I just returned from Beijing a couple of days ago. In general I had 10 nice days in Beijing, except for the weather (either it rained or was very hot) and a scam that I was involved in.

Here is the scam in short which might be useful to fellow travellers in PRC as a warning.

I had been in Beijing less than a day. Walking around in the Oriental Plaza mall on Wangfujing Rd (just East of Tiananmen Sq.) I was approached by two Chinese girls. The were studying English and wanted to talk to me to improve their language. They were very friendly and being polite I started to talk to them. They were "window shopping" in the mall (to expensive for them they explained) and soon we were walking around in the mall talking. I explained that I needed a hair cut and they lead me to a nice salon in the basement where I got a nice hair cut.

Afterwards, we went out on Wangfujing Rd. and the girls helped me to buy a Beijing map. We were also looking for glasses to me. At a certain point the girls asked if we should go for some tea and if I was familiar with the tea house ceremony. I accepted to go with them to a nearby tea house, which was on the 2nd floor of a Chinese mall (at the left side and the end of Wangfujing Rd.) We were greeted by a Chinese host who lead us to a small room where she explained the various tea making, the various kinds of teas. Of course we tasted them all. It took more than an hour.

Actually, it was very interesting and I learned a lot about Chinese tea. I was offered to buy some tea and I agreed to buy two jars of tea. I liked the tea and I new that I had to pay something for the time the host spent on us. When I got the bill for the three of us I got a real surprise!! It was almost 2.000 RMB (equivalent USD 260) based on 50 RMB p.p. for each tea tasted + almost 500 RMB for the tea I bought. I knew this was very expensive and was a "tourist price". I immediately declined to buy the tea and asked for discount but the girls translated back to me that this was not possible for a "government tea house/shop". At the end I paid 1.500 RMB with my VISA cc.

Back on the street the girls soon decided to walk in a different direction (they had no more time they explained) and I started to think about the whole tea house expirience. I got angry, but also disappointed with myself that I had not asked for a price indication in advance. Admittedly, I felt very stupid as I realized that I had been the victim of a tourist scam.

However, after a couple of hours I went back to the tea house to complain about the prize and try to recover some of my money. I spoke to the host who called the owner (female) who in turn pointed out to me a big board with applicable prices next to the entrance. She generously offered me some tea to compensate but declined to return any money.

At that point a Swedish man came out from one of rooms. He was clearly in shock. We started to talk in our own language and it turned out that he also had been with two Chinese girls for tea ceremony and charged the same amount. However, he had managed to pay only 300 RMB. I the decided to raise my voice in English demanding a refund, taking out my cell phone pretending to call the police etc. This imidately lead to "OK you get your money back, please come with me out of shop to to process this".

At the end of the day the VISA charge was cancelled (I got a receipt) and I left the shop much happier.

Admittedly, I feared that the money would be deducted from my cc but checking my account upon return to Denmark, no money has (so far) been deducted.

During the following days I was approached several times by Chinese female students (always in pairs) in Int. shopping malls or at major tourist spots, who wanted to talk to me to "improve their language" but sooner or later asking me about my experience with Chinese tea ceremony; if I would like to drink tea with them; if I would like to learn about Chinese medicine etc. Needless to say that I had learned my lesson and I always declined in a polite way.

I post this story to warn inexperienced travellers to China about this scam.

In general be very cautious about Chinese people approaching you on the street pretending to be interested in talking to you. It is most likely a scam to get big time money out of you.