What’s it like to spend a night in an ancient Chinese village? 古村落里住一晚是什么体验？

Would you stay in this ancient stone village? What a fascinating place! Another stop on my 2000 km bike journey recording how Zhejiang Province's environment has changed over the past 2 decades.
Instagram: kats_journey_east
How do I get such stable footage even while biking and walking? 📷 amzn.to/45rObZy
She's waterproof, shoots in 4K, and is very tiny and portable, perfect for recording an action-packed day without the fuss of a fancy complex setup
Got bicycle envy? Want your very own red stallion? 🐴 Look no further: amzn.to/3BSdWEO
This folding bike is super durable and perfect for city commutes and long-haul treks alike. Folding bikes can go in car trunks, public transport, and planes, adding tons of flexibility to your journeys 🚲
👽These are affiliate links, so I will receive a small commission if you buy a product through them👽
Where do I get the music used in these videos? 🎵 share.epidemicsound.com/5cya7q
Content creators can enjoy unlimited access to a huge variety of music - funky, peaceful, upbeat, or whatever else you’re looking for - and eliminate the headache of navigating copyright strikes on KZbin! All I can say is... wish I knew about it since day 1 🤣

[@kats_journey_east]

🌻Thanks for joining today’s adventure, everyone! Follow me on Instagram for more updates about life in China: kats_journey_east 🌻 How do I get such stable footage even while biking and walking? 📷 amzn.to/45rObZy She's waterproof, shoots in 4K, and is very tiny and portable, perfect for recording an action-packed day without the fuss of a fancy complex setup Got bicycle envy? Want your very own red stallion? 🐴 Look no further: amzn.to/3BSdWEO This folding bike is super durable and perfect for city commutes and long-haul treks alike. Folding bikes can go in car trunks, public transport, and planes, adding tons of flexibility to your journeys 🚲 👽These are affiliate links, so I will receive a small commission if you buy a product through them👽 Where do I get the music used in these videos? 🎵 share.epidemicsound.com/5cya7q Content creators can enjoy unlimited access to a huge variety of music - funky, peaceful, upbeat, or whatever else you’re looking for - and eliminate the headache of navigating copyright strikes on KZbin! All I can say is... wish I knew about it since day 1 🤣

[@dirtCommie]

Stayed in a village in Guizhou back in 1997. Slept on various bedding on wooden floors. Also got my first rice wine experience, yum! Our main base was a school in Duyun City but we explored villages where the students came from.

[@akli3481]

Interesting what's the name of this village in Wuyi?? Would love to visit and stay there.

[@michael511128]

Any suggestions what VPN to use in China?

[@Macky1101]

If there's no spoon, ask for one, Silly.

[@user-vh7ko6sb6v]

You can come to Yiwu, Yiwu Trade City is well worth your visit.

[@kennyg-888]

Amazing how the rural village has been transformed into a tourist destination. Clear evidence of China’s poverty alleviation programme in action.

[@charleneji6759]

The waste water treatment system is very impressive!!! A big salute to all those working to improve the environment.

[@GodsDad98]

But the Japanese poured nuclear sewage into the sea😢

[@chrisyong8719]

This hotel village is an absolute treasure. Love the rustic quality of the timber, mud walls and cobbled walkways. Someone must have a eye to turn this into a masterpiece. Glad u brought us here.

[@magnetospin]

The hotel room was fully renovated with modern amenities. Originally it would house a whole family and beds would just be wood cots with no mattress.

[@jacktang4359]

Katherine not only went from the west to the east ,but also go from the modern through the ancient ; how creative and poetic you are!

[@emmanuellafontant5659]

Very beautiful only one thing is missing they forgot to paint the roof RED ❤ AND GOLD just a suggestion Thanks love it

[@davidchou1675]

LOL Nah too "imperial" and "classical," that...better this rustic traditional décor they have going on!

[@DeBeard]

can't believe the seemingly endless light rain makes ancient villages incredibly beautiful.

[@shinystar2177]

You should collect all interactions between you and those curious strangers and make a special edition. That is so so funny and entertaining.

[@normandong4479]

My parents are immigrants and were raised in a village in China. Of course, years ago there wasn’t any romantic notions of things that looked quaint, antique or traditional-but mainly survival. Village life, while better today, for older generations represented things like scarcity, even sometimes famine, no indoor plumbing, no electricity and plenty of ants, centipedes and termites to keep you company. Today, we can look at and admire the simplicity and natural beauty of village life in China, but for some who were raised in them, it might be something they don’t always bring up in a conversation.

