Why Every Map of China is Just Slightly Wrong

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Episode written by Adam Chase
Music by Epidemic Sound

[@treebranche1976]

GPS: Go right. Me: but...im on the bridg- GPS: G O R I G H T

[@brandong.1857]

But Google Maps told me to take a right, in the middle of the Mississippi River. So who's really living in 1984?

[@westcity2711]

The car GPS in the middle of the road there’s the road on the right and left but the GPS says go left points right if it says go right it just points left

[@frla6445]

Lol I’ve had google maps tell me to exit a freeway, go to the light, make a u-turn, get back on the freeway going the opposite direction and within 2 seconds I had arrived at my destination... 😂😂

[@qpol]

this is why i use medieval maps i go right just a little earlier and i land on top of my destination

[@mohammedalssamraey9581]

I see no problem, take R I G H T

[@amannaikwade3118]

Someone arrested for wrong map Police : where's the jail?

[@43Cubes]

lol

[@orbit_myst1c572]

Are they wrong tho

[@mapeditorjon5306]

@@homedepotgaming774 but I can easily escape it

[@agente7202]

@@homedepotgaming774 understandable sir, i'm going to the cafeteria near that highway

[@purpl3grape]

That lake

[@vladpetskel1384]

This is so true !!! I was in Xiamen, China last year for a 19 hour layover, so I went to explore the city. On my google maps I saw a river with a bridge crossing it so I decided to walk 45 min to explore and see it. When I got there, no sign of any water or any bridges, just a regular city. I was so confused 😭

[@user-lz5kh5zn3r]

​@@Mirror0CJRight. Exactly what Google Maps does in other countries but homemade and with more ads.

[@Mirror0CJ]

@@user-lz5kh5zn3r Not really， compare to Google in NZ ，Aussie， baidu in China got much better functionalities.

[@cytlrxs]

Use Gaode Map

[@py8554]

No one uses Google Maps in China

[@kunyongchen3156]

I am in Xiamen too, but we just use local map app which show the correct result

[@mat_321]

Person: buys a map “Made in China”

[@georgeamesfort3408]

Underrated

[@mat_321]

The comment is 6 months old and you are the first one to react

[@BDUDE]

lmao

[@PianoHypnoshroom]

But only China is made wrong... what's the point of this joke?

[@mat_321]

@@PianoHypnoshroom products from china are almost always shitty

[@PhileasLiebmann]

Well, it's good to know that every minor business in China is safe from intercontinental missile strikes that use Google Maps for orientation. Edit: I swear to god, no one on this damn site understands a joke.

[@ronture8279]

Wow! I never thought of that tactic!

[@JasperJanssen]

@@saiv46 it sure does. It can easily make the difference between a hardened target surviving or not. And that’s very much more the case for more modest bombing.

[@joaopedromoreiracustodio5429]

@@JasperJanssen even so, it is easy to get around the error in this Chinese method to avoid that the coordinates are "right", because it is possible to easily correct using an AI or a program to synchronize the map of roads with the real map.

[@junct]

@@joaopedromoreiracustodio5429 y'all really arguing about using Google maps as a missile gliding system 😂😂😂

[@joaopedromoreiracustodio5429]

@@junct... I don't know if I'm too embarrassed and angry like a child or agree with you, but I believe that would be useful for not only hissing missiles but also some systems that need a an accurate map, for example, (I couldn't imagine anything better) an autonomous drone that has to go from point A to B using only pre-received images

[@Bergen98]

Chinese government: Ahah, we tricked everyone, our paranoia will save US FROM WAR Western tourist in China: Where the hell is the dumpling place!!!!!

[@petargrific484]

nikita otdel'nov i'm surprised no one has replied yet lmao

[@petargrific484]

@@sankarsah i'm not from east asia sorry, i just like anime

[@dastronomical4020]

@Ted Bundy us?

[@TheBorre]

@Ted Bundy India?

[@gabevietor3685]

@Ted Bundy Russia?

[@tonyth9240]

"How did he crash our economy???" "He mapped a Donut Shop correctly" "*NOOOOOOO*"

[@lenoobxd]

Sounds like a skill issue

[@wamsang7818]

"This video is not about the controversial parts of China" *Shows Hong Kong*

[@xxxxxx-uy2ll]

what did you mean bro

[@coconutty030]

lmao

[@ronan1686]

China is taking over Hong Kong like they did Tibet

[@hi.2842]

@@ronan1686 well technically it’s the UK’s fault

[@ronan1686]

@@hi.2842 Not really, the UK stopped China from taking over Hong Kong for decades

[@FROZYO]

Nothing says “development of national economy” quite like sending someone 5-10 minutes away from a business’s actual location. What a joke.

[@cong4559]

This is somewhat misleading in that you won't ever actually face the problems stated in the video. In reality, you use a distorted map with distorted coordinates that sends you to the right place.

[@runningfromabear8354]

@@cong4559 No. It communicates that China is uncooperative and not interested in ease of doing business. After watching this, I don't think I want to go there.

[@cong4559]

@@runningfromabear8354 Considering the current political attitude from Washington and Trump's banning of Chinese companies etc... I'd say China is not the one that is uncooperative and not interested in ease of doing business. Quite the opposite actually. More people would agree that they didn't want to go the US having seen Trump swing his dick around.

[@chicknscratch]

Cong Lu got’em

[@hudsonsmith8880]

@@cong4559 The only company that has really been banned is Huawei which has had so much evidence brought against them of spying, stealing designs, and working closely with the Chinese government. Almost everyone agrees with the decision that was made to ban that company. China has been taking advantage of not just the United States but everyone, basically and were just the first ones to take action on it. The banning of this company is completely justified. We are now at a trade war that China knows if they do not get out of they are in big trouble. The United States can hurt the Chinese government way more than they can hurt ours and they know that. Maybe if China would stop stealing IP and trying to spy on us this wouldn't be a problem.

