Chinese BULLET TRAIN First Class REVIEW to SUZHOU - The VENICE of the EAST! | Shanghai to Suzhou

In April of 2019, I traveled to China for the second time in my life. I spent 12 incredible days in the country and had the amazing opportunity to explore the cities of Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. During that time, I got to take a deep dive into the food, culture, and history of the country and I can’t wait to share my adventures with you!
On my third full day in Shanghai, I left my Airbnb had headed off to the city of Suzhou, which is also known as the Venice of the East because of its network of beautiful canals. Suzhou is roughly a 2-hour drive from Shanghai, but instead of driving, I was going to take the Chinese bullet train. Come along with me as I ride to Suzhou and review the bullet train along the way!
The bullet train is the fastest and most affordable way to get from Shanghai to Suzhou. It only takes 22 minutes and costs between $10 and $20 U.S. for first class, second class, or business class. You also have two stations in each city to choose from.
I headed to the Shanghai Hongqiao station since they had more trains per day-one every 5 or 10 minutes, whereas Shanghai Station only had one per hour. There were a lot of people there and you had to book your ticket on the machines outside. There was no English option on the machines, but luckily a very friendly local helped me out!
I had issues with my ID and passport when I tried to buy my ticket, so I went inside to see if anyone could help me. They let me into the station after I showed my passport. Inside, you buy your ticket at a counter. Thankfully my new friend helped me find it!
I got in line with about 50 people ahead of me. They didn’t accept non-Chinese credit cards and there was only first class available. It cost me 50 Yuan, or only a little over $7 U.S. From there, my friend guided me to Platform 24 so I could get there in time. I ran through the gate and made it to the platform with just minutes left. I had to run down the train cars to find the right one, dragging my heavy luggage in tow behind me.
Finally, I made it to Car 7 and took my seat. I recommend getting to the station at least 90 minutes beforehand in case you have any issues like I did.
First class had comfortable seats where you could stretch out. With a 22-minute ride, I wasn’t sure if I’d be served anything. As the city zipped by the windows, I noticed that, while there was a lot of greenery, there was also lots of pollution in the air.
We made a quick stop at another station. Between cars 7 and 8 was a clean bathroom with a faucet and a hot water station. There’s also a luggage section. I asked for a water, which cost me 15 Yuan, or about $2.18 U.S.
The bullet train was so fast! We got there so fast. During my bullet train rides in Japan, there was enough time to eat and really enjoy the ride. This one was too quick! It felt like I was on a metro line. Another difference between the Chinese and Japanese bullet trains is that I could hear people talking on this one, whereas in Japan, you’re supposed to stay quiet because of the Japanese etiquette rules.
After arriving in Suzhou, I found my guide, Janet. I came to Suzhou because it wasn’t too far from Shanghai and I wanted to experience its canals, gardens, food, and culture. I couldn’t wait to get out there and explore the city!
I hope you enjoyed coming along on my chaotic journey from Shanghai to Suzhou! If you did, please give it a thumbs up and leave me a comment. Also, please subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss any of my upcoming travel/food adventures!
My Film Making Kit ► kit.com/davidsbeenhere
BOOK YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE: ► app.trilltravel.co/u/davidsbe...
#Suzhou #China #ChineseFood #DavidInChina #Davidsbeenhere
Subscribe Here! bit.ly/DavidsbeenhereSub
Check out my top videos! bit.ly/DavidsbeenhereTopVideos
Follow Me:
+ INSTAGRAM ► / davidsbeenhere
+ FACEBOOK ► / davidsbeenhere1
+ TWITTER ► / davidsbeenhere
+ MY BLOG! ► davidsbeenhere.com/
Contact Me:
+BUSINESS EMAIL ► [e-mail]
SEND ME STUFF:
5858 SW 81 ST
Miami, FL 33143
USA
#China #Davidsbeenhere
About Me:
My name is David Hoffmann and for the last decade I have been traveling around the world in search of unique culture, food and history! Since starting Davidsbeenhere in 2008, I have traveled to 71 countries and over 1,000 destinations, which I welcome you to check out on my KZbin Channel, blog and social medias.
I focus a great deal on food and historic sites, as you probably have seen! I love to experience the different flavors that each destination has to offer, whether it’s casual Street food or gourmet restaurant dining. I’m also passionate about learning the local history and culture.
Chinese BULLET TRAIN First Class REVIEW to SUZHOU - The VENICE of the EAST! | Shanghai to Suzhou
• Chinese BULLET TRAIN F...
Davidsbeenhere
/ davidsbeenhere

