Great video! When I went to China, the immigration official looked at my passport, looked at me, and then said "That's not you, is it?" I was practically shaking. Then he said "Only joking!", laughed, and gave me my passport back! 😄

In Scotland Noel having a Wee Chat is something we do every day! 🙂

Hi Noel, former cabin crew here; the thing with tomato juice is that tomato packs a lot of umami taste which resists the best in airliner cabin conditions, unlike the other types of tastes that get altered becoming bland on airplanes due to the high altitude. That's one reason why people tend to enjoy their tomato juice when flying, although most of the time unknowingly. Also, it's quite filling without being sweet, and thus quite refreshing and a quick, tasty and healthy way to appease hunger with something savory, too.

Going to China without WeChat is like going to a Western country without a cell phone and credit card. When I visited back in 2019 just a few weeks before Covid-19, everything was done through WeChat...using the subway, buying stuff at the supermarket, communicating with my hosts, registering myself at the hotel, paying for parking, reserving at a restaurant, tipping, paying your bills, etc. even giving to a beggar on the streets (though you seldom see any).

24:13 I love how the officer's face lit up with a smile as soon as you told him that you're here to try the new plane C919 :) It looked like it took sometime for them to do the paper work; I'm just glad it all worked out just fine!

Was in China last month with my family including my ninety-five-year-old aunt in wheelchair. We stayed there for a month and traveled to five provinces including a mix of rural and urban. We had the best experience be it with flights, trains or otherwise.

The tomato juice thing: most flavours are subdued on a plane, but tomato is actually stronger-tasting on a plane, which is why people drink it. You can actually taste it and it settles your stomach, unlike soda or coffee which can upset your stomach

Noel, I was smiling and laughing through this entire video. I lived 12 years in China from the ages of 6-18. I have flown in and out of Pudong a handful of time (Although we lived in the far south). This brings so many wonderful memories of my time in China. Also, give Hainan airlines another shot. You had a very unusual and brief experience with them on a very unusual flight. If you fly them again then see about visiting Hainan Island. The "Hawaii of China." I lived on it for a number of years and it really is probably China's best kept secret. Most people don't think of tropical island getaway destination when think of China but that's exactly what it is. Hainan airlines is basically China's equivalent to Hawaiian Airlines in America. I'd highly recommend Sanya in the south of the Island. But Haikou is the Capitol and where I used to live. Either way I hope your travels take you back to China. It is absolutely worth visiting and exploring. The REAL China is very different from what the western media would have you believe. And for goodness sakes, just get a tourist Visa. It's so much simpler at immigration haha.

The whole country operates on WeChat. You weren’t being asked out, you were experiencing someone wanting to make sure you got good service. Though you also chose the classic overpriced tourist route to get to your hotel - but also useful for a first timer.

We visited China 5 years ago and were advised before we left the UK that some apps like Facebook are blocked by the authorities. We Chat was suggested as an alternative and worked well, but it wasn't compulsory. I'm sure that the people who advised you to get it were simply trying to be helpful. One good aspect of Chinese airports is that there are plenty of outlets for water to top up your water bottle. There are also free hot water dispensers which are popular with the locals wishing to make some green tea in a flask.

On the topic of Chinese airlines safety procedures, for very long time Chinese gov has been pushing for high safety standards on board thats why they even tell you off for using headphones at take off/ landing as well and opening windows and sitting up a hour before landing, it does seem extreme but if you look for how busy china air space is, it is quite remarkable that they have almost 0 crashes in recent history. In over a decade China had only 1 fatal crash.

Lived in China for 6 years and loved it. Flew in and out of the Pudong monthly. The immigration staff were always extremely efficient and polite, far more so than in the USA for instance. Sometimes the language barrier can be intimidating but the people were always very nice.

Good luck filming in US customs if you travel there and they would have a lot more questions. Looked like an easy entry into China. I'm impressed.

