Sweet & Sour CHINESE Street Food on Shantang Street + Silk Factory Tour | Suzhou, China

The trip I took to China in April of 2019 was mind-blowing in so many ways. I had the incredible opportunity to explore three unique cities-Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou-and take deep dives into their history, culture, and food. Along the way, I met lots of kind, friendly people and had experiences I will remember for the rest of my life. Join me as I explore the Middle Kingdom!
My fourth full day in China (and second day in the city of Suzhou) continued that afternoon. My friend and guide Judy took me to a local silk factory and then we went to eat some incredible street food along Shantang Street! Join us as I explore more of Suzhou!
In addition to its nickname “the Venice of the East,” Suzhou is also known as the silk capital of China. At the silk factory, there are displays explaining the origin of weaving in Suzhou, silk garment exhibition halls, the life cycle of silkworms, and much more!
There are over 60 silk factories in Suzhou. This city is the best in the world when it comes to silk! Because it was Saturday afternoon, this silk factory didn’t have any workers working, so we headed over to another factory nearby.
At the second factory, we saw the silkworm cocoons. I learned that there are double cocoons that contain a male and a female silkworm and they spin the silk together. I watched the workers work. They put the cocoons in water, attach the silk string to the gears on the machine, and pull it out until you’re left with only the pupa in the cocoon. Each cocoon provides one mile of silk!
Once the silk is pulled out, they weave the silk into a type of garment. I saw the huge weaving machines, which have templates for whatever type of garment they want to make.
I watched the workers make a silk duvet my hand. In the next area, there were lots of beds with silk covers. The prices vary by price, but I saw one that costs about $1,000 U.S.
Then I reached the gift shop and looked for a scarf for my wife. There was some beautiful embroidery. There were lots of clothes there; it felt like a mall! I saw some really nice silk shirts. I found the silk scarves, which were really beautiful.
I found a purple-and-gold one and a red one for me, which came to about $100 U.S., a lotus flower one for my wife, and another for my father. They were 30% off of the original price and came to about $135 total. What a great deal for these high-quality silk products!
There were lots of other products there, including pillowcases, wallets, and more!
Then, we headed to Shangtang Street, where there are lots of street food restaurants. Everything looked so good! This area was bustling and felt more commercial than other areas I’d visited. I saw a tablet that had been written by the emperor and the Baby Grand Canal. It was tiny and I could see the different layers of the old city.
I bought a sticky rice cake with red bean paste. It was really good and filling, but super hot! It cost about 20 cents! Next was sesame candy, which was really good and very crunchy. It almost tasted like chocolate!
We walked through a tunnel and reached the more residential area. I liked this area more; it felt more authentic. Judy showed me an herbal medicine candy that’s good for coughs, so I tried some because I’d had a cough the last few days. It was like a sugary bar of medicine!
I tried some delicious pineapple and watched a man play a beautiful, traditional instrument. Atop one of the bridges, I got a wonderful view down the canal. From there, we turned around to go to a popular restaurant.
There, we got a sweet-and-sour Mandarin fish, which cost 198 Yuan/roughly $29 U.S. The fish had a beautiful presentation and contained no bones. It was like sweet-and-sour chicken, but fish. It was a crunchy, fried fish with a sweet sauce and a lot of meat! The dish was really big, so you should share it with someone.
Then I tried the sticky rice ball soup with pork and vegetables, which reminded me of wonton soup. The rice balls were like mochis. The star of the show was the fish, though! It was unreal!
My bill came to 246 Yuan/$36 U.S. Then we headed up to the bridge to see the view, but there were way too many people!
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Sweet & Sour CHINESE Street Food on Shantang Street + Silk Factory Tour | Suzhou, China
• Sweet & Sour CHINESE S...

[@Davidsbeenhere]

Thank you for watching my sweet and sour Chinese Street Food 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

[@chonkyseal11]

sweet & sour fish look so delicious.

[@soumiray6616]

The scarfs are sooo beautiful ❤️ ... Really love this video 🥰 ... #Devidsbeenhere loving your work more....you are becoming my favourite KZbinr...

[@AussieAngeS]

Oh wow those,silk worms and the history of them was so interesting to learn. The food looks fantastic as always David

[@pinkybharali9504]

Awesome. Video..very nice silk products..very beautiful and elegant scarfs..David loves to taste new yummy tasty foods..that's great David

[@yananneteoh9818]

It's just as Marco Polo described it. Thanks I really enjoyed looking at the silk scarves and gorgeous food.

[@TheHokkaidogaijin]

Loving your guide, she is such a sweetheart

[@lindahhh]

super great video thank you for showing! nice purchases you made there

[@PcNoted]

Oh wow that's cool

[@zhenyutao2782]

This squirrel fish is famoused in both suzhou and shanghai and entire jiang-nan region which is included jiangsu province and zhejiang province and SHANGHAI. Hangzhou also has a very famous dish which is made by fish called"xi hu cu yu 西湖醋鱼 west lake vinegar fish ‘’ which is made by fish in vinegar and ginger sauce. anyway~enjoy.