[@ggsay1687]

I think it doesn't make any difference for nuclear strike.

[@bandicootbarry9313]

林清泉 no its not

[@ggsay1687]

@待化的冰 why long live China, you don't have freedom of speech and expression. How I know Chinese citizens should use VPN services to access outside world, total surveillance, and total corruption, you can shoot any high government official for corruption and you will be right. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[@CC_ACV]

The Washable Bomb u think it’s evil, I don’t. That’s it. No need to get democracy from other countries but internal innovation

[@akashparua4606]

@待化的冰 why the fuck are we even taking this conversation seriously,as if the youtube comment woul decide nuclear strike

[@Marheee]

I hope one day republic of china which is an independent country and legitimate chinese government takes over your sorry mainland. Greetings from taiwan

[@jR060t]

I lived in China for a time, and it's really interesting to see how creative my Chinese friends were in getting around arbitrary things like this. My friends kept mental maps, and navigated by landmarks. Me, I just used the satellite view, which mostly worked.

[@nicholasvinen]

I was going to say when I went to China a few years ago and used Google Maps (and other similar apps) to navigate around Beijing, Shanghai etc it worked fine. I was able to find everything, down to particular shops. There might have been a shift of a few tens of metres but not enough to make navigation difficult...

[@anzheng8832]

LOL, Chinese have their own maps and they are accurate.

[@nulnoh219]

Or use the Chinese map apps.

[@blurpblurp]

@@anzheng8832 shhh. westerners think that chinese lives in a cave or a hut up the tree. chinese dont have navigations like their modern societies do.

[@lagudoufu]

this is how you know people love to lie on the internet Google doesn't fucking work in China dumbass

[@cluelessdragoon7052]

North Korea: “we are the most secretive country” China: “Hold my map”

[@gravy2195]

@Lazy Bundy thaaaats racist

[@VoAviation]

@@gravy2195 ‎

[@drumboarder1]

@@gravy2195 you sure showed them

[@drumboarder1]

I think eriteria is the most secretive, NK comes in at 2

[@Embers-nd4vm]

@@drumboarder1 *eritrea

[@federicoreali9734]

Imagine an entire country’s government being this delusional

[@danielcarroll3358]

Back in the day American maps of the Moscow area were very popular there because they were accurate.

[@quocle7304]

Not delusional, but paranoia. You know, in many Chinese war story, the first thing to do before making war is making map. The CN govt just so paranoia they don't want anybody to have an accurate map of CN, so that no invasion can be effective. But I bet all strong countries like US or Russia have their own military surveillance satelites and can make an accurate map of CN, at least for all important government/military facilities.

[@M50A1]

@@quocle7304 Yeah. No crackhead worth his crack would use google of all things to plan an invasion

[@ashadeshpande5319]

U don't need to imagine😂

[@TheMadmanAndre]

@@quocle7304 In all likelihood, anyone with the resources to fight a mainland war with China would have the resources to get obtain accurate maps, ether by clandestinely mapping the region or by just stealing China's.

[@FrozenBusChannel]

I'm from Hong Kong and have been wondering (for years) why the maps at the borders are wonky. Now I have the answer.

[@casuallystalled]

China will probably try to screw up your maps soon, so idk save your current ones when you can I guess

[@santiagorappy71]

Man, just download baidu maps and problem solved ughhhh

[@santiagorappy71]

Nigo Maramag and what does it has to do with this? When I see the border between HK and China in Baidu maps it’s well shown

[@angryyoungman4389]

@@santiagorappy71 Hey Chinese Bot, Howz Xi Jing Pooh...??😂

[@coconutty030]

@@santiagorappy71 then obviously the Baidu one is wrong :))

[@paulsophocleous2544]

4:53 In conclusion, there's no way to know where anything in China actually is. But since you can get the Chinese satellite map that has been distorted by the GCJ system can't you compare that to an accurate satellite map, determine how the distortion has been applied and find the appropriate correction, and then apply that correction to street map?

[@weeveferrelaine6973]

As a programmer, that was my first thought- it sounds very simple to do, but I imagine it's illegal - And companies aren't well known for wanting to be on the bad side of China, considering the population of China is seen as another source of profit, and the companies don't tend to mind bending the knee occasionally.

[@MaraMara89]

How you can "determine how the distortion has been applied"? If you don't have actual location of places, unless you are actually in that place and have way to measure it (without being catch by Chinese police), which is probably difficult

[@weeveferrelaine6973]

@@MaraMara89 By comparing their GPS apps to satellite photos. You can start the calculation of the distortion based on easier-to-recognize landmarks, such as bridges, tall buildings, and highways. It's a really trivial calculation to get usable results.

[@JulianSildenLanglo]

It's not only possible, it's already been done.

[@Ruhrpottpatriot]

@@weeveferrelaine6973 No, you can't at least if the random number generator used for scrambling isn't a pseudo-random one. If they used cryptographic RNG then you need to know the seed to get what you want. Well unless you want to brute-force every single pixel.

[@BlondeQtie]

fun fact: different maps may use different reference systems. as a sailor/yacht owner, you know that you need to check the reference system of your map. usually all newer maps are in WGS84, but especially with older maps, you have to shift your location by a bit. it's indicated by how much and in what direction though, because the manufacturer of the map wants you to know where you are ^^

[@bachlamtung5131]

Tourist in China: *confused scream at Google Map*

[@hudziszeq]

google maps doesnt even work in china, unless you use vpn

[@4191682]

In China, you shouldn't be using Google Map at all.

[@petermavrenski6602]

You will need a VPN anyway..

[@jamesmillerjo]

Video says 'bout CHINESE MAPS.