Loved this edition of ur travels as it gave such a fun insight into, a quite understandably, dubious situation. Nice that everything worked out so well for you and had a better experience than anticipated

I visited China many times during the early 2000s. Always amazed me in Shanghai how fast I could get through the airport and headed to my hotel, though I was usually traveling on a business Visa. Seemed eerily quiet at the airport, I remember a lot more crowds. Great video Noel, I’m really interested in your next flight.

Great to see your back posting. Hope Rachel is recovering well.

Sure I’m not the only one half expecting this to go the same way Josh’s china adventures went 😂

Great to have your videos back Noel! Hope Rachel is doing OK

This is the type of video I needed during a stressful travel period 😢❤❤

I was actually holding my breath when you were talking to customs. The trip so far has been pretty great. Can't wait to see the rest. Be safe.

Basically some advice: Pudong is basically like the Narita of Shanghai metro area, the bigger one, mostly to intl traffic and (much) farther from the city center. Hongqiao is basically the Haneda of Shanghai metro area, smaller, mostly services domestic routes (with a handful of intl flights) and much closer to the city center. Unlike Haneda tho, where u can get a flight to places like JFK and LHR, you will only find regional intl / non-mainland flights, such as to HKG, Macau, Taipei Songshan, Seoul Gimpo and the previously named Tokyo Haneda. Before 2016, the intl terminal (T1, it also is home to domestic budget airlines such as Spring Airlines) was dirty, cramped and very outdated. T2, the domestic terminal, is much nicer and is akin to a major super connector like Doha and Dubai. Now T1 is a lot nicer but very small. If ur flying from those cities I mentioned before directly or u choose to fly ANA or Cathay (the 2 major intl / non-mainland airlines that service SHA), fly to SHA.

I can feel you about the concerns for the 24h-Visa. I got re-rerouted once from FRA to ICN over PVG. On the way to PVG I could feel my body temperature going up, as I never thought about the Chinese Visa. But must say, it was easy to get the 24-hours transit visa, they were really helpful. By the way: the connection with China Eastern in Business class with an A330: absolutely great and fantastic flight product 👍

I'm amazed and impressed that they let you film in the immigration area.

I was living and working in China before Covid for 4 years. Amazing country with lovely people and super delicious food❤

I haven’t visited China for a very long time. I enjoyed my stays there. Met some very nice locals also. I have been to Beijing twice. Once to Xian. Once to Hong Kong. I found most of the people welcoming and friendly. I stayed in each place about eight days. WeChat is a common communication platform in China. I used something different at that time. Funny about what you said about the tomato juice. When I was a child my grandmother would buy tomato juice. The brand was V-8, or Sacramento. That Business Class looked very nice. I usually fly coach. But this past March I moved back from living in Bangkok for three years. I treated myself one way Business Class. It was on JAL, BKK to EWR. The Business Class section looked like it needed a makeover. And the food both western and Japanese. Was not good at all.

I am from Shanghai and great to see you visiting my hometown - hope you enjoyed your time there!

The best! Really enjoyed this one. I've experienced the same apprehension on some of my past travels. Thank you for doing this.

Hi Noel. Fun fact to answer your question - tomato juice is sold on planes as your taste buds are significantly descentsitised due to air pressure- that's why plane food can sometimes taste a bit off or funny. As you found out, tomato juice is very strong and helps bring back your taste buds.

The issue for you at Shanghai is that foreigners (without a proper 30 day visa) can only transit through one airport before either leaving the country or staying in China (with a proper visa). Your itinerary showed two transits. You are lucky they let you board in Malaysia. Look it up online and you'll see what I mean.

Glad to see you're back. Hope Rachel is recovering from her surgery.

Wow! Intense.😬 I'm happy you enjoyed your flight.🙂 As always save travels.✈️

The check in staff should have just given you the website link for the Customs Health Declaration, rather than having you download wechat for it. I don't think she was properly trained

A much better product than most European airlines. Nice video Noel

Glad to see you back. Was a bit worried about you, Noel, not having seen your videos in a while.

