Xiaoma poses as a clueless tourist in Taipei and surprises street vendors by switching into fluent Chinese.
Taipei is a harder test than New YorkHe notes that in New York most people speak English, so Taipei is where his Chinese really gets tested.
The bit is English first, then ChineseHe approaches vendors as a tourist who can speak no Chinese at all, then switches over mid-conversation.
Vendors read him as a native speakerOne says his Chinese is very fluent, another accepts that he grew up in China and welcomes him to Taiwan.
Executive SummaryAI
Xiaoma moves his usual New York Chinese challenge to Taipei, Taiwan, where English is not the native language and his Mandarin will be properly tested.
His plan is to walk up to vendors as a totally clueless tourist who speaks no Chinese at all, start in English, then switch over to Chinese and watch the reaction.
Working the market stalls he asks about beef steak, dragon fruit and a sweet snack, bargains in Chinese around prices of 100 and 35, hands over 110 and then 100, and the fruit vendor tells him his Chinese is very fluent.
He goes on to stinky tofu, a freshly fried scallion pancake at 40, and a brown sugar osmanthus tea, where he tells the vendor he grew up in China and was adopted and she replies welcome to Taiwan.
After pricing umbrellas at 390, 590 and 400 dollars, he calls the challenge a success because he convinced people he grew up in China, and signs off asking viewers to subscribe.
Key Quote
“3, 2, 1, what's going on everybody? It's Xiaoma.”