[@nazmiafiq1794]

teacher : you can hear picture me: i can pictured memes

[@Violent2aShadow]

Serial Killer: "What are you in for? Student: "Cartography" Serial Killer: "NooooOOOOooooo!!! Guards! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!! Don't leave me here with this psycho!!!"

[@wronghorsebatterystaple]

Violent2aShadow I laughed hardly 😂

[@randomperson4198]

Ah yes another day another mental torture to criminals

[@joker35871]

a guy that would go to prison for his map sounds more dangerous than most criminals, he is even going to prison for it so who says he won't skin you if he runs out of paper

[@redstonecasey4713]

Give me your cigarettes, or I start sketching, punk!

[@ZaHandle]

Opposite cell: This is the lockpickinglawyer and i’m gonna show you my lawyer side hey you over there wan- i’m paying you everything i have

[@wanderinglizzy]

I'm from Hong Kong and thanks for shouting out that Hong Kong (still) has accurate maps!

[@andrewlim7751]

When u.s. is trying to bomb China, they can do it accurately using GPS, just like Iraq, Libya and Syria. 😁

[@2011blueman]

Hong Kong won't have accurate maps for long :)

[@progamerbufovi]

@@andrewlim7751 but china isn't syria and libya

[@andrewlim7751]

@@progamerbufovi You don't get the idea, for HK to adopt gps system, it's easier for the west to blow up their target and maybe mass killings, if the ccp were to convert the GPS to beidou, there'll be a whowha for undemocratically converting to authoritarian rule, and it's against the wish of HK democratic society.

[@andrewlim7751]

@@progamerbufovi And the ironic it's that the black shirts are advocating a war between USA and China not knowing that they'll be the collateral damage, how stupid can it be?? 🥱🥱🥱

[@jamestucker8088]

Great video. I have been wondering about this for years.

[@Wanking_wanker]

No all these maps are right just like how nothing happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989

[@calebrobinson3144]

Don't know what you are talking about. Why are you mentioning Tiananmen Square? Can't think of anything notable happening there in 1989. Can anyone else?

[@Wanking_wanker]

Caleb Robinson like I said nothing happened

[@3zk1i_93]

Yup. Nothing happened and people who think something happened are delusional

[@ChecedDomingcil]

Yeah. Nothing happened in Tiananmen Square. Don't know what you're talking about.

[@kingsly2275]

Tiananmen Square? Never heard of such a place and I can’t imagine something bad happening there. No sir not at all

[@imsocoolthatudied]

They're rly trying their best to kill tourism lol

[@randomuser5443]

They are if the media was right about trump in the fullest, then he became 10x worse

[@vinkhoo1]

So that they can keep the Hong Kong plebs (according to China) away.

[@henryzhou5499]

@Mitchell Hart It's fine, cuz I guess u cant afford a flight ticket anyway lol

[@henryzhou5499]

@Mitchell Hart Yes, yes, yes whatever. Just keeping watching ur Fox/CNN and believe in their propaganda lol. Watching ur comment is really entertaining cuz u must have watched a lot of TV propaganda thing to write this long paragraph man. BTW I would admit that the Chinese media did lose to you guys when it comes to brainwashing and propaganda. At least in china we only exaggerate the number of police brutality and school shooting (which it really does), but in western you guys are just making things up lol.

[@cacksacker6937]

@@binchunsu im not sure if what he said is true or propaganda but if china really isn't that hell hole of a country, can you tell me why tf are there so many chinese immigrating here in the philippines? I mean, god damn, zambales is basically a mini china ffs.

[@mxxp1221]

In China, please use Amap(Gaode Map, AutoNavi) or Baidu Map. They have the same functions as Google Map, with accurate information and traffic conditions. BTW, Google Map is disabled in China.

[@DerBepp]

Is there a way to switch the language?

[@thebfiaid957]

Yes this video is true, in Harbin, the maps was almost empty but in the place itself, there was many amazing shops

[@Shuhao.D]

One thing you missed: Chinese gov made this coordinate system very pricey too, there is a huge amount of licensing fee even for the authorized companies to make the map.

[@a2e5]

the other joke about this is that some incompetent "GIS demo" program was published with source on Google code and everyone learned the algorithm from it commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PRcoords_Cheatsheet.pdf (the one I linked to is my cleaned-up code; if you click through the GitHub link in it you will find a link to the googlecode project archive where it got leaked from. disclaimer: that code is ugly af)

[@drumboarder1]

Licensing it out especially to foreign companies actually makes the "strengthen economy" line far less retarded

[@misfittoytower]

That's because the massive amount of bribes the corrupt Communists receive are never enough to support their drinking and KTV debauchery habits. Not to mention their affairs!

[@uv-al]

Eugh

[@adog3129]

waiting for them to stop calling themselves communist

[@jung5873]

No wonder why their fishermen sailed all the way to Argentina 😂😂😂

[@MasayaShida]

Oh boy i remember that ridiculous news 😂

[@guadaluna6246]

wait what happened

[@Epicface-mv9dr]

@@guadaluna6246 A chinese fisherman boat was sunk by the Argentinian navy for illegally fishing in its waters

[@cukincharts2225]

As an Argentine, I was a little bit concerned about that event escalating

[@rolux4853]

I still can’t imagine how that damn fishing vessel crossed a while Damn ocean, without getting lost or sinking. It’s just impossible that boat was a regular fishing boat!

[@ginger88895]

Is it possible to figure out the distortion by comparing the satellite images? It drives me nut to think that I live in the middle of some vapor wave coordinates

[@AnthonyFloyd69]

I laughed way more at your "1584" joke than I should have. Really caught me off guard. Lol

[@Anonymous-xn2xh]

That’s why I ended up in Zimbabwe instead of Beijing

[@wigglebot2368]

Well it's not THAT far off

[@red2theelectricboogaloo961]

zimbabwe

[@ArthurD]

And you're actually ended up having more freedom than in China.

