I only spent about $100-110 at this tea ceremony. At the time, it seemed worth it. At least it was not more!

I am surprised that there is not more information about this in guidebooks!!

If you are approached by anyone be on your guard. The most common way for someone to initiate a mugging in lots of countries is to approach you and ask a seemingly innane question like ‘do you know the time’ or ‘do you have a light for my cigarette’. If you forcefully relpy ‘no’ they generally leave you alone.

This has worked for me in some dodgy places around the world.

I nearly fell victim to a scam such as this when I was much younger but it was in a sleazy bar in Athens about 12 years ago. I managed to get out of it and ended up paying nothing, but I’m a big guy and the place was staffed only by women and one old man, so I threatened them and left without any problem.

Coming out of the Forbidden City started talking to two girls who pretended to be english students, for most of my trip i had used my knowledge of the German language to pretend i didn’t speak english and confuse the hell out of the people selling stuff, they figure every white person has at least a basic understanding of English (a shanghai seller saw me the next day and made fun of me because i couldn’t speak english-basically saying “hey there is the guy who can only speak “Deutsche”) as my friend had left early, it was 5pm and I had seen all the sights i wanted to and was leaving early the next morning I thought i would go along with the whole thing and see what was up with it (see if it was a scam). I had about 300rmb on me, a Visa card, old digi-camera and an nice watch (real one from back home that was about $500) but all my important documents extra cash passport laptop etc were in my hotel room and my key didn’t say which hotel. I’m also 6 foot and 250 pounds so i figured what’s the worst that can happen, i kept my hands on my wallet and camera and kept a close eye for pickpockets.

So the girls start talking to me, find out I own my own business in property management, find out I have my pilots license, they were very impressed (probably because they thought I was loaded) after i agreed to go for tea they made a convenient phone call etc. They were insistent to know where I was staying as well; I told them i didn’t know the hotel name just where it “kinda” was; they asked how i got there, i told them on bus number 104 and several stops down - giving your hotel location is suspect. They also asked me what I was doing after we went for tea, once again i was very vague saying i was going to walk around a bit.

So we go into this whole in the wall tea shop, I at first ask how much it will cost, they show me a sign that says 30rmb for tea per person(little pricey as other restaurants had a cup for 10rmb) but as I was going to go to starbucks for a coffee it was about the same price. I also see a suspect sign on the wall that says 100rmb for fruit plate; needless to say they bring out 4 fruit plates. I tell them I wasn’t interested in fruit and I hadn’t ordered it. $15 for fruit plate in Beijing is way too much. They offer a “tea ceremony” i figured this was also part of a scam and would cost a lot more than 30rmb so i decline, indicating i had already seen one the previous day (on the great wall bus tour) so they make the tea, the girls keep on suggesting i try some fruit, and they keep on filling my tea glass. I made up a story about being full from lunch (they then asked what i had so i had to make up a quick story!) and that i was allergic to citrus fruit.

I made several excuses about being in a hurry to get back to the hotel and indicated that I should head off, so one of the girls goes to get the shop “owner” and get the bill, I stand up and wait by the door (the other girl insisted I sit down) the owner comes with the bill and they start to ’sort’ it out, luckily I had exact change of 30rmb in my pocket so they never saw how much money I had. I told them i had to go so I showed one of the girls the 30rmb; she told me to wait until the figured the bill out, I point at the sign on the wall and stuffed it in her hand, when she tells me there is a “room fee” of $15 and the fruit plate fee; at which point in time i was half way out the door telling them I agreed to the 30rmb and I ran out.

As i ran out i heard one of the girls wimper asking me to pay my share of the room fee of $15 (100rmb or something) and i’m guessing they would have charges 30rmb per cup of tea etc.

So in retrospect given that i had about a pots worth of tea (about 5 cups) 30rmb wasn’t that much to pay. But i do regret running out so soon as it would have been fun to see the whole bill and argue with them, but the hallway was tight and there was a locking door in there so i was kind of hesitant to overstay my welcome. At least the tea shop had a loss on my deal, because i probably took up about an hour of the girls time, they had a couple cups of tea each, and they each had about a plate of the fruit.

