The first time I travelled to China was in the spring of 2010. Not many people there knew what smartphone was at that time, not many people could communicate in English either. It was the Orient at its best and I am really glad I could experience China before the technological revolution took place there. Obviously, there are still places in Middle Kingdom where you can find the essence of its complex and multi-ethnic culture. Conquering Northern China takes a viewer on a ride of a lifetime to explore and conquer the areas of China not yet seen by many before.
The hosts and main characters of the documentary are Winston Sterzel and Matthew Tye, known to wider audience as Serpentza and Laowhy86. Serpentza is the original China Youtuber who have been covering his experience of living in China for more than a decade now; Laowhy86 is his friend and another successful China Youtuber. Actually, I managed to convince 
Serpentza and Laowhy86 used to own Churchill Custom, a bike company in China. They actually built their own motorbikes and have been very successful in covering their life and adventures across China on their ADVChina Youtube channel. Last year they released a four-episode documentary, Conquering Southern China, which brought them international acclaim and success. Conquering Northern China is a sequel to CSC with similar formula: exploring unknown areas of China on motorbikes! This time Winston and C-Milk start their adventure in Shandong province and ride through Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia on an epic 10,000-kilometre motorcycle ride!
What makes the show special is the fact that both hosts can speak Mandarin and they interact with the locals without using an interpreter. It definitely gives the series a genuine feel and a natural flow. Then, their formula of travelling on motorbikes is a guarantee for real adventures and mishaps, which make the show very gripping. Next, both hosts have extensive first-hand experience of Chinese culture and lifestyle. I believe their understanding of life in Middle Kingdom goes way beyond any other travellers' or adventurers' who make documentaries; they have been breathing, eating and sleeping China for over a decade. It definitely adds a lot of value to their remarks and comments.
The production of Conquering Northern China is phenomenal and it is a leap forward compared to Conquering Southern China, their previous show. Epic drone shots, on-action cameras, 4k video quality - it's got it all. On top of that, music for the documentary was carefully selected and it perfectly fits the sceneries of the bike adventures. It is amazing to see Serpentza's and Laowhy86's progress as film-makers from their simple videos on Youtube to this epic documentary, which was actually premiered in full-packed theatres in USA.
Last but not least, Serpentza and Laowhy86 show China for what it really is. Conquering Northern China captures the beauty, versatility and complexity of Middle Kingdom, still not fully explored and understood by the Western world. It is definitely one of the best documentaries on China ever made and an absolute must-see for all interested in culture, history and geography of one of the most mysterious countries on Earth.
Earworm