2 days ago
Expat blown away by wild China detail
For these two cities bustling with almost 24 million people, you would expect the streets to sound chaotic with the honking of horns and revving of engines – but that's not the case.
Both Shenzhen in southern China and Suzhou, west of Shanghai, are 'so quiet', it's almost eerie.
Social media has become inundated with expats and tourists alike sharing clips of quiet streets across China as electric and hybrid vehicles take over. And not Teslas, they're mostly domestic brands like BYD.
'Most cars in Shenzhen are electric. The streets are remarkably quiet for a city of 20 million!' one person said in a TikTok.
US expat Garrett who goes by the handle 'theforeignerlife' took a trip to the city of Suzhou, about an hour from his current residence in Shanghai – and he too was left astounded by the mute streets.
He filmed himself standing on what is a busy road showing that, despite cars and motorbikes zooming past, there was virtually no traffic noise.
'There is no road noise in China. The streets are so quiet because there is no gas cars anymore,' he said in the clip.
'OK listen,' he said. 'Do you hear a single car noise? You see all these cars, bikes, all cars moving … so peaceful.
'Look at this, all the cars moving back and forth, no horns, two buses [and] not a single car noise, not a single bit of road noise.'
One viewer commented they visited China twice in the early 90s where cities were 'noisy and smoky'.
'When I went back in September last year … silence. So cool,' they added.
@nihaolucylv China's streets are quiet because most cars are EVs, domestic brands, not Tesla haha. #ev #tesla #china #chinatiktok #chinese #trend #fyp #foryou #history #renewable #cars ♬ original sound - Lucy Lv
Meanwhile, a local from China said now 'all electric cars have the function of intelligently identifying pedestrians'.
'If someone passes in front of the car, the car will automatically slow down or stop.'
The rise in EVs in China comes as local brand BYD shook up the smart-EV industry earlier this year by offering its 'God's Eye' driver-assistance package for free, undercutting the technology Tesla sells for nearly $US9,000 ($A13,800) in China.
And according to Reuters, it's not just BYD, other Chinese auto and tech companies are offering affordable EVs with FSD-like technology for a relative pittance.
China's Leapmotor and Xpeng, for instance, offer systems capable of highway and urban driving in $20,000 vehicles. A slew of Chinese firms are chasing the same technology, an industry push backed by China's government, according to the publication.
In 2024, China sold nearly 13 million fully electric and hybrid vehicles, with EVs accounting for 40 per cent of total sales in the Chinese market.
In Australia, BYD established its brand with compact and affordable electric cars such as the Atto 3 and the Dolphin before moving into $60,000 territory with the BYD Seal electric sedan and Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute.
It beat the Ford Ranger Stormtrak and GWM Cannon Alpha Ultra PHEVs to market to be named our 2024 Car of the Year.
The manufacturer could have the broadest range of any Chinese car company in Australia, mirroring the likes of Toyota with a comprehensive showroom that spans from cheap and cheerful hatchbacks to family cars, luxury off-roaders, utes and performance cars.
