Pasta and Panda

We’re going to end our first China tour in Xinjiang, the video we’re currently editing and will release next week.

This far west region of China is often portrayed as one of the country’s most controversial places. And because Xinjiang is so close to Central Asia, it’s undoubtedly a great first or last stop for travelers coming into or leaving China.

For us, it was our last stop before leaving China for a while.

And, as we were about to find out, our journey in Xinjiang was going to be full of surprises.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How We Kicked Off Our Journey in Xinjiang

We finally arrived at our apart-hotel at 2 AM, with Mr. Coconut.

We quietly let ourselves in using the self-check-in code, hoping to get a few hours of sleep before figuring everything else out in the morning.

BUT! At 6 AM, after barely four hours of sleep, someone started knocking on our door.

Whenever I arrive somewhere new, I’m alway a little paranoid about unexpected things happening. And being woken up like this, in the early morning, definitely didn’t help.

Before I could even fully wake up, the knocking got louder.

Then we heard a girl’s voice from outside: “You need to move out now! I didn’t know you had a foreigner here.”

My brain cannot process this information...

We had already booked the place, paid for it, and checked in.

She explained that she didn’t have the machine to register passports, and she was worried that if the police came to check the property, she could get into trouble, like they might shut down her business kind of trouble.

Hmm... a random police check in the morning?

It reminded me of something we had experienced before in Harbin.

Once, traffic police came very early to my dad's apartment building back street in the morning to give out parking tickets. By the time people went to their cars at 8 or 9am, every improperly parked car had a ticket.

It totally caught us by surprise, since we also got a 200RMB fine. Apparently, they do it every few months, just to remind people that they know it.

So I do at least understand why she was worried about a random early-morning check.

Maybe her fear was excessive. Or maybe she had seen enough to know that it wasn’t worth the risk.

Either way, she wasn’t going to change her mind.

Rather than arguing with her, I asked for two hours to pack our things and a full refund. She agreed to both immediately.

So now we're back outside with our bags, in Xinjiang, at 6 in the morning, tired, homeless, and trying to figure out where we're going to stay.

So... welcome to Xinjiang!


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Xinjiang & Ancient Silk Road

Before coming to Xinjiang, I had a strange mix of curiosity and uneasiness about what we were going to find.

I’d heard so many different stories about this place. On one side, there’s the story of heavy surveillance and the treatment of the Uyghur population. On the other, there’s the romantic image of the Silk Road, vast landscapes, ancient desert cities, and cultures with deep Central Asian and Muslim roots.

As a Han Chinese who has lived overseas for all my adulthood, I’ve heard both sides of the story.

And maybe that’s what made me feel so uneasy, actually guilty rather. Because when you hear two completely different versions of the same place, how do you know where one reality ends and the other begins?


As we started traveling through Xinjiang, we quickly realized that this was going to be very different from anywhere else we’d been in China.

Xinjiang is the largest province-level region in China. It’s a huge and incredibly diverse place, sitting right at the crossroads between eastern China and Central Asia.
At around 1.66 million square kilometers, it makes up roughly one-sixth of China’s entire territory, and is larger than France, Germany, and Spain combined.

But despite being so huge, it has a population of only around 26 million people, roughly the same as the population of Shanghai.

Xinjiang also shares international borders with eight countries: Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

So when you look at Xinjiang on a map, you start to understand why this place has been so important throughout history.

For thousands of years, people, goods, religions, and cultures have passed through here along the Ancient Silk Road, crossing some of the most extreme deserts and mountains on Earth.

And that history is still visible today in the cities, the architecture, the food, and the incredible mix of cultures across Xinjiang.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stay tuned for the new video drop as we take you through Xinjiang, where we’ll see things with our own eyes, dig deeper into its history and culture, and discover what lies beyond the very different stories we had heard about this place.

1 month ago | [YT] | 12

Pasta and Panda

Most people visit this part of China for the neon night markets and the "Peacock Feasts". But we left the resorts behind and headed into China's last rainforest. Somehow we ended up crashing a Yao minority New Year celebration, ate one of our best meals ever in a rainforest market and trekked through the jungle with a guide who taught us everything about survival

Have you watched it yet?

4 months ago | [YT] | 1

Pasta and Panda

We’re planning our South of Spain trip 🇪🇸
What would make it worth watching for you?

4 months ago | [YT] | 5

Pasta and Panda

🚨 NEW VIDEO COMING SOON! 🚨

Thank you all for your patience while waiting for our next upload! It's been a busy month as we've been moving back to Europe and getting settled into our new chapter.

But the wait is almost over—the next video is nearly ready! Before leaving China, we treated ourselves to one final epic road trip into the only subtropical region where tea is believed to have originated.

This fascinating corner of China(bordering Myanmar and Laos) feels like a completely different world. Surrounded by lush landscapes and vibrant minority cultures, it's far removed from the China most people know. The scenery, traditions, and way of life left a lasting impression on us, and we can't wait to share the journey with you.

Stay tuned—this is one you won't want to miss! 🎥🍃🏔️

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3

4 months ago | [YT] | 22

Pasta and Panda

Status report: Currently deep in the DaVinci Resolve trenches finishing up the Pu'er video! 💻🍵 It's been a busy week of life admin and getting settled into our new base in Spain 🇪🇸, but we are pushing to get this edit wrapped up and out to you all very soon. 🎬✨

Appreciate you all hanging tight stay tuned! 🙏❤️ PS Look how cool our little Spanish town is! Can't wait to make a video about this part of the world and share it with y'all!

Skip the Carousel

1 2

5 months ago | [YT] | 7

Pasta and Panda

Hi all! Sorry for the delay in posting our episode, we have been exploring the lives of Kham Tibetans on an epic road trip to one of China's most beautiful places. All while packing to head to a new exciting destination in Europe 👀👀 bear with us we'll be able to be back on track with posting soon 🙌🏼🙌🏼

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4

6 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 22

Pasta and Panda

What happens around here when you leave a water bottle in the car... There's a delay in our next upload cause we have been constantly on the move. We're in the coldest place in China, right at the border with Russia and Mongolia，discovering some incredible places and stories to share with you! Keep an eye for this one!

Skip the Carousel

1 2

8 months ago | [YT] | 11

Pasta and Panda

Our video about the "Chinese Rome" is almost out.. in the meantime we're also planning our next trip to see how people live in China's coldest city 🥶🥶🥶

9 months ago | [YT] | 9

Pasta and Panda

Merry Christmas to all of you amazing people who are on this journey with us 🌟🎄 For us, The closest thing to a Christmas these days was a Yao minority festival we stumbled upon, on the way to the Chinese rainforest, shooting a lot of exciting stories and making plans for a 2026 that we can't wait to share with you all! 🫶🏼 Have a fantastic Christmas and New Year everyone!

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3

9 months ago | [YT] | 17