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Scott Chen

@alreadydawn • 9,423 subscribers

Writer, musician, psychedelic medicine advocate. On 🇹🇼+🇨🇳+🇺🇸 culture & politics, travel, spirituality, Naruto. Check out my vlogs & podcast on Youtube👇

Shorts

Countryside views traveling from Yangzhou to Jinan. The area is surprisingly well-maintained and wealthy. Reminds me of the Netherlands’ suburbs.

Countryside views traveling from Yangzhou to Jinan. The area is surprisingly well-maintained and wealthy. Reminds me of the Netherlands’ suburbs.

60,656 views

Train from Jinan to Beijing. Residential houses are smaller and subpar compared to the Jiangsu ones in the quoted video. Roads seem less organized and less paved too. Combine this with the more smoky air, northern China's quality of life seems noticeably worse than the south.

Train from Jinan to Beijing. Residential houses are smaller and subpar compared to the Jiangsu ones in the quoted video. Roads seem less organized and less paved too. Combine this with the more smoky air, northern China's quality of life seems noticeably worse than the south.

17,768 views

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Wtf is going on in Richmond 🇨🇦? So many Seattle folks have told me over the years that they go to this neighborhood in greater Vancouver for good Chinese food. I had a bit of time to explore and headed out there. I walked through 3 mall/food courts. The first, Aberdeen Centre, was supposed to be bustling according to Gemini (and it has 4.1 stars on Google Maps, with many positive recent reviews). The place was a complete ghost town on a Friday evening. I didn't film because I was simultaneously creeped out and confused by what I saw. Really, really bad vibes. The 2nd one was empty as well. The 3rd one at least had a bit of a crowd (but only because it is right next to a supermarket). I get that the good food are probably over at the standalone restaurants in the nearby burbs, but man did I not expect these spots to be in such sorry states. Not sure how much this reflects the state of 2026 Canada in general.

Wtf is going on in Richmond 🇨🇦? So many Seattle folks have told me over the years that they go to this neighborhood in greater Vancouver for good Chinese food. I had a bit of time to explore and headed out there. I walked through 3 mall/food courts. The first, Aberdeen Centre, was supposed to be bustling according to Gemini (and it has 4.1 stars on Google Maps, with many positive recent reviews). The place was a complete ghost town on a Friday evening. I didn't film because I was simultaneously creeped out and confused by what I saw. Really, really bad vibes. The 2nd one was empty as well. The 3rd one at least had a bit of a crowd (but only because it is right next to a supermarket). I get that the good food are probably over at the standalone restaurants in the nearby burbs, but man did I not expect these spots to be in such sorry states. Not sure how much this reflects the state of 2026 Canada in general.

107,805 views • 15 days ago

One common misconception about Taiwan is that all the Han Chinese on the island came over with with Chiang Kai-shek in 1949, when Mao's forces took control of all of mainland China and established the PRC. The Chinese have been immigrating to Taiwan since the 1600s, before the Qing Dynasty (or the United States) was even established. Both sides of my family immigrated during Qianlong's reign, during the latter half of the 1700s. We have been in Taiwan for so long that we don't know of a single blood relative in mainland China - which is something that surprises even my mainlander friends.

One common misconception about Taiwan is that all the Han Chinese on the island came over with with Chiang Kai-shek in 1949, when Mao's forces took control of all of mainland China and established the PRC. The Chinese have been immigrating to Taiwan since the 1600s, before the Qing Dynasty (or the United States) was even established. Both sides of my family immigrated during Qianlong's reign, during the latter half of the 1700s. We have been in Taiwan for so long that we don't know of a single blood relative in mainland China - which is something that surprises even my mainlander friends.

54,670 views • 2 months ago

In China I often encounter what I facetiously call “ear rape”: being subjected to an environment that's way too fucking loud. People talk too loudly, blast shortform slop vids on speakerphone, or in this case, honk excessively. My theory on what causes ear rape boils down to: 1. Lack of awareness around how one's behavior impacts others. From what I’ve seen, many really are not conscious that they are being a nuisance in public. Personal boundary and privacy are not as valued compared to other places in East Asia. 2. Baseline anxiety in Chinese society is high. Everyone's on that sigma grindset to obtain money and status and to get ahead. The stress looms over everyone, especially delivery and taxi drivers. Many have this air of impatience about them. Getting stuck in minor traffic is enough for many to explode in anger and honk their tits off. (1) will slowly sort itself out as people in China become more sophisticated and educated. The CPC also has been conspicuously promoting better civic values. Apparently, it has been working, as things have changed drastically compared to just 10 years ago. (2) will be harder to address, as the economy there has cooled and the average folk's future financial outlook seems bearish. Not to be discounted is the innately striver characteristics within Chinese culture (comparison/competition with others, overindexing on school name and company prestige, etc). This vid was taken back in April at the parking lot in the Xi’an North HSR station. I recorded on a whim because the noise was reeeaaally getting on my nerves.