[@michaelleong9015]

Katherine you're living the dream. Travelling through by bicycle (the best way) to places in China most of us won't get a chance to visit. Really glad you've delved deeper especially the river clean up and water treatment part. BTW, rice porridge is a real comfort food, no need for salt, just a few savory side dishes like anchovies, steamed fish etc eaten with chopsticks acting as a shovel with the bowl to the mouth. Always look forward to episodes and safe travel always.

[@bjmcia]

So glad to see how many strides Zhejiang has made to clean up the horrendous pollution I saw in the early 2000s....Thank you so much!!! Visited Wuxi water town in 2001...beautiful!!!

[@machinevisionledlightingco7185]

1450@user-qw4jj6vm2d

[@gwy611]

哈哈哈。。。你来中国看过没有 。。浙江我们老家就是这样。。其他地方。不知道。@user-qw4jj6vm2d

[@alinux09]

@user-qw4jj6vm2d法轮 or 1450?😂

[@TheRabbit0219]

❤ thank you so much. We need people like you, building bridge between China and the western world

[@jerometsowinghuen]

It is fascinating to experience the life in a traditional Chinese village, not just the practice, but also changes between past and present.

[@MsBay129]

It's amazing that a tiny village of less than 100 have a centralised sewer treatment plant.

[@gabriellagirardi4741]

Wow! Really nice part of China. I loved it very much. Your 2000 bike tour is always so interesting as we can approach Chinese culture watching your beautiful and also instructive videos. The little hotel in this stone village was very typical and awesone. Good cuisine, indeed. Nice people and kids. A great thank you for sharing. Take care.

[@RespectOthers1]

Would I stay here? Did I like this video? Am I looking forward to the next one? Of course YES, YES and YES 💯%! :D

[@billinsf88]

What an amazing transformation for this village, love the hotel room!! A truly progress that turning an abandon village for the betterment for the locals

[@sunnyshencn]

Can’t believe my decent understanding of my homeland is from your sights. Really inspirational! Keep on…

[@AndyTao222]

Hi 18 Katherine, 😊 those little wastewater plants is a great idea, as long as people care, by no means will our Mother Earth not turn greener and lusher. I wish I could join your bike tour. ❤

[@GodsDad98]

But the Japanese poured nuclear sewage into the sea

[@petermanuel5043]

Wuyi is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I've not seen a single photo that captures how beautiful it is. I'm so happy you went and are sharing this ❤👍

[@XJLCA]

The two boys at the end are very friendly and cute!

[@vinh8806]

Just wanted to say you are awesome Kat, love your vids, your wit, the banter with the locals, candid and sincere. Keep em coming 😊

[@kats_journey_east]

glad you like them , more coming soon !

[@davidchou1675]

Hahahahaha love it when kids interrogate a foreigner! Must be tiring for Kat but it's always funny how unabashed they are, so straightforwardly asking, "What are doing here?" with genuine curiosity!

[@santsuma]

Thanks, Katherine, for another very nice video. I just love the Chinese countryside. @ 4:44 The woman says when she was little the kids would tie a string to those bugs and "walk¨ them. As a kid in Brazil, we would catch dragonflies, and tie a string on the rear part of their body, and they would fly with us. *Bottom line: The key to happiness is CREATIVITY!* As kids we ARE creative, so we have fun with lots of simple things. Nowadays, as a healthy grandpa, I use creativity every day in my big organic veggie garden and I feel happy as a kid.

[@kats_journey_east]

Is a dragonfly easy to catch ?? I want to try this now 😭🤣

[@santsuma]

@@kats_journey_east I used to do this: 1- Get a long thin bamboo stick (ca. 8 ft long). 2- Bend the thin tip, making a loop, and tie it to the stick, it will look like a tennis racket without the net but long. 3- Find cobwebs and place the loop on them, so they will stick to the loop, It will be like a long tennis racket with a spider web net instead of a plastic net. You touch the dragonfly with it, and it gets stuck on the spider web net. You need to find big spider webs though. Maybe it's possible to catch DFs with a butterfly net as well, the problem is they fly fast, and that's why the long bamboo cobweb net is more efficient. As a kid, I was always playing in small forests and there were lots of spider webs around, I had never heard of ¨butterfly net¨, so we ¨invented" the ¨spider web net¨ df catcher. The stick needs to be long as they will fly away when you get close to them. After tying the string on the d.f. body we would tie the string to some part of our body, so the dragonfly would be flying above our heads everywhere we went. We called them "helicopters¨, 65 years ago I would never have expected I would be one day teaching this to a beautiful American lady who is biking in China, LOL

[@madaooxx]

​@@kats_journey_east 在乡下天快黑的时候，蜻蜓为了觅食会飞得很低，看准时机用竹扫帚扑下去，有时一下能捉到好几个

[@Loyee2000]

@@kats_journey_east Seems like there're not as many dragonflies now as 6 decades ago! That was HK.