[@Davidsbeenhere]

Thank you for watching my the Chinese Bullet Train video! If you're new to my channel please SUBSCRIBE bit.ly/DBH-SUB for new travel content every week! Also follow me on Instagram to get live updates: instagram.com/davidsbeenhere

[@varunpareek3487]

I have lived in this city for 5 years....I prefer it over Shanghai. For electronic payments in China you can load money to WeChat(QQ) app, which is universally accepted in China( small shops too) .....(n include jian ping in every Chinese video hehe ,my personal favourite)

[@jeffreysetapak]

It is pronounced as Hong Qiao虹桥=Hong Chow station. Tq.

[@jeffreysetapak]

You don't have to rush like hell to the 7th coach/car. Just enter into any coach/car at the same train, all coaches/cars are interconnected.

[@deziking]

Yeah scratch china off list. YIKES.

[@pynbhathawmuidthawmuit7631]

Haii David I'm from megalaya beautiful travel in chaina all the best David wow

[@jeffreysetapak]

China high speed rail is simply incredible. Awesome.

[@Mylliem-umlong]

Bro the machines ticketing is meant only for Chinese people 😊 You can book earlier the ticket and collect it from the ticket counter by just showing your passport in the place you book the ticket 🎫

[@Mylliem-umlong]

Gautam gkg Read the comment properly and the tilte of the video and the country he’s in. Use your sense bro

[@ZLL668]

Next time, book tickets online in advance and then use your passport to pick up the ticket at the counter.

[@atulsagare8913]

China has always been on a Path of great development and Using Good Technology for the Country..,.Good Work.

[@deschan2246]

Comment from 3rd world citizen, i can understand

[@indiano.1990]

Des Chan 人家说你好你怎么这样？素质呢？真为中国有你这样的人丢脸

[@deschan2246]

@@indiano.1990 Sorry i am not communist chinese🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@ryanmccarthy265]

@@indiano.1990 he isn't Chinese

[@deschan2246]

@Urinated Kondom 🇬🇧 ?

[@betaharish]

I am from Bangalore. And I had been to Suzhou, China. It's a Beautiful place to visit and people are so friendly. Lovely !

[@kenyup5424]

My friend is just back from India, she's from China and said India was unexpected, it's safe for female travelers and people are really nice and friendly,she has been in India for a month,she was impressed India,she loves India street food

[@bipanchychoudhury1906]

Hey David 🙋‍♀️.....loved to c u exploring the whole China....u r very active n smart who can easily cope up wt any people n can overcome any situation easily.....😂...can b said dat u r fast n d furious 👍👍.....thnku so much 4 ur amazing vlogs ,d places which u explore in ur lyff....China is a very beautiful place ,must say 👍

[@sherali-le7it]

Wow Shanghai is so beautiful and clean

[@jacobberg5584]

You miss out a lot in Suzhou. Suzhou is famous for its gardens like Yu Garden in Shanghai.

[@Davidsbeenhere]

Jacob Berg the videos haven’t come out yet

[@alvinccl1984]

suzhou produce jade, u have miss it

[@sofiawar5521]

Wuuu cool David I've never been in bullet train.hope one day I might

[@crono1357]

i dig your enthusiasm. great stuff

[@OMG-zg7cj]

Great, im so glad you enjoy our oriental country with their culture.

[@loveloveyy1027]

Perfect

[@alomber6237]

Sanghai is a first 5g city in the world ...

[@JPMatty]

Yeah, and one month after the 5G infrastructure building was officially started. Over 100 major cities in China are on the way to 5G era. And some are already partly on service.

[@vitoscaletta3431]

That is a old model high speed train in China. Should have tried new ones!

[@ricardotongol567]

Hello David..zipping thru china bullet train awesome. Now let’s go for the food. Oh no no food in the bullet train. Now you arrived now for the food. Hm, tiny shrimp yum. Now for the silk work factory.

