Oh man oh man oh man.

So tonight I was wandering Tiananmen Square (sp?) like a stupid tourist and some girl approaches me. Naturally I ignore her along with the plethora of girls trying to sell something if not sell themselves. But she says she wants to practice English. I say, okay can't hurt. So we chat chat chat for a while, watch the sunset, turns out she's an English teacher from Western China on vacation in Beijing ... I use my superhuman honesty sensor to detect that she's genuine. She offers to walk around one of the shopping areas with me, so I take the offer. We're chatting the whole time (been about an hour now), stopping in a few shops but not buying. One of us points out a sign for CHINESE TEA CEREMONG (typo included) and she asks what's the deal. I say it's a typo, but don't know what a "tea ceremony" is. She says let's check it out.

Wander upstairs, some nice ladies welcome us (only customers) to a table that might seat 6. So we get a nice demonstration and a tasting of six various teas - VERY good tea, I might add. They also bring out three little plates of nuts to munch on, cleanse the palette I guess. The whole thing is in Chinese and my new girlfriend is translating for me. So finally at the end I ask if I can buy some tea to take home (of course, duh). I was very surprised at the "government-set" prices - upwards of 1000 RMB / kilo. Okay, I suck it up and get the small container for 500 RMB. Then the bill comes, and the tea ceremony, itemized for each of the six teas we tried plus the nuts, comes to total of ** 1100 RMB ** ?? Plus, of course, the tea I had purchased.

Normally I'm a savvy traveler -- ask prices before trying food or getting in the cab, don't shop on tourist thoroughfares, etc.

What happened? I would suspect that the whole thing, including the nice Chinese girl wanting to "practice English", is an elaborate scam, but she also shelled out for her own gift box of tea! I'm sure I got fleeced, but what exactly happened, other than making the mistake of not asking the price beforehand?? My only reasonable theory is that it's meant for larger groups (4-6) who would split the cost of the ceremony, also bargain the price in advance. I might add that the tea was very good, and paying 1000-2000 RMB is not unheard of for good tea.

Only one way to find out: call her up and go to a McDonald's or smthn tomorrow...if you see her face again, there's a good probability everything is legit :)

Anyway, if you feel it was somewhat worth it, it couldn't have been that awful of a scam...maybe she was just a promoter for that (expensive) place, nothing wrong with that (even her "desire to learn English).

That kind of money for six teas... I'd be thinking I'd been fleeced.

But what a well executed scam - maybe it was worth the 2100 RMB.

Did the girl make herself scarce as soon as the transaction was completed?

I think 1100 RMB is bit on the high side for the tea-ceremony, but I agree, the teas at the tea-ceremony places are rather inflated. I'd recommend
buying the teas from a local tea store instead.

If you are still in Beijing and interested in the Tea, there is a store on the
top floor of the new Market. I've found that to be the least inflated among
the tea-stores i've visited. and you can try them before you buy them.
And ofcourse, you can bargain. Go late in the day. If they start with
an amount, you start bargaining with 1/10th of it. You cant do this in
a tea house though.

I've bumped into many people who wanted to practice English at Tianamen
Square and I found them to be the best guides. They offered a lot
of useful information and I think it was all honest. No one ever asked us to
buy anything. In fact, they cautioned us about the shady deals.

Wow $135 USD or so...a lot for tea for two in China. I would expect to pay about that at Tea Box on 5th Avenue here in NYC. Even if the girl wasn't part of it, I still think you were ripped off. Why didn't you ask to see a menu?

Ehh I had a false sense of confidence that I wouldn't get fiscally violated because I was with a Chinese girl.

In the end, I don't think she was part of the scam. She seemd a bit surprised, too, and was even a tad short of cash, and we walked for a few minutes afterwards. I'm thinking of going back to T Square tomorrow to spy and see if she's pulling the same stuff ...

Wow $135 USD or so...a lot for tea for two in China. I would expect to pay about that at Tea Box on 5th Avenue here in NYC. Even if the girl wasn't part of it, I still think you were ripped off. Why didn't you ask to see a menu?
That makes me feel better - I live in NYC so as long as it's not much more than our own upper limit ... Let's just call it an ignorance premium.

US$56 / pound for tea seems awfully expensive. That price seems to be line with the what one can get at Mariage Freres.

That is a very popular scam of China these days. If you read various travel boards, you'll see lots of this type of reports.

Ha. Yes, probably a scam if Tiananmen was involved.

To this day, the most elaborate scam I have ever witnessed (and thankfully got out of without an RMB spent) took place in Tiananmen. I was in Beijing and wanted to take a quick trip out to the Great Wall at Badaling (not the best place to see The Wall, I know, but certainly convenient). I had read that you could find buses around Tiananmen Square, so I was walking through trying to find the spot on my map, and was approached by a lady. We talked, and she offered to help me find the bus. I followed her for several blocks as she made calls on her cell phone (should have been the first indication of something fishy), and we eventually arrived at a minibus with a picture of the Great Wall in the front window. I am a bit unsure about this, but have seen buses depart from all sorts of places from random corners in South America/Africa/etc., but I still want to check. There's a policeman on the corner. I approach him, point to the bus, and ask "Badaling?" He nods yes enthusiastically, but is laughing. Okay. I get on the bus with the lady. I ask the first passenger "Badaling?" She nods yes, and is also laughing.

The lady now has a ticket that she is trying to sell me for what seems to be a much inflated price, so now I'm really confused, and starting to look for a way off the bus. But I still want to see the Great Wall! So, I resist paying for a minute, and an old lady gets on the bus. I ask her: "Badaling?" She starts shaking her head furiously no, and starts screaming at the lady in Chinese, as well as some of her fellow passengers. I now have the definite impression that this is not the bus to Badaling (and is instead some jitney to a distant suburb or town), and I get off. I take a closer look at the picture of the Great Wall in the window, and now see that it is definitely a wall calendar that has been put in the window of the bus as part of this elaborate scam. The lady jumps off the bus, and is still trying to get me back on the bus, and to purchase her ticket, but I hop in a cab and go to the other location marked in my guidebook where buses leave for Badaling, and do, in fact, make it to Badaling.

Still, this was the most elaborate scam I have seen after traveling in 40+ countries, and the only one that almost got me (although I'm thankful it didn't!). It amazed me not only that they had put so much effort into it, but had involved so many participants. Additionally, the willingness of others to go along with it (i.e. the policeman, bus passengers, etc.) was all quite amazing to me!

Ha. Yes, probably a scam if Tiananmen was involved.


Oh Yeah, I've seen attempts like this on a daily basis there...
but I managed to squeeze a trip to the great wall for 6 people from
one of them for about 350 RMB. I think that
was no so bad. This was about 8-9 days back.

Oh Yeah, I've seen attempts like this on a daily basis there...
but I managed to squeeze a trip to the great wall for 6 people from
one of them for about 350 RMB. I think that
was no so bad. This was about 8-9 days back.

Yep. There are some legitimate buses that leave from Tiananmen...it's just the ones that aren't that you have to watch out for.