In China I often encounter what I facetiously call “ear rape”: being subjected to an environment that's way too fucking loud. People talk too loudly, blast shortform slop vids on speakerphone, or in this case, honk excessively. My theory on what causes ear rape boils down to: 1. Lack of awareness around how one's behavior impacts others. From what I’ve seen, many really are not conscious that they are being a nuisance in public. Personal boundary and privacy are not as valued compared to other places in East Asia. 2. Baseline anxiety in Chinese society is high. Everyone's on that sigma grindset to obtain money and status and to get ahead. The stress looms over everyone, especially delivery and taxi drivers. Many have this air of impatience about them. Getting stuck in minor traffic is enough for many to explode in anger and honk their tits off. (1) will slowly sort itself out as people in China become more sophisticated and educated. The CPC also has been conspicuously promoting better civic values. Apparently, it has been working, as things have changed drastically compared to just 10 years ago. (2) will be harder to address, as the economy there has cooled and the average folk's future financial outlook seems bearish. Not to be discounted is the innately striver characteristics within Chinese culture (comparison/competition with others, overindexing on school name and company prestige, etc). This vid was taken back in April at the parking lot in the Xi’an North HSR station. I recorded on a whim because the noise was reeeaaally getting on my nerves.

11,363 views • 12 days ago

I'm seeing more and more instances of demand not keeping up with supply in China: * Hotels are abundant, even at random cities like Jinan, where rates are amazingly low. You can get a decent place at below 20 usd per night. The ones I've stayed at so far seem to lack customers in general. The hotel I stayed in Yangzhou has a coffee/drinks bar that has been unmanned for quite some time and just collecting dust. * Lines of taxis waiting for riders outside of HSR stations. Some pointed out that this has been the case for years, but the number of potential riders does not match the sheer number of cars. Even at 3rd tier cities at night where few people are out and about the station, the taxi lines stretch on forever like the Great Wall. (I get that taxis around the world have been severely impacted by ride-hailing softwares like Uber and Didi, but these great wall-like taxi lines are nuts to witness.) * Malls outside of the hot ones in Tier 1 cities (ie Coco Park in Shenzhen) are quiet. The one I'm next to here in Qingdao by their Olympics sailing center is nearly deserted, with most storefronts closed. I'm sure there are many reasons for this supply/demand problem (as do most complex issues), but a big factor has to be involution (內卷), where the Chinese try to outcompete each other at the exact same thing, driving supply way up and prices down. This all reminds me of a story shared by Spandrell that goes: "When a Jewish businessman opens a gas station at a new town, other Jews come to the city to open various businesses - bakery, accounting firm, law firm, restaurant. When a Chinese businessman opens a gas station at a new town, other Chinese come to the city to open gas stations."

I'm seeing more and more instances of demand not keeping up with supply in China: * Hotels are abundant, even at random cities like Jinan, where rates are amazingly low. You can get a decent place at below 20 usd per night. The ones I've stayed at so far seem to lack customers in general. The hotel I stayed in Yangzhou has a coffee/drinks bar that has been unmanned for quite some time and just collecting dust. * Lines of taxis waiting for riders outside of HSR stations. Some pointed out that this has been the case for years, but the number of potential riders does not match the sheer number of cars. Even at 3rd tier cities at night where few people are out and about the station, the taxi lines stretch on forever like the Great Wall. (I get that taxis around the world have been severely impacted by ride-hailing softwares like Uber and Didi, but these great wall-like taxi lines are nuts to witness.) * Malls outside of the hot ones in Tier 1 cities (ie Coco Park in Shenzhen) are quiet. The one I'm next to here in Qingdao by their Olympics sailing center is nearly deserted, with most storefronts closed. I'm sure there are many reasons for this supply/demand problem (as do most complex issues), but a big factor has to be involution (內卷), where the Chinese try to outcompete each other at the exact same thing, driving supply way up and prices down. This all reminds me of a story shared by Spandrell that goes: "When a Jewish businessman opens a gas station at a new town, other Jews come to the city to open various businesses - bakery, accounting firm, law firm, restaurant. When a Chinese businessman opens a gas station at a new town, other Chinese come to the city to open gas stations."

49,640 views • 4 months ago

As the great Three Kingdoms general Cao Cao once said: "To live in a time of chaos is a misfortune. But if we can turn chaos into order, would that not be turning misery into a great fortune?"