[@letsdiscover8327]

Suzhou is my favorite city in China, I lived there for 3 happy years! And wanna tell you smth: u actually did great for a person who visits China, I mean without chinese bank cards, wechat wallet, all the apps and etc. It's usually a nightmare for the first couple of months, but later when you get used to it, it's an awesome experience

[@bajlandia2025]

China is very interesting point I think , an interesting video !

[@awean2010]

welcome to Suzhou it's a very famous and beautiful city in china .In china people call it paradise.

[@user-ye5rv5hz8b]

welcome to china 👌

[@vazeer6550]

Ur camera work is awesome 👌👌

[@mikedhiman]

china is amazing , india can learn so much from china .

[@chawrakaxom559]

Apparently the people too

[@mikedhiman]

@Ashish Sawant you stay in the gutter, i don't live in india .

[@xizhang8571]

A thousand years ago, China learned a lot from India. Now China and India should work together and love comes from China.

[@weizhang2834]

xi zhang 少说几句没人把你当哑巴

[@gyin9098]

@@xizhang8571 中国就学了个佛教，其他还有啥

[@brandonweir4055]

Great video bro, I might be moving to China soon to teach English. I taught in South Korea a couple of years ago. Asian People are the kindliness and most helpful people when they see someone in distress in their country.

[@brandonweir4055]

Too bad American ain't that way

[@kuyareyrn5260]

I really enjoy the magnev train..pretty amazing...

[@jiayilu4715]

Welcome! Suzhou is my hometown and I'm studying and working in the US right now. Haven't been back for a while, miss my hometown so much lol.

[@inocentbystanderhere]

Love your videos and the Indian mukbangs with your father!

[@NewsTodayLive]

No doubt China is progressing leaps and bounds - NewsTodayLive India's Online News Channel. Love and Peace.

[@reggieisthebest5453]

hi David! from India*

[@suzeel]

@1.50 Learn Chinese you´re travelling in China!! When people travel in UK, USA,... you also want people to learn English, right?? Now learn Chinese, there´s nothing you can complain about, China is very efficient (!!!) and be grateful you´re able to travel in wonderful China! ♥ By the way, Italy has been influenced by China, like gondola, noodles, pizza, pasta in generell, ice-cream, tea, paper-money, coins, silk, paper, printing, seismograph, compass,... are also Chinese inventions, they were transported by foreigners into their culture and tradition! Back in the days there were quite many British and Italian people in China, later other foreign people came to China andhave been amazed and fascinated by China, some marry Chinese wife/husband and have their family in China! ♥

[@ABHISHEk-ov4tp]

I really like the China.

[@kenyup5424]

Thank you

[@user-fk3nn4ce9z]

苏州好玩的地方太多了。园林，虎丘，山塘街，金鸡湖，阳澄湖，周庄，甪直，灵岩山，大阳山等等……中国有句古话，上有天堂，下有苏杭

[@whokilledmax]

I hope that China can pass the period of air pollution as soon as possible, and the attraction for tourists will increase exponentially.

[@wujianzhu7881]

Do you think so with all the negative news in the west even when it should be positive

[@no1ycxie]

I remembered that you can change for a later train ticket for free "one time" if you missed your earlier train.

[@user-uy5uu3hu8n]

yes but only in one day

[@znba8823]

สุดยอดครับพี่ เรื่องรถไฟจีนคือเบอร์ 1 ของโลก

[@tttcp5546]

I lost my first kiss at the SuZhou Station.

[@ruemignon]

You mean you RECEIVED your first kiss.

[@colinj3682]

Nice video

[@tipinwings]

The last time I pointed the wrong direction of subway train for a American dude going to Hongqiao station. I was super tired that day and didn’t know what I was thinking. As soon as I caught on my own subway train, I was like oh crap, dude, I am so sorry. He seemed a rather seasoned traveler, and studied the route fairly hard. I just hope his trip plan didn’t got messed up by me. 😂

[@pawarakshay7579]

2nd☺️

[@streetsofasia8895]

Chinese bullet trains are a force to be reckoned with, make no mistake there.