Fine teas in China can be extremely expensive, upwards of $1000/pound or even more. If the place you went had a sign in English, it is possible that it's aimed at tourists, with accompanying inflated prices. I doubt that the woman you met was part of an elaborate scam.

Yep. There are some legitimate buses that leave from Tiananmen...it's just the ones that aren't that you have to watch out for.
buses were rather expensive, so I took a chance and had someone drive us in a Van.

Fine teas in China can be extremely expensive, upwards of $1000/pound or even more.

It's exactly this reason why this scam works. The shop can say the tea leaves are very high quality, so it becomes the burden of the purchaser to prove it's actually cheap tea.

It's like fine wine and cognac - there's really no limit in the price.

And unlike coffee. At least I do not know of any coffee bean that costs that much per pound.

Mr. Zhu was recently in Hangzhou and had some Xin Nian Cha (or fresh new years tea). Good Good Stuff. Amazing really. Just splendid. Mr. Zhu paid RMB 50/glass and thought it very reasonable.

Still Mr. Zhu thinks you got fleeced. If the girl was in on it, then her buying the box was just to return later. Let Mr. Zhu guess: she was short on cash so you paid the rest?

Mr. Zhu was recently in Hangzhou and had some Xin Nian Cha (or fresh new years tea). Good Good Stuff. Amazing really. Just splendid. Mr. Zhu paid RMB 50/glass and thought it very reasonable.

Still Mr. Zhu thinks you got fleeced. If the girl was in on it, then her buying the box was just to return later. Let Mr. Zhu guess: she was short on cash so you paid the rest?
I don't know what's funnier, the OP (which is very amusing) or MrZhu's writing style. Great stuff, MrZhu!

I suspect the girl is in on the whole thing. Tea is such a popular part of Chinese culture, it is almost impossible to find a chinese who doesn't know what a tea ceremony is (especially for an educated teacher). For her to say that she has no idea and to suggest that you try it out is rather suspicious.

I wouldn't call this a scam though, you may have been charged highly inflated prices, but you did get some great tea service. A scam is when they advertised great tea service, then sold you crab grass (which is what happened to mine colleague when he travelled to GuangZhou).

It's a scam and I'd feel very comfortable calling it that. Right up there with the "I'm an artist, see my artwork" scam. Check out the China board on the Lonely Planet forums for threads on this.

I got hit by the same tea ceremony scam. It's pretty common, but very well run. In fact, I didn't even know I'd been scammed until a few days later when I was alerted to the fact that it was a scam (later backed up by reading about it in the China Lonely Planet guide).

Here's my story:

Leaving the Forbidden City I met two Chinese students who were studying English, Shadow and Coco. They asked if they could talk with me to practice their English. I agreed. Shadow and Coco studied just outside of Beijing, and had a day off as their teachers were having a conference. Coco had never seen the Forbidden City, so they had come into the city to see it.

We went to Tinanmen square, all the while chatting in English about my life and their lives. Shadow suggested checking out old Beijing. We walked through a pharmacy with some really expensive ginseng and checked out the really old buildings.

Coco suggested going to see a tea ceremony, as the tea festival was now on. We went to a tea house that had been in operation for over 200 years. The tea ceremony was performed by a young lady. She poured us different kinds of teas, and explained where they came from and their uses. When she spoke, she almost was singing. As harsh and unwelcoming as the Chinese can sometimes sound, it sounded melodic coming from this cute, button nosed girl as she poured us more tea.

However, no amount of melody could hide the disharmony of getting the 2461 RMB bill (around $330). Coco, Shadow and I were all shocked at the price. I ended up picking up the tab, as I remember what $110 a person would have done to my budget when I was student, and that was back in North America. Imagine the dent in a Chinese student's budget.

Shadow and Coco, by way of thanks, took me out to a restaurant for Beijing duck (also known in North America as Peking Duck), and then we walked more around old Beijing and the Hutong. After spending the whole afternoon together, I parted ways with Coco and Shadow and headed back to my hotel.

Was I scammed? I had a few doubts when the bill originally came, but after spending another 2 hours with Coco and Shadow, I figured they were on the level. It was only 2 days later when hearing about the EXACT same thing happening to a fellow traveller, and then reading about the EXACT details of the scam in another backpackers Lonely Planet that I realized I was taken advantage of.

The amazing things about it, though, is that I am not at all mad about it. It was such a pleasent afternoon and it was nice to have some local guides to the city. The scam was so expertly run that I didn't know it was even happening. Really, I was pretty stupid for not asking about the price of the tea ceremony before taking part. And what's $300 to me?

Greg

Geez, those Chinese people must laugh aloud everyday at the fact that we're all such suckers if that many of us fall for crap like this. It was definitely a scam. Tea is not $100 or $300 in a place where you can get dinner for $2. You probably got tea made from Lipton teabags................ :) I've been tried to take advantage of several times in China, but have never fallen for it (I think). I figure if somebody is being that nice to me, they are either a hooker or they are trying to scam me. I don't run into nice people like that in the US, why would I think I would run into nice people like that in China?

I figure if somebody is being that nice to me, they are either a hooker or they are trying to scam me. I don't run into nice people like that in the US, why would I think I would run into nice people like that in China?

I've run into a few nice people in Beijing. I was never taken for a ride....
or may be their scam simply didnt work. but overall I found people
very helpful.

Personally I would never go to a restaurant, bar or a tea house with someone
I just met. Unless I know them through some close friends.

Had something similiar last Thurs. After being approached to buy anything and everything Except maybe the Brooklyn Bridge ( give them some time they'll figure a way to sell to Us also) a girl comes over and speaks in English of cause I answered in French (that I dont speak, asking if she spoke French) anyway she followed along saying its simply her day off.

I showed her a slip of paper with some areas written down and says Im heading in the wrong way and takes me back to Tianemen and then past Mao and with Mao to your back to right of it. It was an area filled with small stores of all kinds, loved the ones auctioning off Jade (right) just like the Electronic ones in Spitfields in London. I was heading or trying to , to the Hutong area near the Hyatt.

Anyway after walking around for awhile we walk into a store as she wants some tea to drink and passed the aisle of whatever to a flight of steps that goes Upstairs. Thats when I stopped her and said 'Im not going up" didnt know about the scams as I didnt read or have Lonely Planet. I just didnt like the idea of not being able to make a Stage Left ASAP if I needed to.

We walked around some more,about 2 hrs all in total now, then she wanted something to drink , OK so it cost me for a bottle of Orange whatever a few Yuan, worth it as I really liked walking around the Old part with all those Stalls. She kept telling me she was hungry, I simply answered I had just finished eating before we met, how about Tea I pulled out my 2 water bottles I had and said , by day its Only water.

Im usually skeptical in nature, like buying those Gucci Bags that are the real thing, I answered yea and Im a woman only dressed like a man guess how much this beard I have cost me to have transplanted, it got a laugh out of them.

the only thing I did buy was 2 Dragon Baseball Caps for 20Y for both. Some wanted 120 for 1 telling me its hand stiched and costs them 100Y. So I stopped back at some of the places and offered to sell them the 2 I had for 90 each as it will cost them less then what they paid and after all it was hand stiched. They passed, I said I can sell both for 170Y but I would be lossing 10Y they laughed , some said they were happy that most people werent as smart as I was, otherwise they would be out of business.