[@red2theelectricboogaloo961]

@@ArthurD true

[@ArthurD]

@@arscenic8625 some countries have even less than that. Don't be a spoiled brat.

[@P0tato6132]

In a Chinese prison person 1: I killed a man and you? person 2: I made a map

[@TheAtkey]

person 1: Grasping at bars screaming "GET ME OUT OF HERE DON'T LEAVE ME LOCKED UP WITH THIS MAD MAN!!!"

[@christopherlee-hudson3283]

Person 3: I wanted Democracy.

[@peteswafflemeyer5620]

Wow, good joke you copied straight from the video.

[@Rainaman-]

Person 1: you sick, sick bastard!

[@cashnelson2306]

haha nice i also heard this joke in the video i just watched

[@jacobmollernielsen7198]

Me and my dad experienced this when traveling to China. we tried to get around using Google Maps but we ended up traveling for about two hours in the city with all our luggage. We ended up just looking up into the sky to find the big skyscraper where our hotel room was

[@X001W19]

You should just call a taxi, and it will send you to the lobby

[@kloi0510]

How about commercial pilots, do they get real maps so they don't hit mountains and all?

[@gracious5114]

Nope. XD

[@marmot14]

Commercial pilots don't really use "maps" to navigate, certainly not the type of map you would have in your car. Generally, navigation is either conducted using a series of pre-programmed GPS waypoints that the aircraft automatically follows, vectors from air traffic control, radio transmitters called VORs, and in some cases the naked eye or "dead reckoning." (This is only done under visual flight rules, generally in smaller, non-commercial aircraft or on final approach to a runway). Aeronautical charts are used for route planning prior to departure and I'm sure that these are 100% accurate since they do not include things like stores and roads, only airports, dangerous terrain, obstacles, etc. Not to mention aircraft are equipped with several different systems to prevent them from impacting terrain, a building, or another aircraft.

[@piplupempoleon4225]

You never heard radar?

[@hgos7211]

As a HongKonger, I've noticed this a long time ago, the maps and satellite images never match. Quite annoying at times. Always wondered why Google never bothered to fix it.

[@ommahajan1]

How are you watching KZbin???

[@FlameRat_YehLon]

As a mainlander I also was confused until someone told me about that a few years ago. Well, I don't think I would ever drive to Hong Kong so that probably won't be very annoying for me at least.

[@Apodeipnon]

@@ommahajan1 Okay, first of all Hong Kong is still fairly free, second of all even mainlanders can just use VPN's and use foreign websites that way

[@hgos7211]

@@Apodeipnon Exactly what I was about to reply him. Thanks!

[@ommahajan1]

@@Apodeipnon thanks for that even though I knew it. I wonder what happens to the airplane GPS ? They might be having correct maps right ( at least airport location)

[@eldrago19]

"It's not no longer in a lake because the map is correct: it is no longer in a lake because the satellite map is also wrong." Perfect metaphor for the modern world.

[@jayjackson5705]

Perhaps it's no longer a lake because it was filled with trash and feces.

[@eyeballpapercut4400]

My mind: *MODERN PROBLEMS REQUIRE MODERN SOLUTIONS* *OUTSTANDING MOVE* *blue spartan meme* *PERHAPS THE ARCHIVES ARE INCOMPLETE???*

[@anlasma7942]

@@eyeballpapercut4400 is blue spartan meme "wait, that's illegal?" one?

[@user-ci4yx3jd3b]

@@jayjackson5705 you are childish as fuck

[@justas423]

-1*-1=1 except it isn't

[@ThatSilentGuy]

I was in China in the end of 2019 and back then Google Maps would already offset the GPS location according to the distorted map. Wasn't the case in 2015 though. The timeline tracked me riding a bicycle through a lake.

[@NightcoreSkies]

I lived in Hong Kong and my dad used a gps called "Go Dut" (Not actually how it's spelt, but I can't type Chinese) and had no problems navigating EXCEPT for places like Causeway Bay or Mongkok, where GPS is just too weak.

[@crysanthiumvega]

"No, it's just 1984" *the backdrop is a security camera* Surprised no one else noticed

[@toxicatto6074]

Nah, i notjced

[@AceSkates]

Everyone noticed.

[@tomcho8221]

yeah we noticed

[@JohnDoe-im2oc]

You can notice the camera but do you get the joke

[@knifefght]

@@JohnDoe-im2oc Big Brother, I presume?

[@sovereignvanu3703]

Pretty sure the 1:39 stock footage map is an Aeronautical Chart for aviation. The guy still sneaking in planes into his HAI vids.

[@PendragonDaGreat]

That's definitely the Foreflight app.

[@EroxHD]

Yes, I saw that too. Skyvector flashbacks.

[@xXBl4ckB3ltXx]

Glad I'm not the only aviation nerd here.

[@EroxHD]

@@xXBl4ckB3ltXx Yeah, but the difference is that you seem to be a pilot and not just someone that has aviation as a interest/hobby.

[@mattlynch1268]

Yep, looks like Foreflight, maybe Skyvector.

[@Sara-cy3wo]

Man this video is incredible I always wondered why the roads layout was always off on Google maps to the point where I go look for maps on baidu ditu instead

[@xqzh8936]

I can tell the cover picture used for this video is around Yuyuantan (玉渊潭) - a pretty good lake, need to say.

[@Luredreier]

That's pretty crazy... Ok, granted, the national security argument might hold *some* water. But economically the costs of doing things this way definitively outweighs the advantages...

[@MichaelGallagher97]

I mean not even the defence thing makes sense ...you think NATO/Russia/Japan/Korea e.t.c nations don't have the ability to get accurate satellite and GPS info? Clearly even Google can get the correct information (how else do they correct it) they just can't use as they'll get locked out the Chinese market.

