Editor's Notes: "To build a modern socialist country in all respects, we must, first and foremost, pursue high-quality development," President Xi Jinping said in the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The promotion of high-quality development means that the world's second-largest economy is experiencing fundamental changes, with its development focus shifting from quantity to quality. The huge transformation has been witnessed by many foreign content creators living in China, and Alex Fabbiano, an Italian YouTuber, is one of them.

Chongqing - Many foreign content creators living in China are trying their best to record their lives in this country. Their videos provide a unique angle for the global audience to understand China deeper. Alex Fabbiano is one of them. Having been attracted by the Kungfu movies, this young Italian man came to Shanghai to start a new life and now majors in Sport Management at Shanghai University of Sport. So far, he has more than 130,000 followers on his YouTube channel, and the seven years he has been through have always inspired him to capture the beauty of the culture and the diversity in this country.

iChongqing interviewing Alex Fabbiano during his trip to Chongqing. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

The first time in China made him want to stay

"Before I visited here, I didn't realize that life can be so convenient. When I came to Shanghai for the first time, I was also stunned by so many skyscrapers in this city." Alex told iChongqing that his first impression of China in 2015 was one of his best moments. "My initial goal was to learn Chinese and do business between Italy and China. But after living here for a while, I decided to stay longer, so I became a student and started my life here."

Alex records many moments of his academic career on YouTube, including writing a thesis, graduating, and other exciting parts of his college life. He'd always keep in good touch with his followers because this drives him to create more valuable content.

Alex shares his academic career on his YouTube channel. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

"I love how this country remains the history and the modernity simultaneously," Alex said. While traveling in China, he produced many videos about how he enjoyed experiencing Chinese traditional therapy like Tuina massage, Acupuncture, Cupping, and Ear cleaning. In these contents, with gentle lighting and relaxing music, Alex shows the very leisurely life in China and promotes the traditional culture in a subtle way to his audience.

Alex produced videos about experiencing Chinese traditional therapy on his YouTube channel. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

The variety of life choices in China is always attractive to Alex. "When it comes to consumption, in China, we have a bigger range; you can live with a little or a lot of money. This is different from where I was born. And the transportation here makes the country very convenient to live in," said Alex.

Trip to Chongqing: a mind-blowing tour to understand the Poverty Alleviation

On September 24, Alex came to Chongqing with CCTV to produce a show about this city. During the six days trip, he went to the Liziba monorail station, the Shibati Scenic Area, the ancient streets, and the Hongya Cave. He tasted Xiaomian (Chongqing noodles), Liangshanji (a spicy braised chicken with Chinese herbs), and other specialties of Chongqing. "My favorite destination is Dazu Rock Carvings, where I can appreciate the fascinating culture and history." Said Alex.

Alex in Minzhu Village. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

But the most mind-blowing tour on this journey was when Alex visited the Minzhu Village in Wuxi County, where the government invested over 840,000 USD in building the only road to improve the life of the locals here. Alex not only challenged the 18-turn "z"-shaped highway but also followed the villagers to learn about the planting and harvesting of Chinese herbal medicines. Alex said it was the first time he witnessed the remarkable results of road repair to local poverty alleviation and prosperity.

Alex experienced harvesting in Minzhu Village. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Alex experienced harvesting in Minzhu Village. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

"It was a cool journey; driving on the 'z' shape road is not easy, but we managed to see the beautiful landscape on the mountaintop and how the local people live there. Also, I got to try to take out the roots of the Chinese herbal medicine and then bring them down from the mountain, which is a hard job." Alex told iChongqing that this experience is unique to life in the downtown area. Even though he has constantly been caring about news on topics of city renovation and poverty alleviation, after this trip, he wants to pay more attention to these fields in China. "I can see this construction project is about helping people in need because their life is harder in a certain area. So I'd like to see the fact that the government is building infrastructures to help the people."

Witnessing China in Covid-19

Despite all the entertaining content, one part you can not miss in Alex's channel is the Covid-19 section. In this series, Alex records his experience from the beginning of the Wuhan pandemic.

"I remembered that I read this on Wechat saying that four doctors are being infected because of Covid-19. And then infection range became bigger, many people on YouTube wanted to know how China could manage to control this because China's action to Wuhan is so fast." Alex said.

Alex's videos about Covid-19 life in China. (Photo provided by iChongqing)

"While recording my life during the covid, I constantly kept an eye on what other people wanted to know. Everyone was impressed by how this Covid-19 control and prevention work was organized in China, and my life here is also a culture shock for them, especially for someone like me growing up in a little city in Italy. Most of my content fascinates them, and they comment that they want to visit China for themselves, whether it's study, food, or traveling."

Therefore, this positive interaction he built with his followers makes him want to stay in China for a more extended period. His goal is to be the bridge to introduce more people to come to China. "China is a very powerful country, and it developed so fast. I like the way that it's always changing," Alex said. "There's always something new, and this attracts me the most."