I guess I should feel sorry for her... no business for a day... :)

and sorry for couple of other people who didnt get
any business from me..

Tea is not $100 or $300 in a place where you can get dinner for $2.

MrZhu would like to respectfully disagree. MrZhu has spent this much on tea. And been very very happy about it. Many grades of Pu Er and Long Jin can cost nearly that. It is like buying Jade: one must be careful.

Mr. Zhu also will note that while you can get dinner for $2 in Beijing you can also get it for $2 in New York (very similar dish actually, Mr. Zhu likes the fried noodle cart outside the lower Manhattan courthouse). MrZhu knows many restaurants in Beijing where you can't eat for less than $200/head.

Regarding who the greater "sucker" is MrZhu thinks it is a silly debate. Still, sometimes MrZhu questions why the Central Bank of China loans so much of their tea proceeds to the U.S. mortgage market.

Ahhhh, MrZhu sounds like a smart man. I probably should have worded it better. The tea that these "suckers" are getting conned into buying for $100-$300 is NOT $100-$300 tea.

And yes, we "suckers" over here laugh at you "suckers" over in China for subsidizing our recent housing boom of the last 3 years. Worry not though, you will get the last laugh at us American suckers when your government stops buying so many US bonds and we suckers are stuck footing 15% interest rates on our future mortgages.... :)

This morning after a coffee and a stroll on the Bund I happened to attract the interest of four Chinese art students from Beijing... ;) Very polite, fluent in several languages including my obscure one ( :o ) and "celebrating in Shanghai". It's a pity I couldn't follow them to their art exhibition as I had a train to catch... :) Thanks FT.

It's a scam and I'd feel very comfortable calling it that. Right up there with the "I'm an artist, see my artwork" scam. Check out the China board on the Lonely Planet forums for threads on this.

As I've started saying to my friends here after visiting China, those communists are better capitalists than we are! :D

Thanks for sharing your experience. Although I’ve now googled this scam and seen it documented on other websites, your example is still the best at showcasing how easy it is to get sucked into this kind of thing, and how sophisticated and subtle the artists can be, no matter how jaded/precautious/savvy we think we are.

I’m sorry your experience cost you a sizeable chunk of dollars, and even if the tea isn’t of the quality you’d hope for, the craftsmanship and artistry of the lady who led you there was exquisite (with the distance I have from what happened, I can’t help but have a certain admiration for her skill in manipulating you). I feel sorry that the opportunities available to her are so limited that she is compelled to ‘work’ in this way. Someone of her intelligence and charisma deserves so much better.

Both of you have been screwed by the same circumstances, but from what I’ve read, it could have been much worse. My sincere commiserations.

Plus, of course, the tea I had purchased.


What kind of tea did you end up getting out of this whole deal?

I always come back with Longjing tea, procured through some of my associates who are able to get grades of Longjing tea that aren't even available on the market. I don't even want to know what the price might be, and I surely don't declare what I think it might be on my customs form (Sometimes it is good to be an ignorant laowai :D ) . Matter of fact, I am drinking a cup of it right now...it is absolutely wonderful!

As others have said, good tea can range from expensive to "Ai-yaaaaa!" A long afternoon at a teahouse in Longjing or on the West Lake of Hangzhou can easily run up a bill of RMB1000 for two people. And this is what makes your whole affair seem mercenary to me: the fact that it was a party of two. Chinese tend to go out in groups, and going out as a couple is still very, very nouveau xifang, even in Beijing.

hey talking about Chinese tea... I found Tea made by this company in the local health store (New York area - Hoboken NJ).....

http://www.popus.com/whats.html

They have Chinese Green tea, Organic green tea, White tea etc....

They market themselves as a "premium" brand. Even their packet says "premium green tea"

has anyone tried it? Any good?

As I've started saying to my friends here after visiting China, those communists are better capitalists than we are! :D


What a fantastic thread ^ And yes, I have the above argument with my friends back in the states all the time!

http://www.popus.com/whats.html
has anyone tried it? Any good?
I havent tried them, but I've been a fan of http://www.uptontea.com
for over 8 years now.

What a fantastic thread ^ And yes, I have the above argument with my friends back in the states all the time!

I agree with luv2ctheworld too. Try shopping there... its amazing
how you have to negotiate with them.

MrZhu would like to respectfully disagree. MrZhu has spent this much on tea. And been very very happy about it. Many grades of Pu Er and Long Jin can cost nearly that. It is like buying Jade: one must be careful.

Mr. Zhu also will note that while you can get dinner for $2 in Beijing you can also get it for $2 in New York (very similar dish actually, Mr. Zhu likes the fried noodle cart outside the lower Manhattan courthouse). MrZhu knows many restaurants in Beijing where you can't eat for less than $200/head.

Regarding who the greater "sucker" is MrZhu thinks it is a silly debate. Still, sometimes MrZhu questions why the Central Bank of China loans so much of their tea proceeds to the U.S. mortgage market.

MrZhu should have his own forum. Does MrZhu speak in the third person in real life or only on FT?

I got hit by the same tea ceremony scam. It's pretty common, but very well run. In fact, I didn't even know I'd been scammed until a few days later when I was alerted to the fact that it was a scam (later backed up by reading about it in the China Lonely Planet guide).

Here's my story:

Leaving the Forbidden City I met two Chinese students who were studying English, Shadow and Coco. They asked if they could talk with me to practice their English. I agreed. Shadow and Coco studied just outside of Beijing, and had a day off as their teachers were having a conference. Coco had never seen the Forbidden City, so they had come into the city to see it.

We went to Tinanmen square, all the while chatting in English about my life and their lives. Shadow suggested checking out old Beijing. We walked through a pharmacy with some really expensive ginseng and checked out the really old buildings.

Coco suggested going to see a tea ceremony, as the tea festival was now on. We went to a tea house that had been in operation for over 200 years. The tea ceremony was performed by a young lady. She poured us different kinds of teas, and explained where they came from and their uses. When she spoke, she almost was singing. As harsh and unwelcoming as the Chinese can sometimes sound, it sounded melodic coming from this cute, button nosed girl as she poured us more tea.

However, no amount of melody could hide the disharmony of getting the 2461 RMB bill (around $330). Coco, Shadow and I were all shocked at the price. I ended up picking up the tab, as I remember what $110 a person would have done to my budget when I was student, and that was back in North America. Imagine the dent in a Chinese student's budget.

Shadow and Coco, by way of thanks, took me out to a restaurant for Beijing duck (also known in North America as Peking Duck), and then we walked more around old Beijing and the Hutong. After spending the whole afternoon together, I parted ways with Coco and Shadow and headed back to my hotel.

Was I scammed? I had a few doubts when the bill originally came, but after spending another 2 hours with Coco and Shadow, I figured they were on the level. It was only 2 days later when hearing about the EXACT same thing happening to a fellow traveller, and then reading about the EXACT details of the scam in another backpackers Lonely Planet that I realized I was taken advantage of.