[@LLLLLLEON216]

Luredreier the Chinese aren’t that stupid. They still manage to build infrastructures at crazy speeds.

[@astartes8621]

I'm pretty sure the Chinese are smarter than that. The wrong maps are just there for foreign companies. The right and accurate maps are only available from Chinese map apps I bet.

[@Luredreier]

@@LLLLLLEON216 Even if it's available to Chinese companies only it's *still* a economic cost for *China* that they're doing things this way...

[@truezyf]

no, actually, millions of chinese use china map services every day, they r accurate. don't use google map in china, that is all.

[@EricFarmall]

All American maps include intentional inaccuracies. Not for military reasons, but so the publishers can prove that somebody else just copied their map instead of making their own. As an example, I once found a map that showed a small dead end road in our hay field.

[@liesdamnlies3372]

Eric Farmall1206 To be fair, that’s quite a bit less interference than intentionally scrambling the coordinates of the entire map.

[@pw70]

Eric - None of the copyright errors affects anyone: nobody has died, no emergency services affected. Who uses paper maps nowadays?

[@randomuser5443]

Not handy when the one guy gets the different map for a drug sale

[@airgliderz]

Not true.

[@ganrice2984]

@@airgliderz except it is! Some maps have "paper towns" which are traps for map copiers.

[@bcw2009]

When I travelled to Shanghai and a few other cities a couple of years ago, I didn’t notice any map variations. I’m not saying that I tested every location for accuracy, but I wasn’t aware of map inaccuracies. Maybe there was and any confusion was written of as translation weakness on my part.

[@McNibbler]

I’m in china right now for work and it’s amusing to see how straight roads appear a little bit wavy on the maps, and it reminded me of this video

[@WorldWideWong]

WIX Sponsorship? I thought Squarespace had your heart!!!

[@alfrredd]

Money Talks

[@muhammadhafiz_h4]

traitor

[@UseFreeSpeech]

He Just like DeviantArt

[@tdelfino2509]

There's no such thing as heart when it comes to sponsorship

[@levmarchuk998]

Sweet betrayal

[@owenstockwood5040]

2:37 George Orwell approves of the background of this image.

[@adonissherlock]

George Orwell approves of the entire chinese country

[@CarFreeSegnitz]

Judging from the political popularity of "getting tough on crime" in the US I'd say the Chinese surveillance system has American approval.

[@TheRealBruceLouis]

big brother is watching you, watching over every little move

[@HakmanTim]

imagine having such a secretive government, that you aren't allowed to make maps to know what your country looks like

[@kuromilos]

So why don’t u use the chinese map app? They are all correct and accurate lol.

[@michaellong7173]

Imagine being that stupid and purposely ignoring the fact that Chinese companies are allowed to make maps as long as they have permission just to tell a stupid lie about China. In addition, a single person wouldn't in any way have the resources to make a map of a country of 9.6 million km^2.

[@Chopper153]

You didn't get the point. Only chinese companies are allowed to nake accurate maps.

[@kuromilos]

@@Chopper153 i don’t see any issue with that

[@lemonade4181]

Omg ty for this vid. I was on Google maps and wondering what this is about.

[@sunflowercara8691]

I still just don't understand why. Just Why

[@filipnguyenduc6671]

because CHINA

[@asdg199]

what?

[@RealHipHoManiac]

Communists aren't exactly known for their rational decision making abilities.

[@leonard4279]

Well, acutally most countries do have the right map. Then why keep it wrong? Just because COMMUNISTE? Nope, and it's a little bit complicated. You see, as this wonderful video says, if someone wants a real map, they have to make it themself, (and they often do). And during the process, lots of amateur spies got caught. (Noticablely Japanese commercial spies got caught a lot) And since those "wrong" maps are designed to protect some important spots, Ex an Uranium mine in the middle of nowhere. It's pretty easy to caught some foreigners with high-end (sometime even militray grade) map making tools and a real classified map. It's not always for militray though, for example a detailed mineral map can give huge advantage in commercial negociation when one side know excatly how many tons of mineral left in the mines, (which is feasible with a precise measurement of local gravity), the traffic around the mines(which means its capability) etc. Just want to explain why those wrong map even exist. (But do China exist in the first place?)

[@AncientBert]

Ones enemies cannot reliably plan to destroy that which they possess incomplete information about. It forces direct observation.

[@leondong5968]

what about autonomous driving cars who are told by GPS that they are driving in a lake '-'

[@vitor022]

just run over a kid... oh wait my gps is saying it was the national bank, cool cool

[@cathacker13]

OK, so go to Hong-Kong. (arives in some little village) ._.

[@vitor022]

@@cathacker13 sounds about right to me

[@officialredslimecraft4092]

Leon Dong well exactly. Now guess wat the Beidou Navigation is for.

[@catdisc5304]

TRUE! Autonomous cars would have the worst time in china... "development" my ass. The only thing it's doing is giving a headache to all tech companies who use gps in their products

[@diegocn123]

For those wondering, no, the end user does not have problem navigating IF you are using the correct map app. My guess is the algorithm is deterministic and easy to compute one way (from real coordinate to mapped coordinate) but hard to compute the other way (from mapped coordinate to the real one). The map app would translate the received GPS coordinate into the mapped one and display on the app, hence it will still appear correct in the app. How do I know this? I'm a Chinese citizen living aborad. I never had any issue with Chinese map app when I go back for visit in the past 10 years. Just don't use google map. In fact the best practise is to disable the entire google suite while you are there, otherwise it attempts to contact google server in the background which will never make it through, but drains your battery very quickly.