[@withdream]

​@@kats_journey_east try it when you are somewhere with high humidity in the summer. Before an afternoon thunderstorm, the humidity makes their wings heavy so they tend to rest on tip of grass, branches or clothesline. You can just pick them up like that and they don't fly away.

[@hainanbob6144]

I'm super impressed! We need to see much more of this repurposing of old buildings. Also not a fan of rice porridge. I do like rice pudding made with milk though, and I have canverted Huan, she likes it too. I skip the added sugar and put that in my dish only, that's probably why Huan likes it. We also add dried fruits, nuts for Huan, dessicated coconut for me.

[@hans7166]

Actually many villages in Zhejiang Province have been reconstructed like the village filmed in this video. Some of the villages are very beautiful and are located in mountains. Katherine missed all those villages along the way of biking.

[@davidchou1675]

I sincerely hope they are all profitable enough to stay in business!!

[@riceball4u172]

Can't visit everything.

[@hans7166]

​@@davidchou1675 Some of those villages are for local living. Some villages developed fishing or agriculture businesses. For example, one village is very famous for field fish and is thus called field fish village. The fishes live in paddy fields and very delicious. The village was certified as World Agricultural Cultural Heritage. The environment of the village is very pretty.

[@omegabulldog5001]

That's a longhorn beatle, it can give a pretty powerful nip if you're not careful. That village is so beautiful!

[@junluo4381]

That’s a whole new level of 农家乐❤😂Just love your story telling! Fluent, funny and educational. Those curious (and nosy!) kids😅

[@johnss449]

I want to visit rural China. Would be interesting to know the history of these small villages.

[@omni3670]

Another beautiful episode of the tour, beautiful village and rural landscapes. Happy China has spruced up the rivers and the once polluted waters. Great entrepreneur spirit, turning the abandoned rural buildings into hotels and business premises. That was a great hotel to put up for the night, for sure! Who won't want the opportunity to enjoy its facility huh?

[@MattShubert]

Katherine, this is truly unique content. As a lover of the country myself (and someone who married into a Chinese family) I follow a lot of "life in China" vlogs run by westerners, but yours is is one of the only ones on this platform that consistently showcases things as mundane yet crucial as water treatment in small villages, or even the small differences from 10 years ago to now in country towns. Food tours in the large cities are fun to watch but your videos are truly fascinating on a deeper level. Sincere thanks to you for sharing this with us!

[@kats_journey_east]

glad you like the videos❤️can't wait to keep sharing with everyone, lots more interesting things on the way 😄

[@banshong3997]

Thank you very much for showing the unknown parts of China. Love the little villagers and the commentary of the pas and fast forward to today and the changes and improvements. Only you can bring to us a new way of showing China. Love I, love it. Thank you 👏👏👏👍👍👍💓💓💓

[@dendenyu]

Local waste treatment facility; interesting. Thank you for the clip as always.

[@ZhuoAo]

Can't believe it's been eight months since I watched your amazing videos. The good thing is now I have a lot to binge on.

[@cabasadefogo9533]

This is so beautiful! Wow, loving your video series. PS. gotta eat the rice congee with preserved vegetables that are salty and spicy or sour.

[@Stonefeather53]

Loved the pussycat having a sunbath at the beginning. Thank you, another great video. The wastewater breakdown in China is probably helped by not flushing down toilet paper. My house in Australia has a septic tank and I copy now this Chinese toilet custom which saves me pumping out the septic much earlier.

[@roland-100]

冲掉厕纸才是正确的， 在中国不冲厕纸只是避免堵塞马桶， 以后会有更好的马桶， 方便直接冲掉厕纸。

[@oldthaiguy1940]

Peace and tranquility! OldThaiGuy is following you! 和平與安寧！ 老泰國人正在關注你！

[@user-df3cz1ww9f]

Love the style of your video, keep it up, local people are very friendly

[@johnli6782]

That was a very charming village. Love it.