The amazing things about it, though, is that I am not at all mad about it. It was such a pleasent afternoon and it was nice to have some local guides to the city. The scam was so expertly run that I didn't know it was even happening. Really, I was pretty stupid for not asking about the price of the tea ceremony before taking part. And what's $300 to me?

Greg

I'd like to know, did your new friends pay for the meal or did you? I'm asking, because the same thing with the teahouse happened to us, practically word for word. But afterwards, I couldn't figure out if we had been scammed because they invited us to go to the Chinese acrobat show (we didn't). I'm back more than 3 weeks and it took me this long to figure the ruse out. Sepharadi

I'd like to know, did your new friends pay for the meal or did you? I'm asking, because the same thing with the teahouse happened to us, practically word for word. But afterwards, I couldn't figure out if we had been scammed because they invited us to go to the Chinese acrobat show (we didn't). I'm back more than 3 weeks and it took me this long to figure the ruse out. Lucille

I'm pretty sure Coco & Shadow didn't pay.

ANYBODY wanting to "practice English" with you in China is a scam artist in the making. They are usually going to bring you to some calligraphy studio or some teashop and charge you over inflated prices.

ANYBODY wanting to "practice English" with you in China is a scam artist in the making. They are usually going to bring you to some calligraphy studio or some teashop and charge you over inflated prices.

Not true at all.

I wonder what experience of China you have actually had, as in my experience (4 years and many provinces) people who are looking to 'practice English' have pretty well exclusively been looking to, er, 'practice English'. If it ends up in a dinner situation - they invariably refuse to let me even try and pay.

I'm mindful of a trip to Changsha a few years back where one guy looking to practice his English virtually hijacked me. He arranged a car, took me to near enough every scenic spot in town, used his contacts to stick me in a 4* hotel at RMB100/night, and took me to more banquets than you can shake a stick at.Total cost to me for 3 days in Changsha was RMB300 - hardly a scam.

Sure - if Coco and Shadow approach you in Beijing, well Tinananmen Square to be exact, you can make a fair guess it's a scam - but in the vast majority of the county it won't be.

ANYBODY wanting to "practice English" with you in China is a scam artist in the making. They are usually going to bring you to some calligraphy studio or some teashop and charge you over inflated prices.


I've had people walk up to me... and talk, but never offered me to show around
or sell anything.. also bumped into a few people who were eager to recommend
a few things to do or places to visit... so I dont believe its everybody.

I think some schools/universities encourage students to hang around tourist
areas and practice English.

I think you need to judge the situation in the context of your location. If you are in the middle of Tiananmen Square or on Nanjing Road in Shanghai, this person probably isn't looking to just talk. But I have been approached by people on trains, at the Great Wall, and even waiting in line to leave the Forbidden City who were just thrilled to get to talk to a Westerner and asked for nothing in return. You need to use your street smarts in assessing each situation individually.

You need to use your street smarts in assessing each situation individually.

@:-) And if they look like that picture of Coco and Shadow, RUN AWAY QUICK!!!! ;)

Were all those scammed going to the same tea shop? If that's the case, post the name of the shop so when someone brings you there, you'd know it's a scam.

I think you need to judge the situation in the context of your location. If you are in the middle of Tiananmen Square or on Nanjing Road in Shanghai, this person probably isn't looking to just talk. But I have been approached by people on trains, at the Great Wall, and even waiting in line to leave the Forbidden City who were just thrilled to get to talk to a Westerner and asked for nothing in return. You need to use your street smarts in assessing each situation individually.

I run by zero tolerance with strangers talking to me apart from asking directions...
When in China, the best answer is NO to people...

I'd like to know, did your new friends pay for the meal or did you? I'm asking, because the same thing with the teahouse happened to us, practically word for word.

Actually, they DID pay for dinner. Which is why I wasn't suspcious until days later when hearing about the same scam happening to a couple of other people. Suddenly a light went on and I realized Ooooh, I had that happen to me!

Of course, dinner was probably $10 or $20, versus the $330 I paid for the tea.

in my experience (4 years and many provinces) people who are looking to 'practice English' have pretty well exclusively been looking to, er, 'practice English'. If it ends up in a dinner situation - they invariably refuse to let me even try and pay.

Yes, my experience as well is that in general most people who speak to you are just being friendly. I think the advice that others have given is accurate - if you are in a very touristy place, then expect that there are people trying to take advantage of you. If you are somewhere else, though, they are probably just being nice.

Despite my experience, I certainly am not going to stop talking to people. I'll just be a little more cautious about making sure I understand what thing cost.

[QUOTE=GregWTravels] $10 or $20, versus the $330 I paid for the tea.]

I'm wondering also if you paid by credit card or cash. We paid by credit card and later the 'hook' John seemed very angry or upset. I think he didn't get his cut because we hadn't paid in cash. What do you think?
Sepharadi

[QUOTE=GregWTravels] $10 or $20, versus the $330 I paid for the tea.]

I'm wondering also if you paid by credit card or cash. We paid by credit card and later the 'hook' John seemed very angry or upset. I think he didn't get his cut because we hadn't paid in cash. What do you think?
Sepharadi


I think if there is a cut involved.. they might just get it somehow... does not matter if you paid cash or credit..

If you paid by credit.. I think you might be able to dispute the charges.

By the way.. welcome to FT!

[By the way.. welcome to FT]

Thank you. (I still have alot to learn about message boards and responding to threads).

I feel like such a dope. Here I was worried about the scammer, who I thought had lost face and was embarassed. However, I had a feeling that something was wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It wasn't until a friend seriously questioned the whole thing that I searched the web more intensely, and wayla!, I came up with the Beijing TeaHouse Scam!
Dispite all, I really don't regret anything: the story itself makes a fantastic tale.
And, I absolutely fell in love with China, the little that I did see.
Of course, I am still going to contest the charges with my credit card company.
Would you believe, the girl part of the scam is writing to me via email?
Sepharadi

[QUOTE=cpx][QUOTE=Sepharadi]
If you paid by credit.. I think you might be able to dispute the charges.
**********************************************

I just got the news from Citibank that they will not dispute the charges because, even if under coercion, they were paid voluntarily.
For a bunch of world travelers, me and my husband sure got taken.
Sepharadi

Famous Chinese custom first appearing with opening of Western Concessions in Canton and approved by successive Chinese Governments since for education of Round Eyes. Broken only by an interlude in which the Society of the Harmonious Fists cleared Tea Ceremong Solicitors from areas popular with tourists, the Chinese term for the tea ceremony best translates into English as the idiomatic expression: "Con Job".

My wife and I fell for the exact same scam on Nanjing Road in Shanghai last month. I was in a good mood and failed to heed the B.S. alarm going off. After getting hopped up on 7 glasses of tea I wasn't thinking clearly when the bill came and paid the whole tab! I am considering contesting part of the charge with AMEX but it doesn't sound promising...

Been to Beijing three times and get wiser with every trip.