Starting to like your videos more and more. I was nervous for you, I am the worst. Great to see how friendly people were.

Hi Noel! I love seeing your videos! I hope that Rachel is feeling better.

Hi Noel great video as always. I was very nervous first time into China. In 2019 went in across 4 different country land borders; immigration staff always helpful if you do everything by the rules.

We’re flying from BUD to PVG and then onwards to SYD in business class with Shanghai Airlines/China Eastern and attempting to get the TWOV as well, this has been exceptionally helpful, thank you!

Noel, love the video but even more happy to hear Rach is doing better. I had necrotic pancreatitis 10 years ago and spent the better part of 6mo in the hospital. It's not fun to deal with but so glad to hear she's on the mend. Cheers from Seattle!

👋👋👋Just discovered your channel, and I absolutely love the content you make . Keep up the great work.💯

Another amazing video Noel 😁 always wondered what it would be like travelling to china. Haha certainly got me nervous seeing you go throw the airport but glad you got through without any issues. AV geek card was key haha 😁 hope you get to go on the C919 aircraft. I hope Rachel is feeling much better also 🙏

I love tomato juice 😂 yes I do buy it at the supermarket lol. Another great review, glad you got in to China, look forward to the upcoming vids over the next few weeks.

Thanks Noel. Another amazing video! You were actually very cool during the visa situation! Hope Rachel is getting better? See you on the next one! 😂

Missed you since the last vlog. While you may be nervous there is the exhilaration of something so new. For you the world traveler thats something special! Keep us posted!

What an adventure so far. 😎. Wonderful to hear Rachel is doing well. 🙏💐💖

China is a fantastic place to visit! So much history, fantastic scenery (guiding river cruise and visit is a must do) language barrier can be difficult at times but can be overcome!

Good to see you back, and hope your wife is better. Really enjoyed your beets by Schrute t-shirt

Ahhh good old Shanghai I lived there from 2002-2012 best time of my life! I hope you get a chance to go back soon and take the Maglev! Some very delicious food in Shangers and a lot of places to wet your whistle! All the best to Rachael!

Glad to hear Rachael is doing well. Also great to have the content back

I took inspiration from your video and whilst in Seoul decided I would utilise the 144hour visa (I’m Australian passport). I initially booked a Seoul - Guangzhou- Shanghai flight. At check in , I was denied because you cannot stop in 2 Chinese cities, only 1. Thus I booked a flight for Seoul directly to Shanghai. In shanghai , Chinese immigration did their jobs well in the way of applying to regulations whilst having very good customer service skills. I will stay in Shanghai for 4 days before flying to Bangkok. PS: I was surprised I wasn’t asked for a COVID test at all either.

Another great video, thanks Noel

Great vlog. Really enjoyed it. Thank you

Pre-pandemic you could enter China on a transit visa, issued on arrival, that could last several days depending on which airport you arrived at. It was positively promoted by the airlines and tourist agency. My kids used it when they did their North Korea trip, staying a couple of days in Beijing either side of the flights to and from Pyongyang. I think one of the stipulations was that you had to stay within the metropolitan area of your arrival airport though.

Shanghai Airlines used to be part of STAR but moved to SKYTEAM after being taken over by ChinaEastern. There originally were technicalities about the Transit Visa that required the departure flight within 72-hours and had to be from the same airport one arrived at (not just the same city), could not be a return to the initial departure country (Malaysia in your case) and could not be to an interim Chinese airport/city even if transiting. When it was first introduced I had the same issue departing SYD on SQ. Took a while at checkin to sort things out, but Also a “trip” to the supervisor when I got to PVG. As for tomato juice, clearly you’ve not spent enough time in North America to discover the Bloody Mary or Caesar, vodka and tomato/Clamato juice (and various other spices including a spurt of your native Worcestershire sauce). It’s the Unami of tomatoes and as noted altitude that give it a special added taste at 35K feet.😮 I’ve found in Asia What’sApp is pretty universal for contacting people, cabs etc. and in China it’s WeChat.

great video Noel keep up the good work!