[@mikew7559]

Great video Katherine, very educational. Nice to see people's lives improved, even in villages.

[@maggiechan33]

Glad Katherine stayed @ the "expensive" (cheap by US standards) hotel; I am sure she works very hard. (She should treat herself.) Her room is perfect; spacious + airy, with a gigantic bed + an elegantly simple bathroom, without many of the gaudy clutter in opulent hotels.

[@JLPSlegal]

Thank you for posting this. It's a unique experience of a modern interior hotel inside an ancient village, given that price, I dont think I will go there, but it gives a good remiscence of the roots where I came from.

[@BenjiSun]

yeah, Zhejiang's story with all the old paper mills all over the place. Fuyang was a big culprit of this (although their cleanup has also been a bit earlier than most other places). The beautification of Zhejiang has been amazing.

[@daudirachmat8538]

Nice country side. Your Mandarin is perfect. I got to learn from you in your videos.

[@yangjianhunt]

Amazing! I grew up in rural China in the 1980s and the waste water treatment is new to me. Just did a google search and found that in 2022 there is about 30% implementation of waste water treatment in Chinese villages. Hoping to see further steady improvement in the next few years.

[@truthbetold001]

An interesting vlog, a domestic reclaimed tourist spot and land reclamations ; subjects not always hand to hand in the same space. The anaerobic sewerage treatment plants are so necessary ( common sense ) adage . Such outstanding results . 2013 mandate was the right call. For a minute the still insect looked so fake. You looked like you were in morphological haven 😂So your standard Chinese breakfast is in another place, perhaps like a B&B ? or motels in US. If I was offered bland porridge, I will have asked for fermented bean curds or crisp vegetable pickles accompaniments. I subscribed to your view that luxury is not a necessity but sometimes necessary, especially if its 40% off 🤣🤣 I can gander where you're heading next so I vote option one, the canoe looking thingy.

[@windsong3wong828]

Katherine is open minded and I am happy to see her videos. To embrace the worlds different culture and its diversity is great and interesting. A lot of older conservatives in the western world are biased and hostile towards the alien cultures. Katherine can bridged the gulf. That makes a difference in the world.

[@siokliengliem3016]

❤love rural life you showed. Thanks so much for sharing. It's wonderful.. ❤❤🙏

[@SnapshotTechTips]

Thanks for sharing your journey, and china with a long rich history and cultures.

[@semanadelherrero]

Zhejiang is an industrially developed province and must have adequate sewage treatment. In China's inland agricultural provinces, there is generally no sewage treatment in villages, and it is basically centralized treatment. However, there are no polluting factories in agricultural provinces, and the water can be used to irrigate fields without treatment. , the climate and vegetation in the north and south of China are very different.

[@colonylaser4860]

That was a beautiful bug. When I was a kid in California in the 70s and 80s, you'll see tons of frogs and worms coming out and onto the sidewalks when it rains. I haven't seen that the last 25 years. So sad.

[@sunny_markus9812]

wow that's a huge change in within a decade 🎉

[@ILUVBAKKUA]

plain porridge goes well with salted stuff like canned preserved vegetables or lightly salted fried baby anchovies or even salted peanuts, another option is deep fried till crispy sliced red onions or fried diced garlic, used to flavor to the porridge but they don't keep long before spoiling.

[@liujiangogogo]

Kat, I really feel the cause that drove you to do all this. And I really hope you to find the one that preciate you as you are. Hope you don't ever forget that thousands of us here that support you. Love u

[@Crom21]

the room is nice

[@Bhink71]

This is not just a trip, but an education about the environment...

[@margaretabendroth8658]

That was a good one lovely lady. God bless you in your traveling.

[@wegderlieberw7620]

Thanks for your ever interesting videos. Unlike many other such videos where they just show (off) their kids and food, yours are about culture, about people, and people whose life we would not be able to know about otherwise. Yours are one of the very intellectual.

[@PK-nb9ph]

Hi Katherine, just want to drop a note and let you know I enjoy your video. (And the background music, some jazz, some folk, and some light vocal…). Thanks for sharing your journey! 🤗

[@Whitfield369]

Again, thank you so much for this great video!

[@franklui8185]

Gr8 journey… I enjoy every single video… thx!