My tea ceremony was included as part of a tour to somewhere - Summer Palace I think and cost not a lot. It was carried out very professionally by a lovely looking chinese girl - they always seem to use the pretty ones :) and the tea was indeed delicious, anyway after about an hour of trying out all these teas I started thinking what the sting in the tail would be? All became apparent when they told us we could indeed buy tea for some some very highly inflated price.There were no takers as expected in our small group,after trying to talk the price down they refused to budge so still no sale, surely if they sold it at a reasonable price they would sell more?

Once on my own I was walking in the shopping area at Wangfujing when two "art" students came up to me and started chatting - alarm bells were already ringing - they were quite enchanting and offered to show me their art work which was on sale to help them buy more art materials.Having time on my side I decided to go with them to the college round the corner and on entering a room was introduced to their "professor" who nodded briefly and got on with whatever he was doing.
The girls proceeded to show me all sorts of watercolours of birds and flowers and when I said that they were too expensive ( my excuse of getting out of buying) they said no problem we have cheaper ones and proceeded to bring out more and more of them.
After about half an hour I was feeling fed up and just wanted to get out so I just said "look I have no money on me as it is back at the hotel". They were now showing signs of desparation and consulted with the now not so friendly looking professor - no problem the girls informed me we shall come back with you to your hotel for the money.Well that was it my patience had now gone so I got up grabbed my jacket and walked out with them tugging at my arm following me into the street and pleading me to buy something.
I felt really uncomfortable about the whole episode as I realised the "professor" was behind the whole thing and probably gave the girls a hard time for not getting a sale.
The next day I saw them again on the same street and they were going to approach me when they suddeny realised who I was.

Two years later on another visit with my wife the same thing was still going on despite the authorities saying they were going to do something about it.:td:

I just got scammed last evening. Same old style: so called students walking along with you, taking you to a tea tasting shop and at the end pulling up 1000s of RMB bill. Didn't realize I was being fleeced and paid only my part 575 RMB on Amex. Got back to hotel, googled, and figured the whole thing is a scam. So, went back to the same shop this evening along with my two chinese coleagues, we argued with them about their scam, threatened them we'll report to the license authority and call the police. They got scared and returned my 575. We didn't have to yell at them, just a threat at normal tone level. I'll also dispute the credit card charge and if I am lucky, Amex will ding them even more. .......s! they deserve it.

So, don't feel stupid for falling for the scam and keep quite. Go back, preferably with a chinese friend, threaten them and get your money back.

I just got scammed last evening. Same old style: so called students walking along with you, taking you to a tea tasting shop and at the end pulling up 1000s of RMB bill. Didn't realize I was being fleeced and paid only my part 575 RMB on Amex. Got back to hotel, googled, and figured the whole thing is a scam. So, went back to the same shop this evening along with my two chinese coleagues, we argued with them about their scam, threatened them we'll report to the license authority and call the police. They got scared and returned my 575. We didn't have to yell at them, just a threat at normal tone level. I'll also dispute the credit card charge and if I am lucky, Amex will ding them even more. .......s! they deserve it.

So, don't feel stupid for falling for the scam and keep quite. Go back, preferably with a chinese friend, threaten them and get your money back.


Welcome to FT!! :)

I'm glad you got your money back. When did you find out that this was a scam? (just curious)

Since I bothered to click on this thread again, I'll add another recent data point. A client was visiting us last month and fell for the tea ceremony. He wasn't that mad about it, but happenned to mention his experience to the concierge at his hotel (Raffles), who subsequently went ballistic on the tea establishment (arrived with police in tow).

Sounds like one of the scams I've read about.

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/China/Beijing_Shi/Beijing-1024960/Tourist_Traps-Beijing-Tour_Scams-BR-1.html

It's exactly this reason why this scam works. The shop can say the tea leaves are very high quality, so it becomes the burden of the purchaser to prove it's actually cheap tea.

It's like fine wine and cognac - there's really no limit in the price.

And unlike coffee. At least I do not know of any coffee bean that costs that much per pound.

Well, there is Kopi Luwak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak), which can go for 6 Franklins a pound, but you don't really want to know how it's made.

O/H

When I was in China, I "fell" for the art expo scam. The guy and girl were nice enough, though, and although the prints were fairly generic, I still bought a few as a memento. I did bargain it down to something reasonable, and I actually knew about the scam, but still wanted to experience it for myself. ;)

Got taken for a few tea ceremonies but never actually consumed because I began to ask to see a menu/price list. ;)

I really don't agree with the disputing CC charges and contacting the authorities. If you walked into a restaurant/Starbucks/etc. and started eating and drinking before seeing the prices, you'd be fully expected to pay for it, regardless of whether you thought to ask how much things were or look at the price list.

Call it a lesson learned in foreign travel. And it's not like foreign tourists to NYC, LA, DC, etc. aren't similarly scammed.

....Call it a lesson learned in foreign travel. And it's not like foreign tourists to NYC, LA, DC, etc. aren't similarly scammed.

I'd be interested to see substantiation of that, particularly comparing it with the frequency that both the tea house and artist scams come up on the internet.

The only thing I've heard at all regularly reported in the past was the bit about the ridiculously overpriced taxi route in from JFK, but that has been largely eliminated due to the fixed price fare and the handout in many languages given out by taxi dispatchers.

I'd be interested to see substantiation of that, particularly comparing it with the frequency that both the tea house and artist scams come up on the internet.

The only thing I've heard at all regularly reported in the past was the bit about the ridiculously overpriced taxi route in from JFK, but that has been largely eliminated due to the fixed price fare and the handout in many languages given out by taxi dispatchers.

Here in LA I haven't heard of any foreigner scams...how could a local spot
a foreigner...with such a diverse ethnic population?

how could a local spot
a foreigner...with such a diverse ethnic population?

If someone is looking out for clueless tourists, they are easy to spot - regardless of whether they fit the ethnic profile of the area.

I have spoken with at least three Japanese friends who had their bags stolen from them on the London underground during their holidays (a non-violent theft while their attention was distracted). Conversely, none of the Japanese people that I know who live in London have had the same experience. My guess is that the pickpockets are very clued in to the behavior of careless tourists who are easy to distract and easy to separate from their purses.

I know that pickpocketing is a different crime from the tea house confidence trick. But, I just want to make the point that the ethnic diversity of a city like LA or New York doesn't guarantee that a tourist will blend in like a native.

And some tourists advertise their status with their cameras, video cameras, guide books, umbrellas with hotel logos -- "Hey guys, I'm a newbie in these parts. Come and scam me." A few years ago, I recall that British tourists in Florida were getting targetted by car-jacking gangs because their rental cars were readily identifiable by the number plates.

I'd be interested to see substantiation of that, particularly comparing it with the frequency that both the tea house and artist scams come up on the internet.

You should dress up like an obvious tourist and walk into any midtown "electronics" store in NYC. Makes the ganefs at Nathan Road in HK look like amateurs.

[QUOTE=jib71;8628636]

I know that pickpocketing is a different crime from the tea house confidence trick. But, I just want to make the point that the ethnic diversity of a city like LA or New York doesn't guarantee that a tourist will blend in like a native.

