pot. I don’t know what spice you use, but it’s like the peppercorns. That is beautiful. So I think it’s the environment, the smell for me.
• Kirsty Wells: Also the drone show. That was pretty cool. The way that they get them to move and seeing the drones up close was very cool as well. I can’t believe they let us pick them up. That was incredible. Fun fact: I guessed how many there were the first time. How many? 5,000. I did a quick count, and then I estimated, and I thought 5,500, and then I said no, and then I got it right. Oh, that’s cool.
• Lucas: Drone show
• Danielle: Drone show

Souvenirs and Takeaways

Q: What things do you wish to bring back to your country?

A:

• Simon Cade: If we could bring all the people back to my city, that would be nice. We could still make friends.
• Chandra Timothy Liow: I think it’s the food. Because in Indonesia, we also love spicy food. We also have a lot of spices. So, I think I really want to bring a lot of food from China.
• Landon Bytheway: A positive attitude. Being happy. Man. Some souvenirs, I guess. And some Chinese food. Chinese food. Because, like, you have Oreos and Trolli gummy bears and stuff. But it’s all in Chinese. Okay. So it looks really cool. So I love the packaging here.
• Chrystopher William: The sense of cultural heritage. It’s been really interesting for me to see how the different cities that I visited in China all collectively express the cultural experience of the city.
• Paula: Chinese people, warm people.
• Bryson: I’ve already got so many things for my wife and my two sons. I’ve got a fake Laboogoo. I’ve got little pandas. I’ve got fans. I have magnets. Yeah, but if I could take back anything, I would just take back the rabbit head that Stacy ate last night to show how weird it is. That was crazy.
• Daniel Chang: I want to bring the massage parlor to Peru.
• Antonio Wimmer: Also, Alipay. Everything needs to be paid with QR codes.
• Kirsty Wells: Well, first of all, he’s already bought a block of the soup base for the hot pot. Thick soup base.
• Lucas: One of the things I want to bring back with me is what I learned on this trip. It would be the loyalty that the Chinese have for the things they work with.

Impressions of China

Q: How has your impression of China changed since your visit?

A:

• 刘承宪: You’ll get shocked. Shocked about the robots. Yeah, like the service robots and everything; the prices are really okay for your life.
• Simon Cade: I’ve had the same experience of seeing lots of really friendly and smiley people in China. And so, that’s been really nice — yeah, just a positive experience.
• Chandra Timothy Liow: I had a lot of expectations when I was in Indonesia before I went to China. Because I’ve seen a lot of things on social media about how China is advancing, how China is becoming the front line of the economy and technology. And I think when I got here and experienced China for like three or four days, I felt like not only could I validate it, but I think it’s way more than that. I think there are some things that I felt like, “Oh, I didn’t expect this.” Probably, what I can say is about the culture, the people, and also the food. Yeah, I think that’s the other reason besides what I said about the advancement of technology way before I went to China.
• Landon Bytheway: My impression of China before was that I had no perception. I had no idea what it was like. Because it’s so far away from where I live in the U.S. And so you just see photos of it and it’s a totally foreign land. And now being here, it’s still foreign, but I feel a lot more comfortable here. And I feel like the people are so nice. I don’t know. It still feels like another world in a lot of ways. But it’s grown on me a ton. And I’m excited to come back. Because I have a feeling. I was telling Bryce and my friend, like, we’re going to be back here probably a lot over the next few years. So I think it’s kind of a second home now.
• Chrystopher William: I didn’t expect it to be as hustle and bustle here. It’s very busy, and the cities are more vibrant than I imagined.
• Konstantin Ermakov: I think for me, I had a fear of maybe not understanding how to navigate or being able to find my way. But it was very easy and people are very friendly. It’s just a great atmosphere, and I really liked being able to pay in different ways. Oh, yeah, you don’t need cash. I love that. Like scanning the barcodes and paying. I just thought that’s so futuristic. Yeah, it’s so efficient. Did you know in some shops, they’re rolling out the handprint recognition as well? Yeah. So you could just hold your hand in front. Don’t look at my hand. Yeah, thumbs up. Don’t be paying with my hand. You hold your hand out and it will recognize your…
• Kirsty Wells: I knew it would be cool because it’s always been on my bucket list, but obviously there are so many places in China that when you said where we were going, I didn’t know what to expect other than what I’d seen on TikTok of Chongqing’s cyberpunk vibe.

Recommend the Chinese Cities

Q: Will you recommend the Chinese cities you explored this time to your fans or friends?  

A：

• Nigel Ian Laxamana: I would definitely recommend visiting these cities in China. Even though I really feel that this is just scratching the surface. It’s not really like a deep exploration and travel because our schedules were crammed into just a couple of days. For example, Chongqing. It’s like, “Oh, this is layer upon layer upon layer upon layer.” And each layer has a story. And if you’re going to ask me to extend my stay, I will extend. Just to deepen my knowledge about Chongqing — how it started, what its future is, and if it represents the future of China.
• Landon Bytheway: But I feel like Chongqing just has so many layers of buildings, with the jungle surrounding it. And the drone show, the technology. I would 100% recommend it. You can’t miss it.
• Chrystopher William: I think it’s really interesting to see how technologically advanced the city we are in right now is, and I would definitely recommend people come check it out.
• Lucas: I love it because here we have a mix of a lot of things. That city, specifically for me, blew my mind. Because we have so many things happening in the same place. We have cultural things. We have futuristic things in the same place.
• Danielle: We really recommend Chongqing to our family and friends. Because it’s a mix of culture, futuristic elements, and tradition. And we were really in love with the cities. With all the places we passed through. And we want to stay here longer to explore more.

Video

Want to see these creators in action and hear more about their experiences firsthand? Check out the interview video at: https://www.instagram.com/hollylandtech/reel/DO8hfGpgXbJ/?hl=en

Note

1. The names of the interviewees are arranged randomly according to the interview order.
2. Not all creators answered all the questions. Due to time constraints, the interview times were quite random.