As the great Three Kingdoms general Cao Cao once said: "To live in a time of chaos is a misfortune. But if we can turn chaos into order, would that not be turning misery into a great fortune?"

35,506 views • 4 months ago

$Tsinghua University students eat like KINGS 🧵 Today I had the pleasure of touring and eating at a cafetaria at Tsinghua University, China's number one college in Beijing. This one, Zijingyuan (紫荊園), is loaded to the gills with different stalls at each of its 4 floors. It is one of \\20// cafetarias serving Tsinghua's 63k students and 17k staff. As usual, the scale in China is simply nuts. Each of the stall among the 4 floors is unique. Most of the various Chinese cuisines (think Shanghai food, Sichuan food, Hunan food) are represented here - from sauerkraut fish and HK BBQ to soup dumplings and a gajillion different stir-fries. Taiwanese/Fujian food was missing though. Sad 🥲 The pricing is decently affordable too, at about 5 USD per meal if you want to have hearty portions of protein. The school subsidizes.. in other words, the CPC subsidizes. Contrast this to American universities that serve straight garbage for 20 dollars each meal. That is what happens when international finance takes over your country, by the way - every single thing becomes usury, every single time.$

Tsinghua University students eat like KINGS 🧵 Today I had the pleasure of touring and eating at a cafetaria at Tsinghua University, China's number one college in Beijing. This one, Zijingyuan (紫荊園), is loaded to the gills with different stalls at each of its 4 floors. It is one of \\20// cafetarias serving Tsinghua's 63k students and 17k staff. As usual, the scale in China is simply nuts. Each of the stall among the 4 floors is unique. Most of the various Chinese cuisines (think Shanghai food, Sichuan food, Hunan food) are represented here - from sauerkraut fish and HK BBQ to soup dumplings and a gajillion different stir-fries. Taiwanese/Fujian food was missing though. Sad 🥲 The pricing is decently affordable too, at about 5 USD per meal if you want to have hearty portions of protein. The school subsidizes.. in other words, the CPC subsidizes. Contrast this to American universities that serve straight garbage for 20 dollars each meal. That is what happens when international finance takes over your country, by the way - every single thing becomes usury, every single time.

28,753 views • 4 months ago

Finally finished my cover of Kanye West’s Heil (Mecha)Hitler! They don’t understand the things Grok says on Twitter 🤖 I’ve published a short write-up and the piano sheets for free on Substack. Link in comment.

Finally finished my cover of Kanye West’s Heil (Mecha)Hitler! They don’t understand the things Grok says on Twitter 🤖 I’ve published a short write-up and the piano sheets for free on Substack. Link in comment.

36,001 views • 1 year ago

One more China travel *PRO* tip 🍽️ On the delivery app Meituan, you can look up restaurants in advance and look for combo deals. The discounts are massive - often 50% or more. My friend and I look for 2-3 people meal deals that always come down to just 6~7 USD per person (big portions too). Not only do you save money, you also save yourself the time and mental strain of having to pick each dish one by one. This is especially helpful for Chinese cuisine's family style - by letting the restaurant essentially do omakase, you don't need to worry about making everyone at your table happy. The pressure is delegated to the restaurant staff. Last but not least, you de-risk from picking too many or too few dishes.

One more China travel PRO tip 🍽️ On the delivery app Meituan, you can look up restaurants in advance and look for combo deals. The discounts are massive - often 50% or more. My friend and I look for 2-3 people meal deals that always come down to just 6~7 USD per person (big portions too). Not only do you save money, you also save yourself the time and mental strain of having to pick each dish one by one. This is especially helpful for Chinese cuisine's family style - by letting the restaurant essentially do omakase, you don't need to worry about making everyone at your table happy. The pressure is delegated to the restaurant staff. Last but not least, you de-risk from picking too many or too few dishes.

14,879 views • 4 months ago

Been using this super useful Chrome extension called "Zhongwen: Chinese-English Dictionary" to help improve my language skills (I am specifically looking to get better at reading simplified characters). Mouse over a character, and it will show: * The definition(s) * The pronunciation - pinyin with tones * Both traditional and simplified versions of the character Saves you the friction from manually looking up every word yourself.

Been using this super useful Chrome extension called "Zhongwen: Chinese-English Dictionary" to help improve my language skills (I am specifically looking to get better at reading simplified characters). Mouse over a character, and it will show: * The definition(s) * The pronunciation - pinyin with tones * Both traditional and simplified versions of the character Saves you the friction from manually looking up every word yourself.

11,603 views • 5 months ago

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