QUOTE]


I think odds are in US its higher for a tourist to get robbed than scammed.
In China its higher to get scammed than robbed. I don't know if its
a crime in China to scam a tourist..but I am pretty sure robbing a foreign
tourist is a serious crime.

You should dress up like an obvious tourist and walk into any midtown "electronics" store in NYC. Makes the ganefs at Nathan Road in HK look like amateurs.

Yeah, I tried once to get minor things (like a cellphone power supply) at those stores and found it to be a quality interaction, but that's a whole different category than being accosted by confidence gangs on the streets.

Anyhow, I think the merchants in the Lucky Plaza in Singapore are every bit as good at it. I remember the wonderful reaction I got once when I asked the workers at one store about their condemnation by the Singapore tourist authority!

As far as it being far more likely to be robbed than conned in the U.S., exactly how often robbery does take place here? A lot more in the movies than in real life, but the movies are how people's opinions are set.

at one store about their condemnation by the Singapore tourist authority!

As far as it being far more likely to be robbed than conned in the U.S., exactly how often robbery does take place here? A lot more in the movies than in real life, but the movies are how people's opinions are set.

According to FBI statistics in year 2006: 447,403 robberies

I kinda doubt there were more that 447,403 incurrences of robbery on combined tv and film in 2006. Art imitates life.

. Most crimes related to a con are never reported because of the victim's embarassment.


Hong Kong Crime statistics: 2007
(Jan - Aug)

All Robberies : 835

-Robbery with Firearms: 0


Deception 3,192

That works out to about 50 robberies an hour. Especially if you include depicted murders as robberies, I bet there ARE more shown on TV and film in the U.S. than in real life, given the 500+ different TV channels and the tens of thousands of movie theatres in the country. But I think we are venturing too dangerously close to OMNI territory here, so I'll stop commenting on this now!

My point is for foreign travelers to China you have a higher probability
of getting scammed then robbed.

Don't know about that. I've seen extremely skilled little old ladies with very sticky fingers...

This is quite a common scam in China. Please see: http://badchinaday.blog.com/1932024/

I just got scammed last evening. Same old style: so called students walking along with you, taking you to a tea tasting shop and at the end pulling up 1000s of RMB bill. Didn't realize I was being fleeced and paid only my part 575 RMB on Amex. Got back to hotel, googled, and figured the whole thing is a scam. So, went back to the same shop this evening along with my two chinese coleagues, we argued with them about their scam, threatened them we'll report to the license authority and call the police. They got scared and returned my 575. We didn't have to yell at them, just a threat at normal tone level. I'll also dispute the credit card charge and if I am lucky, Amex will ding them even more. .......s! they deserve it.

So, don't feel stupid for falling for the scam and keep quite. Go back, preferably with a chinese friend, threaten them and get your money back.

I disputed the charge with Amex as soon as it appeared online. They gave me credit while inquiring. Apparently, they give 30 days to the merchant to respond for the query. I am sure that the ...... place won't respond as they don't want any small inquiry to expose their ..... That's what I am banking on.

To cpx: I realized it was a scam on my ride back to the hotel about an hour later itself as I vaguely remember reading something similar. Googled immdly at the hotel and bam you go!

To the other gentleman/woman who doesn't believe in disputing or complaining: Starbucks wouldn't have given my money back as it is legitimate business. The fact they gave it back (oh btw, that was in exchange for my credit card receipt) says theirs is a shady business. So, don't pity them please. If most of the people do go back and fight, they'll figure the scam isn't working and hopefully stop it. And that's why I took time to register all the forums I could find and posted to them.

To the other gentleman/woman who doesn't believe in disputing or complaining: Starbucks wouldn't have given my money back as it is legitimate business. The fact they gave it back (oh btw, that was in exchange for my credit card receipt) says theirs is a shady business. So, don't pity them please. If most of the people do go back and fight, they'll figure the scam isn't working and hopefully stop it. And that's why I took time to register all the forums I could find and posted to them.

Well done sirip!! So you not only got your money back in cash from these con-artists, but you them disputed it with your credit card and also got your money back again from them as well!?!?!??! Good job, you basically screwed over the con-artist so they had to pay what you would have had to pay had they successfully conned you!! Good job...........................^

I just hope that the charge was enough that AMEX did something about it and didn't eat that expense themselves. I had an extra $37 charge from AMEX for a car rental in Greece this summer and I tried to fight Hertz for it and they were dragging their feet and wouldn't do anything about it even after I called them several times. Finally at the 60-day limit I disputed it with AMEX who said they'd remove the charge but they weren't going to investigate it, rather they would eat it since it would cost them more than that to look into it, especially an Int'l dispute like this. I was bummed because I wanted Hertz to get dinged for this improper charge. Oh well, in the end I decided to keep hassling and following up with Hertz because on principle I didn't want Hertz to get away with screwing me over. In the end they sent me a check for $50 so I was happy and I got 2x my money back for my hard work (granted I spent more than $37 or $50) worth of time chasing this all down, but in the end I felt good just for the principle of knowing a fast-one wasn't pulled over on me.......^

I just hope that the charge was enough that AMEX did something about it and didn't eat that expense themselves. I had an extra $37 charge from AMEX for a car rental in Greece this summer and I tried to fight Hertz for it and they were dragging their feet and wouldn't do anything about it even after I called them several times. Finally at the 60-day limit I disputed it with AMEX who said they'd remove the charge but they weren't going to investigate it, rather they would eat it since it would cost them more than that to look into it, especially an Int'l dispute like this. I was bummed because I wanted Hertz to get dinged for this improper charge. Oh well, in the end I decided to keep hassling and following up with Hertz because on principle I didn't want Hertz to get away with screwing me over. In the end they sent me a check for $50 so I was happy and I got 2x my money back for my hard work (granted I spent more than $37 or $50) worth of time chasing this all down, but in the end I felt good just for the principle of knowing a fast-one wasn't pulled over on me.......^

The amount in my case is about $78. I also hope and wish Amex will actually ding the cons. But, the letter from Amex says "we are giving you credit as you are a valuable customer..." So, I don't know if they actually will recover from the merchant or not. I'll post again if I get another letter saying they actually recovered.

i have become the rude American. No, I don't want to practice English with you. No, I do not want . . . Sometimes I mutter something unintelligible. I gotten to the place where I simply ignore them. There are sophisticated tourist scams in any country where the average income is way below that of the US.

Sophisticated scam from Tunis. A young man walked up to us and began talking with us. Where were we from, etc. After a while he asked where we were going. We mentioned the Medina. He said he had to go and said goodbye. Not two minutes later an older, well dressed man approached us and asked if we would like a guide for the Medina. I'm sure the first guy set us up for the second. We said we weren't ready to go just yet and managed with some difficulty to shake him off.

But, the letter from Amex says "we are giving you credit as you are a valuable customer..."

That's EXACTLY what they told me as well. I pressed them on it and said I wanted them to go after Hertz but they basically said it wasn't worth their time. Almost makes you wanna call them up and dispute a small $40ish Foreign charge once a year or so just for the free money..................:D

But it did really bother me that the offending Hertz location was just going to get away scott-free.......................:mad:

i have become the rude American. No, I don't want to practice English with you. No, I do not want . . . Sometimes I mutter something unintelligible. I gotten to the place where I simply ignore them. There are sophisticated tourist scams in any country where the average income is way below that of the US.