[@my1vice]

Makes perfect sense..... Because we all know that a thermonuclear ICBM that is off 12 yards is pretty much useless. :-/

[@andreoliver9226]

Imagine driving a Tesla in China Tesla: Drives into oncoming straight into a school Thanks China

[@opticnurv]

There are their own map companies in China which Tesla's there use

[@AaronShenghao]

Amusing, but a huge super-factory was just built in Shanghai so I am quite sure they already managed to find a solution

[@AaronShenghao]

FYI Tesla is one of the best selling car brand in China, especially model 3 where been produced in Shanghai Tesla super-factory (it was built just before the pandemic mostly to circumvent US-China trade war and retaliating tax on US made vehicles). Tesla is as popular as BMW, Audi, Mercedes, and Porsche in China

[@RRJOfficial]

Nope. Cameras and sensors > Maps.

[@PANZERFAUST90]

Why would you need a Tesla to do this?......

[@Aurora-Palace]

I went to China and my hotel on google maps was in the middle of an airfield

[@Riolupai]

4:48 if i were to drive across this, would i get teleported from one side of the bridge to the other?

[@lezhilo772]

I’m from Hong Kong and I actually live around 5km away from the bugged bridge. Never noticed it before lol.

[@nathanholmes-king3827]

2:08 That map shows North Korea as a part of China.

[@oscarb9367]

Is it not?lol

[@nathanielhe2939]

In the map it say “朝鲜”which is means North Korea 🇰🇵

[@joker35871]

@@nathanielhe2939 But there is no country border between china and north korea on the map, just a province border

[@1Madlycat]

North Korea has been a part of China since ancient times!

[@solorock28]

@@1Madlycat both koreas

[@TaylorTheOtter]

Wouldn't some clever programmers be able to crack the algorithm using correct satellite images and the modified ones and trying to match them?

[@thomasdahl3083]

You cannot crack randomness, if the map is distorted at a random degree, a random distance, and some streets and buildings are mirrored or removed, well, you cannot crack it.

[@valinhorn42]

@@thomasdahl3083 The distortion can't be truly random, otherwise the process would not be repeatable and it'd be impossible to distort the satellite images in the same way as the coordinates. Sven's suggestion seems viable. I don't think it'd be easy since parts of the images are distorted differently, and you'd obviously run into problems if the Chinese catch wind of your project, but it seems like something that can be done.

[@ritwikreddy5670]

@@thomasdahl3083 isn't that how hacking works? Finding a pattern to a seemingly random observation.

[@Arsopu]

Ritwik Reddy I don't know squat about it, but I think it's like when something is encrypted which is basically impossible to crack you cannot intercept it and decipher what's being said. But if they have their own system with their own maps I guess there is a way. But then if it's like a server sided system then only said device can shake hands with said gps/map. But nothing is impossible but using a brute method would probably be impossible but maybe fishing for a clone could work. But then there's probably another zillion unique IDs they use for that so it would be like winning the lotto but needing to guess 100 trillion numbers correctly is a sequence. But the people who make this shit have to write it all down somewhere and design it. You can guarantee more than one super power has an idea on how it works.

[@ritwikreddy5670]

@@Arsopu people thought the same about enigma code. but people cracked it. this one may be harder, but we too have much better equipment. we just don't put the effort that we did for cracking the enigma code.

[@adamcai1102]

This is true! I just check the shenzhen hong kong bridge and it just slipped...

[@casuallystalled]

I like how you talk about maps and show an aeronautical sectional chart

[@sarveshlonakadi235]

ah..nice way to annoy the tourists who entirely depend on maps

[@musicalhistory4392]

Are they relying on taxis for everything? I don't see how even locals could travel without being lost every time with using public transit and walking in the cities.

[@abcabc-uv6ce]

I read in ancient times (pre smartphone) people relied on street sign and asking for directions.

[@casperguo7177]

sarvesh lonakadi anyone who have been to China will tell you that this is not a problem at all

[@mariaysuflor]

@@abcabc-uv6ce Maps come in physical paper too. Maps aren't only in smartphones. Besides, cartography is ancient just as much as just simply asking for directions.

[@cjeam9199]

The map is wrong, but will still allow you to find your way around in China following paths and roads, because everything is wrong relative to everything else in China. So path finding works fine. Everywhere else the maps are an accurate representation of what’s on the ground. If you have a 1:100,000 scale map and blow it up 100,000 times you will have a drawing you can lay over the real world and lines up perfectly. That will not be the case with this map in China. So you couldn’t use the map for plotting artillery strikes, or walking a bearing.

[@FelixAn]

If you use Amap or Baidu Maps, the map is shifted properly, so the roads between Shenzhen and Hong Kong line up.

[@postvideo97]

Because they use the shift algorithm for the whole world?

[@ruedelta]

@@postvideo97 They just don't have satellite data at a reasonable resolution that lets you see if the algorithm is used or not, at least for the US.

[@MTobias]

Baidu is kinda useless for anyone who doesn't understand Chinese though...

[@ruedelta]

@jmarks881 It's annoying to code and no one's had a use case for it.

[@illdeletethismusic]

@@ruedelta big data companies (google, microsoft, facebook,....) do a bunch of stuff just because they can, and because it may eventually be useful for something. i wouldn"t be surprised if any of them internally already had the map restauration tools, and eventually started selling a tool for recreating complex geometries from images and a few data points, but for use on a smaller scale. the applications for closer to accurate surroundings in architectural and urban planning concepts are certainly there, enabling workable designs at the competition stage without having to settle on and professionally measuring a specific site beforehand.

[@davec8921]

GPS was similarly obfuscated but they did it badly enough that eventually there was a workaround to interpolate the correct data

[@noamyemini]

Your transition to the ads are always so good! And it makes me actually watch the entire ad and consider it. I hope your advertisers know that!

