10 Hour Road Trip Across CHINA in an EV… 🇨🇳 (Could I Actually Make It?)

Comments · 418

• 20

  @20CamelsEmily · 5 months ago · pinned

  I like to be able to start exploring right away when I travel. With Ubigi, I can save myself the trouble of worrying about internet in a foreign country and get an eSIM BEFORE I take off. Download the Ubigi app and get 10% off your first eSIM with code 20CAMELS: <a href="https://go.ubigi.com/dOk953">https://go.ubigi.com/dOk953</a>

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• LI

  @LindemanRichard · 5 months ago

  You can contact BYD and say you are YouTubers traveling in China, have a Chinese driver&apos;s license, and hope they can provide you with a car with the latest fast-charging technology to showcase to your global audience.

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• US

  @user-jihaitao · 4 months ago

  你碰到的两次充电失败并不是充电桩坏掉了，是你第一次注册使用时间太长导致启动失败，通常你重新插拔操作一次就可以了😂

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• PA

  @paladinzzy · 4 months ago (edited)

  I did more than ten thousand miles of driving on Chinese highways. Fantastic experience. Lots of charging stations. Intelligent autopilot capability (you don&apos;t need to drive yourself!) and comfortable cars. I own an Xpeng G9. The original edition with Dynaudio sound system, 3C supercharging and top class autopilot software XNGP. &nbsp;I did Shanghai -- Xi&apos;an and back from Xi&apos;an -- Shanghai multiple times. Never had any trouble. Even during national holidays when highways in East China had traffic jams, EV is so good for such situation: autopilot to follow previous car in slow movement while watching movie streamed over 5G network in the car with big screen and fantastic sound system. Almost all service area along highway have charging station. Even if these are full, you can always exit highway and find a charging station within 5km from the highway. I have not been through that kind of extreme situation despite travelling on national day holiday and dragon boat holiday. Thanks to the abundance of charging stations all over China.

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• BE

  @benkamelmayssem5780 · 5 months ago

  You have to try a BYD with its mind blowing 12 minutes charging time.

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• ZI

  @zizimai7568 · 5 months ago

  Biggest mistake to assume all EVs are the same. 😂

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• TY

  @tyrealhan8229 · 4 months ago

  Welcome to China for your travels and explorations! I have a few tips that I hope will help you out:<br>1. On Car Rentals<br>If you plan to rent a car, I highly recommend prioritizing Chinese brands like Li Auto (LI), BYD, XPENG, or AITO (Huawei-backed). The Audi you rented is quite outdated in the EV era—it’s expensive but underperforms compared to local brands in terms of charging speed and smart features.<br>For example, with a Li Auto​ or AITO, the car can practically handle the entire highway drive on its own, managing navigation and lane changes autonomously. BYD’s flash-charging is incredibly fast; Audi feels like it belongs to a previous generation. Since you are renting, try to get a new model from 2025 or 2026. For the price of that Audi, you could easily rent a high-end model from LI or BYD, which would offer a significantly better experience.<br>2. Charging Stations<br>China’s charging network is currently fragmented because different provinces have different operators competing in the market. If you are crossing multiple provinces, this might be an issue. To avoid registering accounts for every single app, I suggest sticking to Li Auto or BYD chargers​ whenever possible. If you rent one of their cars, the navigation system has built-in shortcuts to find their brand-specific chargers, making things much more convenient.<br>3. Payment &amp; Apps<br>You can use WeChat​ to scan QR codes at any charging station to register and start charging. However, most of these apps are only in Chinese and aren&apos;t very user-friendly for international travelers. You don&apos;t need to register your license plate number—some apps ask for it to provide 2 hours of free parking, but since you are renting a car, you won&apos;t need that benefit, so you can skip those steps. I know it might be tricky to navigate the Chinese interface, as the UX design isn&apos;t always the most intuitive.<br>4. Cameras &amp; Public Safety<br>Don&apos;t worry about the cameras on the highways; they are strictly for catching traffic violations. The cameras in regular neighborhoods are for public security, and the systems are separate.<br>People often criticize China for having too many cameras, citing privacy concerns, but we find this perspective a bit baffling. When I visited Chicago and New York in the U.S., I was shocked by how unsafe certain areas felt at night. As a tourist, I felt uneasy. We believe public services should serve the people and ensure safety above all else.<br>The debate over privacy and the perception of police varies greatly between cultures. Here, we have a very positive view of the police. If you encounter any problems during your trip, feel free to ask a local officer for help. They will do their best to assist you, no matter how small the issue. <br>5.Most Chinese people aren&apos;t great at English (I&apos;m relying on AI translation myself!), so you&apos;ll definitely want to have a handy translation tool ready.<br>Younger generations speak better English, and it&apos;s more widely spoken in first-tier cities. Once you get to inland areas like Yunnan, the proficiency drops off. That said, since Yunnan is a major tourist destination, it shouldn&apos;t be a big problem—they are used to dealing with international visitors.<br><br>Wishing you a fantastic trip!

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• JO

  @joewilliam2259 · 5 months ago

  Try BYD flash charging next time, your life will be changed.

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• TR

  @TravelwithOmarFarooq · 5 months ago

  Very informational! Next time in China, visit definitely will make a road trip on EV!

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• KI

  @KingsJHSD · 5 months ago

  隧道里面警笛声和红蓝爆闪灯作用是避免驾驶人疲劳驾驶提高驾车注意力 提示某些路段要减速慢行

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• MO

  @momo-r7d9l · 4 months ago

  In the west coast of the uSSa, the gasoline prices are averaging over $6.00, approaching $7.00 a gallon. &nbsp;People want an affordable advanced Chinese EV, but the government is protecting the billionaires who own and control the american auto industry.

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• JZ

  @jzeng2022 · 5 months ago

  You hit the nail on the head. While expressway service areas do have plenty of charging piles, they are operated by various different companies. This means you have to register a new account every time you use a different station, which is super annoying.I frequently charge at service areas and haven&apos;t actually encountered broken piles that often. If you stick to chargers from major manufacturers like BYD, Tesla, Li Auto, or Huawei, the maintenance is generally much better.Plus, residential electricity in China is incredibly cheap. If you charge during off-peak hours—between 12 AM and 8 AM—it costs only 0.36 RMB per kWh (about $0.053). In contrast, service areas use commercial rates, which are 0.72 RMB per kWh (about $0.10). On top of that, the operators charge a 0.5 RMB service fee per kWh. So, charging on the highway ends up costing 1.22 RMB per kWh (about $0.18).

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