Scams, overcharging and etiquette in China: what catches first-time visitors

China is a low-crime country for tourists, which we cover in the safety guide. What it does have is a short, stable list of scams aimed at foreigners in tourist areas, a market culture where the first price is not the price, and a set of social rules that are easy to get right once someone tells you. This guide covers all three.

The scams that still work

They have been the same for twenty years because they still work on people who have not heard of them. Now you have.

The tea house, the art exhibition, the “practise my English”. The most common by far. A friendly, well-dressed, fluent English speaker (often two young women, or a “student”) strikes up a conversation on Nanjing Road, the Bund, Wangfujing or outside the Forbidden City. After a few minutes they suggest a traditional tea ceremony, a student art show, or a karaoke bar nearby. The tea is served, the bill is in the hundreds of dollars, and the door is watched until it is paid. The defence is total: decline every invitation from a stranger in a tourist area, however charming, and keep walking. Real students do not practise English on tourists.

The airport and station taxi. Men in the arrivals hall or outside the station offering a taxi or a “special car”. The fare is five to ten times the metered rate. Use the official taxi rank (follow the signs, there is a marshal), order a DiDi in the app, or book a car in advance; the Pudong airport guide has the options and real prices. In a legitimate taxi, check the meter is running; drivers in Shanghai and Beijing are mostly honest and the meters are regulated.

The broken meter and the long route. Rare now because DiDi shows the route, but a taxi driver may claim the meter is broken and quote a flat fare. Get out and take the next one.

“It is closed today.” Someone near a sight tells you it is closed for a holiday or a ceremony and offers to take you somewhere better, usually a shop. It is not closed. Walk to the gate and see.

The temple bracelet and the monk. A man dressed as a monk presses a bracelet or an amulet into your hand, then demands a donation. Real monks do not solicit on the street. Hand it back and walk away.

Fake ticket offices and “official” guides. At the Great Wall car parks, outside the Forbidden City and at major stations, people offer tickets or guiding for cash. Tickets for the big sights are passport-linked and sold online or at the official office only; a stranger’s ticket is either fake or will not match your passport. Licensed guides carry a photo licence card; ours are booked in advance and meet you with your name.

Counterfeit goods. The “fake markets” sell copies openly and it is your decision; what is not fine is being sold a fake as real, especially jade, tea, silk and electronics. Buy those from department stores or with a guide.

Markets and the first price

In malls, supermarkets, restaurants and chain shops, prices are fixed and marked. In markets, tourist bazaars and small souvenir shops, the first price quoted to a foreigner is an opening position, typically two to four times what a local pays:

• Decide what the item is worth to you before you ask. Ask the price, look unimpressed, counter at a third to a half, and settle somewhere in between. Smile; it is a game, not a fight.
• Walking away is the strongest move and is expected. If the price was fair, you will be called back.
• Pay by Alipay; it removes the “no change” routine.
• For anything valuable (jade, pearls, antiques, tea), assume you cannot tell real from fake and buy only where you would be comfortable returning it.

Our guides take guests to real markets and say what things should cost, which is the easiest way to learn the ranges.

Money, cards and ATMs

Everything is paid by phone through Alipay or WeChat Pay, including market stalls and taxis, which has removed most cash-handling scams. If you do use cash, ATMs inside bank branches are safe; avoid standalone machines in tourist areas. Credit card skimming is rare. Check the amount on the phone screen before confirming a QR payment, especially in markets, where “6” and “60” are a thumb apart.

Etiquette: the things that matter

Australians are generally liked in China: informal, friendly, uncomplicated. A few habits make the difference between being a tourist and being a welcome guest.

• Greetings. A nod and a smile; a handshake in business settings. No hugging strangers. Use family names with a title (Mr Wang, Teacher Li) until invited otherwise.
• Business cards are given and received with both hands and read before being put away, never in a back pocket.
• At the table. Wait to be seated (the host places people). Do not stick chopsticks upright in rice. Try everything offered and praise it. Toasts: clink lower than an older person’s glass as a sign of respect; “ganbei” means empty the glass, so sip unless you mean it. The host pays; offering to split the bill is faintly insulting, offering to pay the whole thing next time is right.
• Tea. Tapping two fingers on the table when someone pours you tea is a silent thank-you. Keep others’ cups full.
• Gifts. Give and receive with both hands. The recipient may decline once or twice before accepting; persist gently. Avoid clocks (the phrase sounds like “attending a funeral”), sharp objects, and anything in sets of four. Red and gold wrapping is good; white is for funerals.
• Face. Public criticism, raised voices and visible frustration cost everyone face, including yours. If something is wrong, say so quietly and give the other person a way out. A problem raised with a smile gets fixed faster than one raised with a complaint.
• Queues and space. Personal space is smaller and queues are looser than at home. Nobody is being rude; stand your ground politely.
• Photographs. Ask before photographing people, especially the elderly, monks and anyone in uniform. Military sites, some government buildings and airports are no-photo zones, and the signs mean it.
• Politics. Do not raise Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong or the leadership with people you have just met, and do not be surprised if your hosts do not either. If someone raises it with you, listen, keep your own view short, and change the subject. This is not about censorship of you; it is about not putting your host in a position.
• Temples. Cover shoulders and knees, remove hats inside halls, do not point feet at images of the Buddha, and step over, not on, the threshold beam at doorways.

Tipping

There is none. Not in restaurants, taxis, hotels or for guides and drivers in the general culture. Visitors sometimes tip private guides and drivers at the end of a good trip and it is appreciated, but it is a bonus rather than an expectation, and our guides are paid a proper day rate regardless. Hotel porters and bathroom attendants do not expect anything.

If something goes wrong

Say so calmly, at the time, to the person who can fix it: the restaurant manager, the hotel front desk, your guide. Most issues in China are resolved on the spot once raised, and raised politely. For a real dispute, the police (110) will attend, and the tourist police in Shanghai and Beijing have English speakers. Keep the receipt or the QR payment record; it is your proof.

On a Mandarin Route booking, the guide is the person to tell and the Shanghai office is a phone call away; fixing things the same day is the point of having us, and it is also why the scams above are things our guests read about rather than meet.