Ken Abroad is a German blogger who loves "city walk" travel videos: no packed itineraries, just slow strolls through cities, casually recording people and moments.
His Shanghai video hit 810,000 views — outstanding for a travel video. From the Bund to lane houses, Wukang Road to the old city: morning soy milk and youtiao, old men playing chess on corners, the glittering Lujiazui night skyline. No voice-over overload, just the city breathing.
Ken wants to film "not the China of travel guides, but the China that lives". His quiet, warm camera makes viewers say, "I want to book a flight to Shanghai right now."
Behind 810,000 views lies worldwide curiosity about the real China. City-walk storytelling is becoming a new way foreigners meet China.
Ken Abroad (b. mid-1990s), foreign travel blogger, went viral when one Shanghai video got 810,000 views. His video made many foreign netizens "rediscover Shanghai".
What he filmed: a first-person day in Shanghai - morning alleys, The Bund dawn light, bustling Nanjing Road, classical Yuyuan Garden, the Lujiazui skyline, night riverside. He captured Shanghai "magic city" atmosphere vividly.
Why 810,000 views: no sensational titles; it wins on "real + effort" - real streets, real everyday life, high-quality filming and editing. Foreign comments: "Shanghai is this beautiful?" "completely changed my impression".
Other content: he films travel vlogs across Chinese cities in a "city wanderer" style - not rushing sights but recording daily texture and character.
Significance: he represents foreign creators who "portrait cities with cameras". One video showed 810,000 people another side of Shanghai - the power of content.
Lesson: his success shows city image needs no grand narrative; one ordinary lens, one authentic day, is enough to move the world.
A detail of his Shanghai video: no staged shots of influencer hotspots - just one ordinary Shanghai day: elders exercising, street vendors setting up, commuters rushing to the metro. Those "never-filmed" everyday moments let 810,000 people see the real Shanghai. He is expanding his "city wanderer" series to more Chinese cities.
One line: he made 810,000 people rediscover Shanghai. Your lens also holds a China worth seeing.
He also shared his method: stay at least three days per city, do one thing daily - morning at the food market, afternoon on the bus, evening in old neighbourhoods. He says "spend time on the streets and the city will speak for itself." This "slow travel" philosophy is influencing more foreign travellers.
He recently updated Hangzhou and Suzhou city-wanderer episodes to wide praise. He often says "every Chinese city has its own character; I only need to record honestly." Those words are worth remembering for every content creator.