[@LeoCL95]

I just had dinner, now I'm hungry again.

[@taweroeimro5707]

This is amazing! Looks delicous!!!!

[@Emreckn]

Keep up the good work David.

[@sadaf2301]

David is such a caring husband ...when he said such an expensive shawl but she deserves it 😍

[@phengov943]

Sweet and sour fish would be nice with rice, yum.

[@armandorodz6927]

Perfect David, you did it well buying silk for your beloved family....Great!.

[@carmenarian]

All of what you shared in this video is amazing 💫🤸‍♀️

[@sugreev2001]

Wow, spending the big bucks. But seriously, authentic silk scarfs are great.

[@samruddas9295]

4th like....lots of love from India...😍♥️

[@layzhangofficial9771]

这个是我的最爱，流口水。

[@importantguycommenting8156]

China is so amazing

[@anupamsingh4366]

Amazing video 🙌

[@tonychen7757]

Did your guide take you to the lake area? spectacular night scenery, lots of fancy restaurants and bars.

[@kk8498]

I like the scarfs, they look so great!!

[@ricardotongol567]

Hey David, another great blog, silk word, old street vendor, Venice of China and more food, hm

[@bhrigukalita5325]

Very nice 💝💝💝

[@protocolofficer2629]

Beautiful and fascinating. Seems you went back hundreds of years. I enjoyed watching you go to see how silk is made and the beautiful silk scarves you bought! Hope you dad and you wife like them! Finally, the sweet and sour fish looked amazing. I live in Toronto where we have not just one China town but many with authentic regional Chinese cuisine. I am going to look for this dish. Many thanks David for sharing this fascinating video. Cheers, Colin.

[@Ragingfuss]

I am also love idli and u also i know and you are a great person

[@numbell]

I like this lady!

[@ck5056]

David couldn't stop eating the fish.

[@mykaldenton9384]

21:32

[@EscapistIndian]

Nice food

[@MsMash]

I need me some of that food. 👌😋

[@user-vw8ex6kn6b]

非常棒！

[@hao1528]

Thanks for your beautiful videos about the travel in China, but I have to correct that Chinese currency is called Yuan, not Japanese Yen.

[@kenyup5424]

Come on, don't be too serious, don't be too harsh

[@user-pv1ir3oh9u]

Ancient China = tea, silk, ceramics

[@arbindsalam6924]

Wooww

[@SydneyKong]

i've had that fish in china, i finished half of it by myself

[@user-hw2sr3zb7n]

欢迎更多的外国朋友来中国玩！吃美食，感受中国文化

[@chetnadethe8172]

Rice Balls.. Rice Balls.. everywhere ..did u dream of rice balls when in Japan and China??

[@tonychen7757]

Shantang street is basically a lesser version of Ping-jiang road which you visited earlier, so really no need to visit both places. These streets are strictly for tourists only, contrary to what the old lady said LOCALS DON'T GO THERE FOR SHOPPING lolol

[@arabindabasak7107]

1st

[@parthbharadwaj1434]

Hey david!!! U've been in Assam its so unfortunate i couldn't see uh!!! Visit again David ..lots of love😘

[@rudyalfonsus686]

is the fish so good that you couldn't stop to eat it?

[@onkycui]

我以前听说广东一种吃鱼的方法，就是头以下已经炸熟，鱼头还是活的。上菜的时候，盘子里的鱼还在张嘴闭嘴。这道菜很考验师傅的刀工，火候的掌握。

[@mybox65]

残忍

[@aliciatai2416]

Why is she “talking” to the fish?

[@kenyup5424]

She was insane and had mental health problem tbh ,lol

[@mohdsharkawiluabdullah2256]

Because she is a Buddhist, she prays for forgiveness before eating it up 😥 From 🇲🇾,local Chinese with my love.

[@fuckyoutubeusernamechange]

It is not 7 miles long but 3.5 km. lol

[@yasmeenkhan6656]

Hey david I envy ur'e wife .She is so damn lucky to have a handsome and loving husband like u😊

[@tommysvlogsandreviews]

Wtf

[@riyadey7734]

How u become a blogger

[@ARYANS6097]

Make video in India

[@-c-gu1je]

If that lady take you steps away from tourist st, the fish price will much cheaper

[@xiansheng12345]

来重庆chongqing耍耍啊

[@heru-deshet359]

I have aproblem eating something that's staring at me. Now don't make any dirty comments.

[@ericliume]

You can cover your eyes while eating.

[@rogernguyen1273]

don't worry be happy !

[@Rahulkumar-ol8rg]

🤒🤒🤒🤒🤢🤢

[@kenyup5424]

Don't buy anything in the factory which the tour guide take you to,cuz it's overpriced, it's even 2 times high than the shopping malls of downtown,the local people never do shopping in those places,the factory is kind of scam to the tourists, including Chinese tourists, sorry, I have to point out the issues

[@ArghaSaha05]

China is copying the apple model of pricing