[@_Wai_Wai_]

5:45 hmm Pollution? It could be fog. I have ridden Amtraks in and out of NYC to NJ, and basically it looks like this. If you say its pollution, then I guess its probably the same as in NYC then.

[@569223535]

The pollution in eastern China is not so serious. It should be just fog. The real serious pollution is the winter in northern China, because of the heating, and there is no heating in the south, so south people can only use air condition to heating...poor south people...

[@569223535]

And heavy industrial areas are also concentrated in the north.

[@qwertyuiopzxcvbnm9890]

It is not necessarily pollution. The area could just look gray because it is so urbanised

[@Mike-bt3ki]

It could be dust from building sites, it could be smog from chimneys, or it could be fog.. hard to say but it doesn't look good haha

[@cecec2513]

Yomi 。 没有北方的重工业，哪来的南方今天的发展？吃了奶就骂娘

[@RandomvidsNoms]

I love china

[@y0ngl1n97]

YES！！China and japan have totally different cultures.In Chinese culture people always talk loudly because they like and respect you.Its so different！

[@TheHokkaidogaijin]

huh?

[@weizhang2834]

yonglin zhang 小傻逼

[@user-du6ml4ur3y]

yonglin zhang are you fucking out of your mind?

[@brainwashington1332]

lol chinese ppl dont give a fuck

[@MsOpineminded]

Great video. The queue looked intimidating but I guess the line moved real quick. Grey skies, was it pollution or just fog? China tends to be foggy.

[@rongyaowang1075]

CRH⋯⋯good👍👍👍❤️

[@user-wv1rk3mc8d]

I miss the train most of the time……

[@jeffreysetapak]

It is pronounced as Hong Qiao虹桥=Hong Chow station. Tq.

[@JayetaKar]

Come Back to Kolkata, Will you Please? 😭

[@Glitchscrolly]

Dogi kya use

[@Desp0]

Was the luggage shelf you showed near the first class cabin? My luggage is as big as yours in case I am in a full cabin..

[@risingstar8753]

The most developed country in Asia. Japan & China 👍Meghalaya shillong India

[@Davidsbeenhere]

Rising Star 💫 awesome dude!

[@risingstar8753]

@@Davidsbeenhere thanks David 😊😊

[@vitoscaletta3431]

We China are not developed country...Most developed ones should be Japan Korea Singapore...Be humble and working hard.

[@kenyup5424]

@@vitoscaletta3431 exactly

[@parthapratimdeka7159]

Meghalaya Shilong 😂

[@tianzi49]

Suzhou is the Venice of the East you say and yet Suzhou's Grand Canal has existed way before Venice was even born with some 2,000+ years of history to date. On the other hand, the Grand Canal of Venice is more recent and was built in the early 1700s... incidentally Suzhou also has a leaning tower of sorts called 'Tiger Hill Pagoda (虎丘塔)' which was completed in 961 CE and stands at 154 feet and is 7-stories tall.

[@priyanksaikia5549]

Exactly my friend These bastards looted us once and now they think with their advancements in S&T they can actually control China. China and its population will make sure we overtake them in all domains of human endeavours. We will make it to the No. 1 spot by hook or by crook. We also have the geographical advantage like no other and we mist use it to our maximum of advantage. US had no edge over here. It is China'a Show all the way.

[@priyanksaikia5549]

Even Zhujiaojiao is older than Venice. I have asked this man to not call Suzhou the Venice. Infact Venice is the Italiaj Suzhou.Suzhou is the most beautiful city on Earth and It will be promoted if Chinese Govt decides a 2036 Summer Olympics Bid in 2024-2025.

[@qingqwang3871]

给外国友朋友一个建议，列车里的矿泉水卖得很贵，建议上车前或下车后买

[@indiano.1990]

qingq wang 你用中文写人家怎么看得懂

[@qingqwang3871]

@@indiano.1990 油管网页版有翻译功能

[@echosu5793]

welcome to china.

[@fixpacifica]

Ugh. I rode this train from Shanghai to Suzhou. There was a mother and toddler in the same train car, and the toddler had some kind of Fisher Price-type of toy that played "Gangnam Style" over and over and over very loudly. This went on for at least 30 minutes. I've never grown to hate a song so much. The Japanese bullet trains (Shinkansen) are so much nicer.