[@2905sid]

You think Wendover/HAI would go an entire video without including planes? Look again The map he shows is actually an aeronautical chart.

[@travissholund334]

Siddharth Pathak planes are cool don’t hate

[@katherinedavey4574]

This is true! My Mother went to china and on maps it said her hotel was in the middle of the freeway

[@SwetPotato]

You will have to download the localised map. Google map is a complete messy there.

[@jankrusat2150]

The same was done in the former GDR and in the Soviet Union. often roads were mapped crookedly to hide e.g. military installations.

[@auritro3903]

0:40 Lol the park has an uncanny resemblance to austria.

[@orderofthephoenixwright4821]

Sees the title Me:Now i can point to my geography teacher why i failed

[@jtwoms5573]

Orderofthephoenixwright A I don’t think you could point where you failed on a map.

[@jiaminzhu406]

Because of this, all the foreign running/cycling/hiking tracking apps always indicate I'm committing suicide everyday. Either running into river or jumping off the cliff. All the chinese tracking apps, emm, suck.

[@panderman447]

@@taniacrawford6104 no. Its a bug

[@stickystudios5318]

@@panderman447 it's not a bug, *it's a feature*

[@upbtvo2585]

now it's abnormal to not be on suicide watch

[@xky8124]

Sb

[@acedelos2656]

你在说实话吗，app用啥地图？道路来自测绘所以永远是有偏的，但地图要无偏必然是google map。你在境内用app也不能连google map，你描述的现象不能成立。river就算了，去哪儿找cliff信息？

[@Astarath]

I bet AI can resolve this issue with common landmarks on both the real satellite images and the wrong nav waypoints

[@Maher-yd6xx]

Even so, I checked the No. 10 Line at Shenzhen Bay, and in satellite, they weren't even there.

[@Laplace3060]

I would like to pose an improvement. "Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and thermonuclear weapons"

[@sebastiaomendonca1477]

Who cares about engineering some fancy targeting system to destroy one thing when you can just blow up everything and take your target out with it.

[@gggggggggggggggggg161]

Sebastião Mendonça wow piece of shit

[@sebastiaomendonca1477]

@@gggggggggggggggggg161 wow someone got mad over a fucking joke

[@GabbieTheFox]

@@sebastiaomendonca1477 As the saying goes... "You get the most flak when you're over the target"... But your joke could also be considered a simple statement of fact... Because when it comes to blowing stuff up, generally you want to make the smallest boom you can get away with while still taking out your target... Making precise targeting necessary to avoid collateral damage... But when precise targeting isn't possible, it's just easier and less time consuming to use one big boom to guarantee the target is dealt with rather than having to waste ordinance hitting every spot where you think the target might be. Sure... It means collateral damage, but if an enemy is going to use civilians as human shields... That is just another reason to beat them.

[@thisisahumanlol8255]

When America and China collab 😳😳😳😳😳

[@JasonT404]

Is there an estimate for how much this costs their economy?

[@Teqnyq]

Alot

[@camello259]

LOL

[@keeszeldenproducts]

Nothing

[@baozhao1870]

Really nothing, anyone equipped with high-level math knowledge can do the same trick.

[@JasonT404]

@@baozhao1870 Operating the transform isn't what I was referring to. It's losses due to poor navigation. Do ships ever bump into each other? Do cars or tourists get lost? Are appointments missed? What is the sum total of all that inefficiency?

[@TadRichard]

If the coordinates are randomly skewed by a limited amount, why not just take 10,000 readings of each location and then average the results?

[@saaas1]

Haha i actually have been in a town in Florida called Florida City on a road trip. It’s located in the southern part between Miami and Tampa bay

[@CarterPancakes]

This is hilarious. 🤣 Such a weird government terrified of being embarrassed and full of insecurities.

[@Sydney-Casket-Base]

isnt that every government...?

[@Sydney-Casket-Base]

@@joaovmlsilva3509 accurate

[@abhinavthapliyal6479]

A Tsundere Government

[@DoubleM55]

And they constantly get embarrassed by their stupid shit.

[@78anurag]

**Types on Made In China computer**

[@evan5720]

A Person: Do you know where you can find a map? Chinese resident: Yeah, Prison

[@StefanNoack]

Huh, with both the correct and incorrect sattelite images available, it seems quite straightforward to reverse the coordinate distortion, right?

[@ianwu_mood]

Well, that's a very simple question, and I advise you not to use Google Maps to see China, because there are a lot of mistakes，so just change a map app.

[@Ghost_PM11]

I still don't understand what's the point, how does this bring "development of national economy and progress of the society"?

[@artman40]

China is really bad at making all kinds of excuses.

[@orlock20]

It's about spies. It's assumed that the locals would know where everything is and outsiders would need a map. An inaccurate map would slow down their progress if they were hostile.

[@ZBritt92]

​@@orlock20 No it's about accurate targeting of missiles and artillery. I have a feeling the US has produced highly detailed, highly accurate maps of China. Otherwise the CIA isn't doing it's job. It might have been a nightmare 30 years ago, but modern machine learning could easily match up satellite images with annotated maps to produce accurate military maps.

[@orlock20]

@@ZBritt92 I don't believe the Chinese government fears a military invasion because that would end in a nuclear war. What the Communist Party spends most of its time and money on is to prevent the Chinese people being influenced by outside forces.

[@peepingtom9342]

It's just modus operandi of oppressive governments. People wrote a lot of possible reasons in the comments elsewhere, but I think persons who made this decision were just "well, we censor books, movies, correspondence, what people say and write, so why should people be allowed to make accurate maps?"

[@maxximumb]

I was going to click like, but I couldn't find the correct location of the like button. Ended up subscribing to some Indian Bollywood channel by mistake.

[@2headedtasman200]

Maxx B U FUCKING WHAT MATE?