Wheww!! I could feel your tension, naughty corner and all. Glad it turned out OK for you.

Had a similar experience transiting through Guangzhou on the way through to Europe. It can be a little challenging but all the airport staff were great. Very little English and I had no Mandarin but got there in the end

I've been to China many times and it's amazing, jaw dropping in places. You have to go to Huangshan mountain and Zhangjiajie (avatar was filmed there!)

Great review of Shanghai Airlines Noel!

Another awesome video Noel Cheers

I can see why you were nervous. I figured the whole idea with the transit was to stay overnight and depart from the same city the next day. I’m glad they let you do it tho!

Shanghai Airlines gets a big thumbs up from me,Nice One Noel 👍😉💪

Terrific video. I traveled to Shanghai many times in the late 90's/early 20's. I always stayed at the Portman Ritz Carlton. It was like a little western city block with American restaurants and Irish pubs. I had a great time when I visited. I had a visa, which made it as easy as traveling to any other country. I'm not sure if it's more difficult to get a visa to China now. I'm also not sure, given the country's leadership in China, that I'd want to revisit the place. Thanks for your content. It never disappoints!

Great vlog Noel, not sure who was more nervous, me or you. Chris.

We came for the planes, we stay for the random encounters noel gets himself into

I transited in Wuhan on 31st December 2019.... The airport transit area was being renovated so they had me actually enter China and check in again for my onward flight. I expected the 1 day transit visa but the entry stamp was for 3 months. I had 7 hours in-between flights so took a taxi ride around the city to kill the time. Airports in China are always extremely good in my experience... I would have edited out the bits where you sound scared lol Good video as always!!

Heavens , mega touch & go there Noel! At least the flight was a good one😀👍

Apparently tomato juice and ginger beer are popular on flights because they have a flavour profile that tastes good with the physiological changes that dull the senses in a pressurised cabin. I think Captain Joe or 74 Gear talked about it in a video years ago. Heston Blumenthal also did a TV show about designing the ideal in-flight food, in which he learned about how the dry air in an aeroplane affects our sense of taste and smell. There are compounds in tomato juice that are among those least affected by the dulling of taste.

I flew Shanghai Airlines from Beijing - Seoul once as part of a trip with China Eastern. One bloke lit up a cigarette mid-flight, I think he'd almost finished it by the time the cabin crew noticed :D

Very interesting video. Having printed copies of everything you might get asked for smoothed your way through. The immigration staff were very polite & coped well with an unusual situation. Your video makes me want to try a visit to China or Hong Kong😀

Great video and what a lovely flight 😊 Chinese staff seem very helpful too.

Noel I'm going to say this your loo reviews is top notch, and especially with the animation, which Josh Cahill's loo reviews lack lol! and thank you for pronouncing Shanghai correctly lol

Yeah... WeChat is huge in China

I hope Rachel is feeling better!❤

That was suspenseful, but great to watch. Thanks Noel for the entertainment. 👍😊🇨🇳

Yes this plane was beautiful & it looked so clean! I'm sorry u had confusion that caused some anxiety. I'm glad Josh was able to help u out! Happy New Year to you and your lovely family! I enjoy ur videos so much! Kind of off the subject, but how is Rachel doing? I have M.S., Lupus & Osteoarthritis so ik how it feels 2b in pain. I hope she's ok & doing well! I hope this new year has her feeling less pain! She's always in my 🙏's! Can u do a video with ur family soon especially u & ur son? If so, can he do the "Loo Review"? He's great...a "mini U" in the making!

As soon as you were having issues with visas I was surprised you didn’t just call Josh. Also want to say I love it how Noel is being chatted up by locals ahhaha😂

I have travelled many times through China enroute to my house in the Philippines. The first time can be quite a bit confusing, but, overall, I've never had any problems transiting.

very efficient cabin crew! 👍👍 China looked nice!