[@chjin1796]

hahaha, You need to prepare an earplug unless you buy a business seat.

[@fixpacifica]

@@chjin1796 I always have earplugs when I fly. I never thought to have them handy on the train.

[@chjin1796]

@@fixpacifica Even if the passengers are not noisy. It was also very noisy on the broadcast.

[@00001111henry]

Southern city of China 🇨🇳 you could scannable in the vendor machine with your passport. To buying 🎫 ticket. Not yet in the northern China 🇨🇳. “In the future.” Intercity train like subway 30 minute close to the biggest city that why don’t sever foods.

[@1pasupaty]

Suzhou mycity

[@eal8645]

How do you do this? Travel everywhere, pretty cool.

[@shamikbera9617]

Even Indian international airports are nothing compared to this railway station.

[@shamikbera9617]

@Sanjay Shetty Yes I've been to one in Kolkata

[@gmansingh4916]

Can Americans tell fog from pollution and stereotype, reality from propaganda LOL

[@MsSphinx91]

Dude, you can look up the air quality like you look up the weather.

[@DS-wy3kn]

20 minutes on the train, 3 hours in the queue 😂

[@hugoboss-yl8wq]

9:50-9:56 😂😂😂😂😂

[@AussieAngeS]

Oh wow that is so cool! I didn’t know that China had a Buller train as well, I thought only Japan did.

[@dugang139]

Your information has lagged too much. China has a high-speed railway of over 20,000 kilometers. Japan has only one high-speed railway of hundreds of kilometers.

[@thorkarlsen4559]

You have a very forefront brain 👍

[@Davidsbeenhere]

FitAngie they have like 8000 and growing daily!

[@knighthollow5023]

China's high speed rail is about 29,000 kilometers in total , which is about two times longer than the total length of the rest of the world. Hope you can know more about the world ,there are bunch of information on the internet nowadays.

[@weizhang2834]

The city of the sky. 3 actually 32000km high speed rail which all the world combined

[@afunguynamedkawhi7959]

Nice video. Just the notion that Suzhou is the Venice of the Orient is bit of outdated. Suzhou has 10 million people and a 270 billion usd economy. Venice has a quarter of a million people with an economy probably smaller than 10 billion and it has to be billed out by the Italian government repeatedly. I have been to both places they are completely different things. Even the canals are no longer relevant for Suzhou.

[@thearchitect5632]

didn't realized how small Venice is, considering how much western media hype it up. $10 billion is a joke. suzhou gdp per captia is actually fairly close to Venice as well, maybe -$5,000 usd.

[@xxxx-dh9pk]

westerners don't have shame, Suzhou is a 2000 year old city, compared to Venice...... lol. Let them stay arrogant and continue to decline.

[@afunguynamedkawhi7959]

@@xxxx-dh9pk It's also a bit China's fault, many places in China, despite much more modern and better developed, still like to link themselves to a Western places. It takes time to change. Some day New York will be known as the Shanghai of the West.

[@xxxx-dh9pk]

@@afunguynamedkawhi7959 If Chinese themselves call Suzhou "Venice of the East", they are just being friendly and humble, but when a western guy says it............. lol awkward.

[@priyanksaikia5549]

Suzhou isnt a Venice of the orient or east. Suzhou ie Suzhou. Let it be that. It is older than Venice.Other Chinese Water Cities are probably even more older than Suzhou. The Grand Canal in china is 2500 yrs old and is the oldest existing canal and the longest. Suzhou is really beautiful with tthe kind of architecture The Ancient Chinese have built this city. China needs to promote its Ancient Cities more as compared to the newly built infrastructures.I mean World would love to get a taste of both the world- Ancient China as well as The Modern China.

[@nobody-mf8lw]

From this video I see how inconvinent it is for foreigners to travel in China. I hope one day there will be machines for foreigners to buy and pick up tickets with thier passport cuz it's definately not hi-tech and I hope there will be some ways for foreigners to deposit RMB in Alipay or Wechat account. China is so cashless nowadays.

[@Davidsbeenhere]

Ted Ted it’s definitely not easy but mad fun. China is epic!

[@rtgtx]

What are you taking about? Foreigners can deposit rmb in Alipay and wechat if they have any. Many foreigners have done it.