[@suuu886]

MIDKNIGHT FENERIR t gay

[@lynn.chaaaa]

@MIDKNIGHT FENERIR yo mama gey

[@AmalDevYT]

PewGayPussy

[@sarahzhu663]

Not T series?

[@activatewindows7415]

Gaode map (the main map software in China) actually works really well. (In Macau rn)

[@NFSHeld]

Imagine thinking offsetting a civil map does anything for your protection. If someone wanted to attack some particular place in China, I'm pretty sure their military would have the means to figure out the actual GPS coordinates with their own satellites. Because honestly you need to remember it's not the imagery that's off, just the labels are. But no military in this world would rely on the Google Map label to identify their target. It's like putting a sticky note that reads "door" onto your window and think that now intruders will take hours searching for the lock on your "door" to pick.

[@maxsmodels]

China, comfortably paranoid.

[@Rainaman-]

How aren't citizens protesting about this? They are the main victims here!

[@gigachad-jh1dh]

Reinis Miks ask to a chinese citizen And they will say they are happy to live in china Just like n.k say american life is bad We say life in china is bad But it isnt I mean they have their own apps like baidu (and yes they have tik tok) like us have google

[@whafflete6721]

Bad news Baidu is shutting down it's searching engine service

[@colmercer3315]

It's their rulers, elites that kept the whole nation in check.

[@CityWhisperer]

Since 1984

[@sonuvabitch]

As a geologist, we're pretty used to something weird happening to us. Usually involves some form of law enforcement/defence force - we have a tendency to wander and pay little regard to property rights, especially when there's a really interesting outcrop just over that fenceline.

[@jekanyika]

2:38 Tbf most countries have a national coordinate system although in most cases the aim is to improve accuracy.

[@briandoering4025]

love the foreflight cameo

[@115Carssssssssss]

The map of South Korea also looks strange in google map, you should make a video about it too.

[@ankitchoudhary9858]

Security purposes

[@xpercade8926]

@@ankitchoudhary9858 north korea?

[@edvins8863]

Brian Zheng NO LIFE no

[@kacp]

south korea has own map system

[@xpercade8926]

@@kacp no I mean if they have weird maps for security reasons, is it because of North Korea My bad

[@thatboyneedstherapy7926]

Chinese government be like: Can’t let these haters know my next move

[@dra6o0n]

China has been playing a several hundred year old mind games with itself.

[@eidolor]

China would never do such a thing, you must be imagining it; please remove these silly ideas from your thoughts and return to your authorized entertainment activities!

[@mickmickymick6927]

Who upvotes this shit? Is this a reference or something?

[@thatboyneedstherapy7926]

Mick Mickymick wow ok thanks buddy

[@mickmickymick6927]

No offense man, it just doesn't deserve 211 votes @@thatboyneedstherapy7926

[@gagandeepsingh2925]

I feel like stitching the planes like that would require insane mathematical skills

[@HaiTMOfficial]

Thanks so much!

[@sayandeepguin8648]

Man, I can't help but be impressed at the lengths the Chinese government will go to further their agenda.

[@SebastianHaban]

China simply gets things done. Some of this thing are stupid but if someone with power commands it they move mountains, raise the ground in the sea too make an island or build a wall you can see from space (if you bring a picture). Let's just hope no one commands them to jump from a chair all at once or this whole planet fly straight into the sun :D

[@stewie3128]

While we don’t have laws against making maps for the most part, our GPS system used to intentionally introduce random errors into the data stream of non-military users in order to keep it less accurate than what the military had. For some reason.

[@paulliu5144]

@@stewie3128 Actually US once switched off GPS in 1996 during a missile launch in China, that's when China decide to build their own GPS system and their own coordinate system.

[@Skullking489]

@@stewie3128 That's because the US government didn't want other countries using the GPS system for their missile targeting and other military applications. GPS was originally developed for military purposes, thus it represented a very useful tool for other armies. This actually happened in 1999 in a conflict between Pakistan and India. India requested the US to provide truly accurate GPS data for the Kargil area for military purposes, and they were denied. Now other countries can use their own systems for war, therefore making GPS purposely less accurate became pointless.

[@deathpony698]

I think it was the coast guard that was somehow stuck with the lesser civilian GPS, so they funded the development to making it better. What they came up with (dGPS) canceled out the errors introduced by the government.

[@DuckOfRubber]

I’m pretty sure the Pentagon has an accurate map somewhere.

[@TheMadmanAndre]

The Pentagon's maps of the Soviet Union were for a long time more accurate than the Soviet Union's maps of the Soviet Union. You aren't wrong there.

[@MidnightBloomDev]

@@TheMadmanAndre Source? Or did you live 100 years ago?

[@Parooh]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) u ever heard of spy-planes/drones?

[@MidnightBloomDev]

@@Parooh Spy-planes :D do you know how the world looked 100 years ago? First electronic imaging satellite was launched in 1976.

[@Parooh]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) u said it urself, electronic

[@Risha-art]

I really liked the music! What’s the name?

[@liangfengrui1990]

its so funny that I just drove on Jiaozhou bay bridge a few days ago and baidu map almost messed it up.

[@MarkeyJester]

"OK, so let's say you're you..." That's it, I'm outta here...

[@TerkanTyr]

Fucking asshole, reminding me I'm me.

[@SebastianHaban]

Google is Trash So if he (Marker Jester) you and you are me. Who am I?

[@Biggie319]

HAI throwing squarespace under the bus! 😂

[@222222225574]

Will you marry me and move to China together? My future wife, baggie!

[@2headedtasman200]

SSMART Wut?

[@carpemkarzi]

That was interesting, frightening and profoundly paranoid. Wow

[@biiianciii888]

I was wondering about this a few hours ago and then youtube recommended me this video 0_0