There Are 2 Kinds of People

Those who have visited China and see the future, and those who do not visit calling the former communist party shills - LVG

Having just returned from China, I decided to gather my thoughts and share some observations with my followers on Twitter/X.

After all, It coincided nicely with a recent podcast interview Lovis and I had with Louis Vincent Gave on the topic of China and investing in general. Louis’ comment quoted below seemed mighty apt.

"There are 2 kinds of people in the world, those who have visited China and see the future, and those who do not visit calling the former communist party shills.."

- Louis Vincent Gave

The post went viral and is now by far the most retweeted and liked post I have yet come up with. I guess the online world at large is rather interested in the broader topic of China, especially when an on-the-ground perspective is given.

Seeing how much interest it has garnered, I thought our substack audience might find the observations to be of value too. So here goes, our first little travel report, straight from the Middle Kingdom:

At the beginning of March, 2025, I brought my family to Yunnan, away from the industrial hubs and into the rolling hills in the south of the country. What I saw, heard and tasted was indeed a version of the future as Louis had mentioned, and one that seemed rather pleasant to me and my family.

When I am usually in China, I am almost always on some crazy business trip visiting 8 factories in 6 cities in 4 days, all while being jet lagged. This time, I was able to spend time getting lost, and learning about things that are perhaps less economic, and more cultural.

For example, being in Yunnan, the art (and science) of Chinese teas was on full display. I was lucky enough to get introduced to this delicious practice by some sincere tea lovers, giving me a peek behind the curtains at what is a millennia long cultural norm. The balance and beauty of the interior spaces often took our breath away.

Talking about beauty, the landscape around us was also pretty gorgeous. This was dawn in the city of Dali (大理) 2000m above sea level.

Now let’s talk about prices.

Freshly handmade wanton (pork dumplings served in a home cooked bone broth) for breakfast - 7 RMB (less than 1 USD). Everything paid for by scanning with my Alipay app. Cash is still fine to use, but the digital payment ecosystem has truly taken over.

Geopolitics was also on the menu, with the grandpa making the dish firing questions at us while we waited. Topics included:

“What's going on with the AFD in Germany? Alice Weidel seems like she makes sense doesn't she?”

“Trump is going to make things tough for China, but perhaps we have more of a shot of peace with Ukraine?”

Warm soybean milk for the kids, at 3 RMB a mug.

A meal for the 4 of us (2 adults and 2 kids) rarely cost more than $10 USD when eating simply (but healthily). Fast food from western chains would be more than double the price in Downtown Kunming.

Another aspect of China that really surprises me is how quickly they pick up cultural aspects from other places, study it and make it their own.

Being in Yunnan means that you are surrounded by all things tea related. However, the old rolling hills are now prolific arabica coffee producing regions too. The sheer amount of Melbourne level coffee on offer was a pleasant surprise. Flat white? It is called 'aussie white' in China (澳白.

I remember being in China in 2015, having to pay $8 USD at the marriot for a pretty average brew. On this trip, I had countless varieties to choose from, and the coffees were roasted and brewed with care. I was even asked, "which beans would you like? Those growing on the sunny side of the hills, or north facing beans?" I was literally gobsmacked. But happy.

Some extra shots of us enjoying caffeinated beverages.

Most of us outside of China have heard about their impressive rail network.

We zipped around between Kunming and Dali with their high-speed trains. Even I was taken aback by how many trains were travelling at any given time between these relatively unknown cities, and how affordable the tickets were.

I guess as Einstein says, alles ist relativ, and I have been living in Europe since 2015.

While posting this, I did a scan for trains travelling between Shanghai and Beijing on the Alipay app. This is a 6 hour ride spanning approx 1300km. Check the prices. Note the ability to translate for foreign tourists within the app.

Once we arrived at a city, we would then take taxis everywhere, with their version of Uber/Grab being called DiDi.

It was just as easy to use, with the only thing we couldn't figure out being the price. A 10 min ride usually cost 12 RMB. About $1.5 USD.

Drivers were friendly, relaxed and taxis were clean and new. All cars were locally made and electric.

A screengrab from my whatsapp messages to friends. According to the taxi driver in Kunming, it costs $5 USD for 400km of range? $10-12k USD for a new electric car?!

The electric vehicle revolution also had a profound impact on the urban landscape. Streets were packed, but were eerily quiet. Even the rental bicycles are now electric. After having just been to Indonesia before China, it was a shock to the system. After spending 3 days there, the rare sound of an ICE car or scooter really stood out.

Just before signing off, a few snippets from Dali’s old town. I had never heard of the place, but it dates back over 1,000 years, and was once the capital of the Nanzhao Kingdom.

Cobblestone streets, Bai architecture, and Cangshan mountain views make it feel frozen in time. Seeing silver smiths banging on bars of silver by hand really drove the vibes home. Finger food fresh off the grill was also paid for with Alipay linked to my Mastercard. It seems the past still exists in this future.

I hope more of us get the chance to travel to see how things are on the other side. It might make for a more balanced dialogue on a civilisation that makes up nearly a 5th of our global population.

If you enjoyed the observations from my little journey to the east, perhaps you might enjoy a previous episode Lovis and I did. In that episode, we look at how different and contrasting values and cultures of the chinese are compared to the west and how it often manifests in interesting ways.