A Day in Shenzhen: Small Apartment Cooking and Walmart Prices

Channel: Ting-Daily life in China Published: July 15, 2026 Duration: 28:33 Views: 1.5M

What this video shows

The narrator is a woman who has lived alone in Shenzhen for four years, originally from Henan province in north China. Her day moves from cooking at home — mixing meat, vegetables, dried shrimp and Chinese sausage, soaking glutinous rice for eight hours — to a weekly grocery run at Walmart, roughly 6 km from her apartment. She shops the household and food aisles, pays by phone at self-checkout, then walks home past a Henan food stall. Late at night she finishes making Cantonese shaomai with a secondhand induction cooker and packs them for the next day's lunch.

At a glance

LocationShenzhen; narrator is from Henan
SettingLarge city, small apartment
What it coversHome cooking, Walmart grocery prices, late-night routine
Costs mentionedMatcha coffee RMB 13.99 (about $1.96); toothpaste RMB 19.99 (about $2.91); bleach RMB 21.90 (about $3.07); laundry detergent RMB 39.99 (about $5.60); toilet cleaner RMB 9.99 (about $1.40); plastic wrap RMB 15.90 (about $2.23); wet wipes RMB 6.90 (about $0.97); clothespins RMB 9.90 (about $1.39); wok RMB 559 (about $78.26); rice cooker RMB 399 (about $55.86); juicer RMB 139.90 (about $19.59); electric steamer RMB 399 (about $55.86); induction cooker RMB 299 (about $41.86) new, RMB 170 (about $24) secondhand; chicken feet RMB 19.99 (about $2.80); chips RMB 5.90–8.90; cut fruit RMB 16.99 (about $2.38); blueberries RMB 15.00 (about $2.10); chicken wings RMB 17.99 (about $2.52); discounted beef RMB 30.48 (about $4.27); ground meat RMB 11.85 (about $1.66); ready meal RMB 15.99 (about $2.24); dumpling wrappers RMB 4.00 (about $0.56); mushrooms RMB 2.00–18.00; frozen dumplings RMB 9.99 (about $1.40); frozen vegetables RMB 15.00 (about $2.10); discounted French bread RMB 6.99 (about $0.98); milk 1.69L RMB 18.99 (about $2.66); grilled chicken RMB 19.99 (about $2.80); dry shrimps RMB 19.99 (about $2.80); Chinese sausage RMB 29.99 (about $4.20); grocery total RMB 342 (about $48); haircut around RMB 20 (about $3); street noodles about $2
Time of dayAfter work through nearly 10 p.m. and past midnight

What stands out

Walmart entered China in Shenzhen in 1996, and the store here is a weekly stock-up rather than a quick stop — the RMB 342 total is described as enough to last about two weeks. Payment is entirely by phone QR code, and the narrator notes a broken QR bike lock forced a walk home instead. Kitchen appliances are a window into aspiration: she browses woks and steamers she has no room for, and bought her induction cooker used on Xianyu. A Henan noodle stall near her home, in what she calls a village-like area, reminds her of her mother's handmade noodles.

Video transcript

mixing meat and veggies dry shrimps add Chinese sausage It feels satisfying... seeing everything come together. The kitchen area is small ... I have to cook rice here Rice is ready I use gloves, it's much easy now mix together Shaping the meat into small balls. Cooking makes me very relaxed Time to wrap the filling. They make noodles by hand. After work,I want go to Walmart for weekly grocery shopping. It's about 6 km from where I live. There isn't one nearby. So I try to buy more for daily life in China Matcha Coffee – 13.99 RMB ($1.96 / €1.82)

Toothpaste – 19.99 RMB ($2.91 / €2.49) Bleach – 21.90 RMB ($3.07 / €2.85) Walmart opened its first store in Shenzhen in 1996 Laundry Detergent – 39.99 RMB ($5.60 / €5.20) Toilet Cleaner – 9.99 RMB ($1.40 / €1.30) Plastic Wrap – 15.90 RMB ($2.23 / €2.07) Wet Wipes – 6.90 RMB ($0.97 / €0.90) Prices feel still reasonable. Clothespins – ¥9.90 ($1.39 / €1.29) I walked into the kitchen section. Wok – ¥559 ($78.26 / €72.67) I always stop here for a while... Rice Cooker – ¥399 ($55.86 / €51.87) In north China, I don't use

this much... Juicer – ¥139.90 ($19.59 / €18.19) Even though… my kitchen is very small. I still like looking at these things. I always dream renting a house, that kitchen has gas Electric Steamer – ¥399 ($55.86 / €51.87) I wonder, if you also use steam to cook food? Induction Cooker – ¥299 ($41.86 / €38.87) Yesterday I ordered this, second hand one online I will use it to cook the food later Sometimes I imagine… what my future kitchen might look like... Chicken Feet – ¥19.99 ($2.80 / €2.60) We Chinese poeple love chicken feet...