Sophisticated scam from Tunis. A young man walked up to us and began talking with us. Where were we from, etc. After a while he asked where we were going. We mentioned the Medina. He said he had to go and said goodbye. Not two minutes later an older, well dressed man approached us and asked if we would like a guide for the Medina. I'm sure the first guy set us up for the second. We said we weren't ready to go just yet and managed with some difficulty to shake him off.

Total set-up, happens all the time in Tunisian cities. You were lucky that you escaped the part where your "guide" insisted that you have some free tea at his friends carpet/antiques/etc. store.

A SWEDISH businessmen concluded his Shanghai trip with "huge disappointment" after he was lured by two young women to a downtown coffee shop and charged nearly 5,000 yuan (US$676) for beverages.http://http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2007/200712/20071210/article_341117.htm (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2007/200712/20071210/article_341117.htm)

i have become the rude American. No, I don't want to practice English with you. No, I do not want . . . Sometimes I mutter something unintelligible. I gotten to the place where I simply ignore them. There are sophisticated tourist scams in any country where the average income is way below that of the US.


Couldn't agree with you more! Not really the way I want to act, but getting approached all the time gets really old.

Couldn't agree with you more! Not really the way I want to act, but getting approached all the time gets really old.

I feel really left out. I think I only got approached one time on Nanjing Lu.
But then they soon could smell a foreign devil*...and ran away.


*aka: yangguizi, laowai, laowei, guilao

kinda like Anthony Bourdain:
"I'm not afraid to look like a big, hairy, smelly, foreign devil in Tokyo," Anthony Bourdain explains, "though I do my best not to, I really do."

He he. I was in Shanghai a couple weeks back with a friend of mine. We decided to take a walk down the Bund promenade, from the Hyatt all the way down to the end. Every 2 meters we would be accosted by people selling either some stupid colored top or wheels for the shoes (but not both). Every 2 meters, the whole way down. As we head towards the end, we see a guy selling flutes. My friend thought they would be a good gift for his 5 year old kid, but didn't have much money on him, so we decided to come back the next day.

The next day, it was the same thing all over again, except the guy selling flutes wasn't there.

As much as I like China, it is clear these people haven't quite gotten the "hang" of capitalism just yet. Why would you go around having hundreds of annoying sellers selling you the exact same damn thing? Why can't they figure out that if they brought along something, perhaps, differentiated they may have more success rather than competing solely on being the first annoyance to accost the tourist?

My friend and I thought we should import some Mexican Indians to do dances with headgear (like the ones in Mexico City's Zocalo) and when that gets old (e.g. you'll see all these Chinese dressed up as Mexican Indians doing a dance) we'll import a Peruvian flute band.

My friend and I thought we should import some Mexican Indians to do dances with headgear (like the ones in Mexico City's Zocalo) and when that gets old (e.g. you'll see all these Chinese dressed up as Mexican Indians doing a dance) we'll import a Peruvian flute band.

Why not import both and just alternate the cities every few months. Or better yet, use the same band but just have them dress up in different outfits during different periods and play the music in a different pitch.

I just got scammed last evening. Same old style: so called students walking along with you, taking you to a tea tasting shop and at the end pulling up 1000s of RMB bill. Didn't realize I was being fleeced and paid only my part 575 RMB on Amex. Got back to hotel, googled, and figured the whole thing is a scam. So, went back to the same shop this evening along with my two chinese coleagues, we argued with them about their scam, threatened them we'll report to the license authority and call the police. They got scared and returned my 575. We didn't have to yell at them, just a threat at normal tone level. I'll also dispute the credit card charge and if I am lucky, Amex will ding them even more. .......s! they deserve it.

So, don't feel stupid for falling for the scam and keep quite. Go back, preferably with a chinese friend, threaten them and get your money back.

I can understand your anger. On the one hand, you are correct to try to punish the con men of the tea shop but you will also be committing a fraud if you get try to reclaim from AMEX the money you have already been refunded. When you sign the terms and conditions with AMEX you are simply entitled to a refund when the merchant charges you for a service or merchandise which falls below the level promised or advertised. You have not entered into an agreement with AMEX to punish even a single con man.

Then there is also the issue of whether you were diligent in protecting yourself.

I feel really left out. I think I only got approached one time on Nanjing Lu.
But then they soon could smell a foreign devil*...and ran away.


Maybe I just give off the "air" that I really do want to buy a "copy watch" :D

My friend and I thought we should import some Mexican Indians to do dances with headgear (like the ones in Mexico City's Zocalo) and when that gets old (e.g. you'll see all these Chinese dressed up as Mexican Indians doing a dance) we'll import a Peruvian flute band.

Someone might beat you to it. A Mexican friend of mine just returned from Beijing where he said he had no shortage of Chinese approaching him and speaking in broken Spanish as to whether he wanted to buy whatever they were selling.

....My friend and I thought we should import some Mexican Indians to do dances with headgear (like the ones in Mexico City's Zocalo) and when that gets old (e.g. you'll see all these Chinese dressed up as Mexican Indians doing a dance) we'll import a Peruvian flute band.

Maybe it would be easiest just to import the Peruvian indian band that periodically plays outside of the west exit of Shinjuku station in Tokyo.

From someone who lives there. Never do business or conduct any kind of financial transaction with someone who approaches you first. I always try to go to a trusted source or get recommendations if I want something.

The second rule is that the scamming element in the Chinese population will usually just try to get away with as much as they can unless confronted. If you have fallen for a well played scam and call them on it, then in most cases, especially if the words "international police" are mentioned, they will back down and refund all or part of your money.

From someone who lives there. Never do business or conduct any kind of financial transaction with someone who approaches you first.

That's good advice for any city. I always go with "the better their english is, the more they're going to try to screw you..." :D

Maybe the Tea Scammers will get booted too.

Beijing kicks off anti-beggar campaign
Thu Jan 3, 10:11 AM ET

BEIJING (AFP) - Beijing police have launched a campaign to clear the city's streets of beggars to create a "civilised and sound" environment for the August Olympic Games, state media reported Thursday.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080103/lf_afp/oly2008chnchinapolicebeggars_080103151141

...
So, don't feel stupid for falling for the scam and keep quite. Go back, preferably with a chinese friend, threaten them and get your money back.

I owe you a big one! Here's my story for everyone.

I went to Beijing in January 2008 on a business trip for 2 weeks. It was a dream come true because I love to travel and my company was paying for everything. My last weekend there on my very last day I had made plans to see the hutongs to the north east of the forbidden city. As I was about to take off two Chinese students (from Peking university) approached me and started talking to me and asked if they could walk along with me as they wanted to practice their English. I told them I was going towards the Hutongs (I hate being rude to seemingly nice people) and they could come along. They said that there are also hutongs to the south east of the forbidden city just around the corner and they could show me around. I really wanted to stick to my plan (by myself) but again I hate coming off as rude to nice people so I just gave in.