[@gordkao]

Beautiful! Love how much initiative people have and how much they care. Love your videos!

[@gwent5914]

Beautiful village and accommodation. Thanks for bringing us along with your adventures.

[@VerhoevenSimon]

Thank you for sharing, it's interesting to see how these places are changing.

[@qt.81]

So beautiful! The interior is nicely modernised too!

[@bianxi4yt]

Very good video that let me know more about how things were changed.

[@sekcquah9258]

Still Loving your easy going way of presentation...so so genuine and interesting. Jia you!

[@iamcanadianedmonton]

there are lots of empty villages in china, i hope other local governments can follow suit and do the same thing to rejuvenate the village. love from canada.

[@nl3mk]

Very nice videos. Thanks for the efforts. Be safe!

[@jackolantern7342]

WOW! That's an awesome location! Very cosy and charming.

[@guo248able]

Love it Love it and Love it. Thank you for doing all hard work of traveling for me.

[@postmodernism06]

i loved the last part of the video where you were chopping it up with the curious kids in chinese

[@hieuphan9183]

Thank you for your inspiring and fascinating videos. You are living the dream and wish I could experience such wonderful culture, people, landscape and food !!

[@DeBeard]

It reminds me beautiful WuYuan…I'm missing WuYuan so much…but it ain't a peaceful year: earthquakes, mountain fire, flood, hurricane, coups, warfares yo name it, so I'd rather stay home enjoying vloggers' nice sharings.😊

[@Fuallz]

That village hotel looks great for photography~ Didn't expect their rooms to be that good. They really cleaned that river up. Those boys at the end.. 😆

[@JSTech2012]

Beautiful village.

[@linmei4362]

Peaceful and open minded. Thank you for sharing

[@joewong438]

Thank you for posting your journey.

[@ExpatNatt]

Beautiful video, Katherine! ❤❤

[@piercejiang6602]

I subsbribed you guys too, good to see you here!😊

[@boonteoh2346]

Something new from something old!!! Great to spend time there with a great companion!!!😍😍❤❤

[@ngimasherpa1607]

Wonderful to see your great vlog I had been to China but not like you I really enjoying seeing new places your videos keep up good the work🙏🏻😃

[@liamporter1137]

Thanks for sharing.

[@northernsamba7388]

My goodness! Solo biking journey. What an incredible journey.

[@user-dc9jh3ic4t]

I am amazed by the great condition of the roads!

[@tromzinck]

Yessss. I would love it 🥰

[@user-rn9qk4yx4f]

酷! 很有特色的地方

[@catcherad5444]

Thanks 🙏🏽 Wow!

[@hengheng-ij9fn]

I like this village😊

[@yiuhingwong5897]

陽離子 週日愉快🤗

[@marioleonl8800]

You’re a natural !

[@mccoywang6671]

非常感谢阳阳离子，小时候我们很多人住 样的农村，当然条件也没有这么好，改造之后确实非常吸引人，有机会去住一上

[@user-sd7cc9rv7h]

真佩服阳离子精力旺盛，能骑车到处游玩 去过的地方比绝大部分的中国人都多

[@ethanwizard]

You can try add some soy sauce instead of salt into the porridge

[@suechewyap2020]

Nice to see you again, Kat. Glad to be able to join you on another of your interesting biking adventure. This place reminds me of the scenic water village, Wuzhen where I stayed during my visit to Hangzhou a few years ago. Have you been to Wuzhen? I believe its near where you are traveling. Keep up the good work, stay safe and hydrated when riding under the sun.

[@kats_journey_east]

thanks for the recommendation😄

[@MrKnewbee]

Nice sweatshirt, good to see Hokie representation at every corner of the world!

[@joewong438]

For the price of the hotel it is great. I hope I can see more of your travel. Thanks again. We had to go to nearest city for our lodging in Southern China Guangzhou( and it’s 2 hours by car).

[@chriszeng5808]

This is very impressive

[@rosalianolasco5741]

Interesting.. outside look like an old village, but the minute you get inside the room was amazing! Love it! Greeting from: Seattle Washington your one of avid followers.. Heheh! ^_~;

[@moumouchen1762]

welcome to my hometown！jinghua（I am from yongkang city，just next to wuyi），I can remember when I was a little boy，the little river in our hometown was polluted badly too。

[@lunerv771]

院子真不错，青苔的状态很好

[@davidchung4691]

Great video. I like that village hotel !