Lay's (Cucumber Flavor) – ¥5.90 ($0.83 / €0.77) is this flavour available in your country ? it is my favourite one Lay's (Texas BBQ) – ¥5.90 ($0.83 / €0.77) Chips (Avocado Flavor) – ¥8.90 ($1.25 / €1.16) Lay's (Lime Flavor) – ¥7.90 ($1.11 / €1.03) Cut Fruit (Melon Mix) – ¥16.99 ($2.38 / €2.21) Ready to eat. Very convenient. Blueberries made in China– ¥15.00 ($2.10 / €1.95) Chicken Wings – ¥17.99 ($2.52 / €2.34) Beef (Discount Price) – ¥30.48 ($4.27 / €3.96) Ground Meat – ¥11.85 ($1.66 / €1.54) Ready Meal –

¥15.99 ($2.24 / €2.08) Dumpling Wrappers – ¥4.00 ($0.56 / €0.52) Mushrooms – ¥2.00 ~ ¥18.00 ($0.28–$2.52 / €0.26–€2.34) Frozen Dumplings – ¥9.99 ($1.40 / €1.30) Frozen Vegetables – ¥15.00 ($2.10 / €1.95) Just walking slowly... no rush today. French Bread (Discount) – ¥6.99 ($0.98 / €0.91) I didn't plan to buy it... but it looked nice, and good discounted price Milk /1.69L– ¥18.99 ($2.66 / €2.47) Grilled Chicken – ¥19.99 ($2.80 / €2.60) Dry Shrimps – ¥19.99 ($2.80 / €2.60) Chinese Sausage – ¥29.99

($4.20 / €3.90) these two I buy for tonight's cooking I will cook "ShaoMai" first time so looking forward Self-checkout area. We always pay with our phones. QR codes... everywhere in China. Do you think it's dystopian ? Somehow it could be too easy to spend money ... I'm not sure if Walmart in your country is like this too. Total: ¥342 ($48 / €45) A little expensive than my nearby supermaraket. Anyway still can support me 2 weeks There's always a small barber shop in malls in China. Around ¥20 ($3) for a haircut. Everything feels heavier after

shopping. But it's okay... I get used to doing things alone. I wanna unlock a bike… in China every corner has QR bikes but this QR code can not be scanned unfortunately. so I decided to walk ... I passed by a small food stall after 1 mile walking It is Henan food... from my hometown. This is more like a villiage My mom makes it the same way. I grow up eating this handmade noodles by my mom Watching this... feels a little like home. Living alone in Shenzhen for 4 years this is the first time I saw this ... Such simple food, but it means so much to me.

The smell, the warmth, the little steam... ...brings back so many memories. I just maked the order,so looking forward to it... only $2 ... I told myself not to eat after 6 p.m. I wanna lose weight but not today... It's almost 10 p.m. But the city is still awake. it tastes like mom cooking for me. Sometimes that's all I need. Finally back home ... I need catch the breath for a while ... The glutinous rice had been soaking for almost 8 hours. It felt like it had been waiting for me all day. I wanna cook Cantanese Shaomai even it is too late.. this holes

makes easier to steam I need to steam it for about 30 to 45 minutes. carrots, green peas, corn chopping the sausage Simple ingredients… but somehow comforting. I already felt like I made too much. When I cook for myself… I always end up cooking more than I need. And then it becomes food for several days… not just one meal. Just enough to make it into small bits… not too fine, still with texture. This is my new induction cooker. I’m really happy with it. It works surprisingly well. I got it for ¥170 ($24 USD / €22 EUR) on Xianyu, a secondhand

app in China. I fried some minced pork until it smelled good. soy sauce dark soy sauce salt wrapping them with dumpling skin it's already so late... I will take them with me for lunch break tommorow Do you think it looks delicous ? I cleaned up… and go to sleep Thanks for watching. I steamed them again for a few minutes. During that time, I kept checking them. I think I've reached my limit today. While waiting, I started preparing the filling. Make mushrooms into small pieces. I didn’t expect it to take so long. But I still wanted to finish it. Maybe

I made too many for one person. Enough for two weeks… maybe even a month.

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