What a good video. Thanks Noel

Great to see another video from Lord Noel! Hopefully Rachel is doing better. Thanks so much for this new upload Lord. Best wishes to Rachel, GOD bless! 💕

I didn't know you could enter without a visa!! So I think that went very well. Also China is VERY modern now. (I live in Hong Kong)

This has to be one of your best videos in a while (not being rude, its the benchmark is really high, as they are all very good). Really enjoyed watching this

I'm new to your channel. I had a good laugh about your WeChat experience. I went through that learning curve several years ago. Very frustrating, but not too bad once you get used to it. I do enjoy Shanghai Airlines. Not a bad airline.

I've never had an issue getting into China since first visited in 2008. It's actually less stressful than going through Heathrow which I always find chaotic and they are good at losing your luggage.

Its interesting how we all have different expectations of China and some of them are quite negative but when we meet people and actually go there, we realise theyre just normal people too and they want the same things we do. Id fly Shanghai Airlines after watching this.

Good to see you back Noel! Continued prayers for your family ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️

This is exciting . Be safe!

China is an amazing country Noel, you should go on a tour! Shanghai is well worth a visit, stay if you can in the Fairmont Peace Hotel on the Bund (Art deco elegance at it's best!)

Tomoto juice under that pressure actually test different and really good. I think its the salt in it. It has been said that the low pressure inside the plane changes/enhances our taste buds

Great vlog as always! I have been twice to PEK. We even took a off meter taxi trip in PEK… My take on TJ 30` in the air. Your taste gets lamer with altitude. TJ taste good in the air. I bought TJ in the store and drank like I was aloft. Holy…! It tasted yak! Now you know. Keep up the good work. This was your safest taxi ride ever! Be safe!

Brilliant video! Very nerve-wracking 🙂✌

Nice vid noel, I have travelled to China from both the UK and Singapore many times before and is not much different than any other country. The only thing I've found is Chinese airports love for remote stands as I have had many of them after landing

My friends in Scotland also like a wee chat!

As a Chinese person who was born in the US and lived here my whole life, I would love to go to China. It scares me to death the thought of going to China but I still want to do it. My Mom, brother, sister, Grandma, and uncle went to China to meet up with another uncle and his family who lives there in like 2016. One thing everyone got to do was see the terracotta warriors, something that is off limits but my one uncle who lives in China managed to do through a perk of working for the company that's important to the health of every human past, present and future.

Oh Noel, after so many trips: never accept a taxi that is offered to you.

Always a bit anxious when approaching immigration in Asia. Glad that you captured it on video even though it's generally prohibited but good to see that you were treated respectfully even though most customs officers don't have much charisma the Chinese have more than most!

Great video as always. Are you using a different camera onboard, as it appeared to be a bit less “stable” than on your previous flights?

Fascinating. Great film. Think if I'd have been asked by the young lady for a wee chat, would have thought my luck was in 😂

Hi Noel! Greetings from a Chinese fan! It's great to see you in my home country and I hope you enjoyed the trip besides the C919 flight. Some quick thoughts: 1. I really don't get the QR code stuff, which is still ridiculously required in the summer of 2023. Let alone they ask foreigners to use Wechat to run the whole process. 2. That being said, the entry requirement is such a relief in comparison with in 2022, which by then was a nightmare. I was deterred by the complicated testing requirements and extremely expensive flight tickets (Imagine a one-way economy ticket SFO-PVG that cost $4000+) and have not gone back since Covid. 3. The travel experience with Chinese carriers could be quite different, depending on the performance of the cabin crew, even within the same airline. And there could also be a huge difference of experience if the passenger speaks Chinese. I think many FAs do speak good English but something can get lost in translation. For example, some senior FAs from Air China tend to take care of passengers like a lovely old lady from the neighborhood in Beijing and that subtle difference might be difficult to perceive in another language. Anyway, hope you can visit China pretty soon and have more time exploring other Chinese carriers.