They walked me through some random little hutong streets. By then I had been stopping very frequently to take photos but they just stuck around. Finally after about an hour or so we emerged on some road. They asked me if I wanted to just have some tea with them. I said sure why not (though I really was tired of them by now).

They lead me into this tea place into a room with a wooden tea table where they asked me how many different types of tea I wanted to sample. I said 7. A lady starts pouring out tea for me as they start giving me information about how one tea cures cancer and another tea fixes all heart problems. By now I was already annoyed that I had lost a bit of time. Finally we finished with the tea. I asked them if I could take a photo of the room we were in and they said it was considered "rude" in chinese culture to do so. Then the bill came out. The guy and the girl looked really shocked and kept exchanging looks with each other and looking at the bill. Then they handed it to me and asked me if I thought it looked OK. No matter what way I computed the bill, it didn't. They had essentially counted 50 yuan for each type of tea, then multiplied it by the number of different teas I sampled, multiplied by the number of people and then added some charge on top of it. It came to 1260 yuan (183$ approx). I was just shocked. The other two looked as shocked as me and I remember them telling me they were just poor students. The way they'd suggested the tea shop had been so casual that I still truly believed they were honest folks.

Being an idiot, I offered to pay the whole thing to spare them the embarrassment. As I walked out, I was not only feeling ...... about the wasted time but also the money. It took me 2 more hours after that to get rid of those guys. I felt so ...... about the whole experience I was just trying to forget it and enjoy my last few hours in Beijing -- but it really left a bad taste in the mouth.

After returning back to the US, I'd remember it occasionally. You have to realize that I had a sneaking suspicion that the guy and girl may have been frauds and involved in teh scheme but the whole thing still seemed so impulsive that I was inclined to offer them the benefit of the doubt like the original poster of this thread. It also never occurred to me to call the credit card company. However I did hold back the receipt along with all my other Beijing receipts for company expense filing. One day I was looking at some google search results about china (dont remember what) and I saw a page entitled, 'The Chinese tea ceremony scam'. My heart sank. I reluctantly opened the page and my worst fears were confirmed. I had been trying to tell myself that I had probably had some superior quality tea all along. About a month later my boss told me I'd be going to Beijing again.

I flew in a week ago and remembered to bring my receipt. I had seen your post about going back in there. I asked someone to write down a threat about calling the police on a piece of paper.

I went there THIS evening. Finding the place took 2 hours of randomly walking around. I walked in and I asked the young lady there if the place was called Su Zizhu something Tea House. After she said yes, I told her the story and threated to call the cops. I told them that the olympics was around the corner so the cops would shut them down for sure. She already seemed a bit taken aback. Remembering their phobia of cameras, I walked outside and took a photo of the store while making a big show of it. Then I went inside and aimed the camera at her and she got really scared and asked me to stop. She called someone instantly on the phone. It was the owner of the store. He wanted to talk to me on the phone. I didn't even have to tell him the story. He asked me how much money it was and when this incident happened. I told him it was 6 months ago and over 1200 yuan. He told me they'd credit me the money on my credit card. I said I wanted it in cash. He said he'd send a guy with the money. The guy showed up in 60 seconds with over 1200 yuan in crisp bills. The whole thing had barely taken over 5 minutes and I didn't even have to yell or argue. Unbelievable! I made sure the money was real, gave them the receipt, and walked away without looking back. :-)

Sorry about the long message but I really hope this helps someone like the other dude's message helped me. KEEP YOUR RECEIPT! Go back and tell them you will get them shut down through your Chinese friends in highly-placed places. Start taking photos of the place (in a noticeable way) and then the people in the place.

Hope this helps!

thaker, welcome to FlyerTalk. What a great story! Good for you to persist and get your money back.

Thaker, good to hear it all worked out for you. However, I'd suggest people in the future to be a little more careful. At least bring a 2nd person along with you as you never know who are fronting these scams.

I made sure the money was real, gave them the receipt, and walked away without looking back. :-)


That's great. Post a scan of the receipt to the internet. Five minutes
time to photoshop change the date and amount..can you imagine
a steady stream of laowais showing up wanting their money back. :D

great post thaker. though i've heard plenty of stories where before you know it you're surrounded by 6 xin jiang ren demanding your camera and wallet. i wouldn't recommend this at some of the places not near major roads here in shanghai.

i take thaker's real message is that people will prey on human kindness, leaving the victim feeling betrayed and foolish. good for you, thaker, for taking action.

to all new visitors, if approached by an overtly friendly stranger, no matter what country you're in, take caution. if you get that funny twinge in your gut that something's awry, but you can't explain it, heed your inner voice nonetheless. it's hard to go against your sense of kindness, but most of these types are after your wallet, not your friendship. understand their intentions, and you won't have issue with feeling guilty about being distant. better yet, don't get into a conversation with a stranger whose overt niceness is a big clue of a cloaked agenda. there are so many great people in china, it's a shame that unwary travelers with sincere desire to connect to a foreign culture fall victim to a few with a dark scheme. this happens anywhere... it's not unique to china. in the tourist areas, it is more prone to happen though. in these areas, i never make eye contact or give any response to strangers possessing aggressive kindness. in shanghai on nanjing lu, these folk are abundant... go one block on either side of nanjing lu, and they rarely exist.

zzyster

..if approached by an overtly friendly stranger, no matter what country you're in, take caution. if you get that funny twinge in your gut that something's awry, but you can't explain it, heed your inner voice nonetheless. it's hard to go against your sense of kindness, but most of these types are after your wallet, not your friendship..

Fair enough - but don't be overly cautious. And more to the point most are not after your wallet - it's just that the ones who are seek you out and have a disproportionally high profile. As I posted way back in this thread if Shadow and Coco accost you in one of Beijing's tourist traps and drag you along to an art gallery/tea ceremony/whatever then fair enough - it's probably a scam. In very much the same way then getting accosted in Times Square, Covent Garden, etc is probably going to lead to a rip-off of some sort. But generally folk are decent and without a doubt the best experiences I have had both in China and on my travels generally have arisen from random encounters with strangers who offer amazing kindness. The simple fact is that most are after showing hospitality to you - they're not after your wallet.

And reciprocate the gesture! I'm back in the UK after near 5 years in China and make a point whenever I encounter a Chinese tourist of making the effort and doing something with them.

Or... there's the story of a former RAF guy getting caught in the tea scam, and when the bill came out, refused to pay it. Two big guys came out and he beat the living daylights out of them, and simply walked out.

Beijing and Shanghai are just like any other big city, plenty of scams to rip off tourists and newcomers. It's a shame since most people all over are well meaning and I'm sure I've missed out on some great experiences due to being wary of potential scams.

To me, if one is not a tea person, then even the best best tea is like poop. So, if you are not a tea lover, just say NO when people try to drag you into a tea tasting or whatever.

I am always amazed by how cleverly these people manipulate their marks and wonder what their success rate is.... I couldn't manage to get my HUSBAND to follow me around like this and have tea in a place of my choosing ~ MUCH less a STRANGER! Perhaps I should travel there and inquire about charm school.....even though I am a SOUTHERN girl and think I am quite charming already!