[@hodgenhe]

@@Davidsbeenhere you can buy train tickets on trip.com(english version of ctrip.com which is the largest online OTA of China), and collect the ticket in counter.

[@fixpacifica]

It's been five years since I've been to China. At first I would buy train tickets at the train stations, but it was such a hassle that I started buying my train tickets from the hotels I was staying in. It cost an extra $2-$3, but it was worth it.

[@huan1021]

Wrong,you just don't know how to do.prepare before traveling.

[@jacintochua6885]

Some times certain tickets are solr out.

[@kevmeister6466]

Some types of bullet trains in China just simply don't have a business class and those are usually the older versions. Or the Business class tickets are sold out.

[@kevmeister6466]

You could buy snacks, drinks or meals on the train through scanning the QR code on your chair and order online. The train you took is made before 2010 and was one of the first type of train in China that can run above 300 KM/H in normal operation.

[@alvinccl1984]

suzhou is china biggest jade produce, u should buy jade, high quality jade with cheap2 price

[@jacintochua6885]

It's a foggy day. Not pollution .

[@AmelieZh]

Not smog..fog. 江南的梅雨季了解一下

[@samyakmishra6250]

First comment Please pin it. Love from India!!

[@sugreev2001]

I’m surprised at the lack of English at the train station

[@simonj104]

I'm also surprised at the lack of Mandarin at the train station in America and europe

[@shuangshuang3572]

@@simonj104 hahhahha, me too

[@guo7043]

Actually, you can book a ticket online.

[@johnog2478]

try use wechat pay or alipay, it's very convinient in china

[@jinniwind]

I think he would need a chinese bank account for that

[@fortnitebattle2194]

Try more spicy noodles

[@bldomain]

When I went to US i said the same thing you did , there's nothing in Chinese that's crazy.

[@priyanksaikia5549]

Just one correction mate: Suzhou isnt the Venice of China. It is Venice who is The Italian Suzhou. Chinese Water cities are older than Italian / European Water Cities hence it is not apt to call Suzhou the Venice of The East

[@user-fk3nn4ce9z]

兄弟，菜不是那样吃的，哈哈……

[@somno6878]

It’s pronounced more like ‘Hong Ciao’ than ‘Hong Q’ 😂.

[@lbchen6160]

it’s not Hong Q station. Q is pronounced “ciao” as in Italian

[@chenxin5664]

Man, you can just get in the train through a nearby door first and walk inside the train slowly.

[@user-jk6fs8nz1m]

I am in Suzhou , how can i get in touch with u?

[@souleaterus14]

Why don't you use the ticket vending machine?

[@AmelieZh]

Souleater US you need Chinese ID to order ticket

[@joelovesc1006]

还在中国呢？抢沙发

[@user-tu9uk8iq1e]

哈哈，又点意思

[@issacwashington4880]

it's not pollution, it's fog

[@gyin9098]

这个真没的说，确实是污染，只是常态化了，让人们没有特别注意了，所以外国人来能明显感觉到。上海的雾霾天真的没得洗，有风的时候吹吹还好。

[@AmelieZh]

H2uss G 梅雨季好吗

[@user-rc9eu9wg4w]

hi，David，maybe U can visit Taiwan province in China where it's a beautiful place

[@brainwashington1332]

sorry nobody took ur bait :(

[@Killderich123]

Some chinese train stations smell really bad and carriages smell bad too sometimes. Not too noisy tho from my experience

[@xiaofang902]

Suzhou is Suzhou. Venice is Venice. blabla of China is hilarious and simple minded. I don't want to be arrogant... but you never will call NY is Mumbai of US right?

[@MiaomiaoWangpianist]

Can we practice the pronunciation of hong qiao?

[@hong3170]

It's forbidden to talk on the phone in Japanese trains.

[@deschan2246]

Civilised

[@vencetabby7147]

ball ball你们别在这里秀英文了hhhh

[@guddurulz]

Hongqiao pronounced as hongchiao

[@AlmightyAaron0423]

Do not compare China with Japan, none any country in this planet similar Japanese.

[@bldomain]

Thank goodness. My father remember all the Japanese soldiers came to the city and slaughtered people during WW2.