My and my friends went to visit Mao’s mausoleum in Tiananmen when we found out it had closed. We hung around for about 10 minutes before deciding to head back to the hotel. While walking back, we passed by a group of 4 Chinese students, 3 females 1 male, who greeted us enthusiastically as their American student counterparts. They asked us where we were from and pleased us with casual conversation. The leader (the male) seemed very talkative and friendly and explained that they were from the WuHan province. They explained that they were visiting Beijing on vacation and asked us to accompany them quickly to the Hutong district. They assurred us it would only take a little while. Because we didn’t want to seem rude, we decided to go with them. They looked 100% innocent and friendly.

That was warning sign number one. Don’t go anyone, even if the man is a monk.

On our way to the Hutong, we talked about ourselves and learned a lot of the cultural differences between us and themselves. They talked about watching American shows like ‘Prison Break’, and talked about Chinese celebrities well known in America like Jet Li and Jackie Chan. I should say that this whole time I was slightly on my guard and protected my pockets well, but little did I know that I would not be a victim of a physical affliction. Anyway, we eventually reached Hutong, where one of the students explained how she wanted to travel to Vancouver, BC, to further study in English. However, she said that the Olympics opening day happened to be on her birthday, and that she would much rather celebrate it with her friends in Beijing than in Vancouver alone. I sympathized and was further enveloped in their friendliess.

After strolling a little bit through HuTong, their group leader inadvertently stopped and peeked inside a teahouse. He said, “Eh, this is interesting!” and beckoned we come inside and have tea. That was warning number two. Again, being that we didn’t want to be rude, we continued to proceed into the tea house and have (hopefully) a quick cup of tea. We assurred them that afterward we should get going back to the hotel.

It turns out that it was a traditional tea ceremony. A host came out and had us sample 10 different types of tea. The whole time, the group leader seemed exceedingly interested at the ornaments in the room. Looking back, I realize that he was trying to make it look like everything was new to him while I can now see that they had all faked their interest. At the end of the ceremony, the host asked us which types of tea we liked best, and once we made our pick, the group leader offered to purchase us tea to bring home. We were terribly flattered and would have felt terrible should he have to pay for all of it (how ironic). When asked for the bill, he seemed very shocked at the price. Being that I can understand and speak a little Chinese, it sounded like the prince was 3000 RMB. He took out his card, but explained that with depleted funds, he did not have the means to pay for everyone. He said that he would pay for five, and asked if we could perhaps pay for the rest.

That was warning sign number three.

We hesitated a little, but caved. We offered to pay in cash, but they told us two reasons why it would not work. First, they said it was unfortunately not enough. Second was the crafty, elaborate, reason. They explained how they could only accept credit cards because if the teahouse was able to procure its sales in credit, then the bank would give them back rewards for next month.

Warning number four. I have heard of places that don’t accept cards, but NEVER any place that doesn’t accept cash. Heed this warning. My friend offered them his card, but luckily for him, his didn’t process. Before my second friend tried his card, we explicitly asked for the price we had to pay for. In fact, we had been doing this ever since the check came out. However, we never received a direct response. They replied vaguely and attempted to change the subject everytime we asked. We asked to see the bill, but the number was written so poorly, my friends assumed it said 33 RMB. Since I mentioned earlier that I thought the price was 3000, I was a little worried, but assurred when my friends told me 33 RMB. This is the ironic part: I even said aloud, “Oh good! I thought it 3000 or something.” The group that conned us chuckled at my remarks (now I know why). My second friend gave then them his card, and a little less luckily could only pay 1000RMB due to a limit on his spending amount. However, the receipt was so poorly printed, we were not aware that the 1000 on the receipt was his part of the bill.

They then asked if I had a card to complete payment. Warning five. I really did hesitate and did not wish to give them my card, and I don’t know what did it, but I gave in. The host returned later very happily and said my card was able to pay for the rest of it. But when they gave me a receipt, it said 2300 RMB on it. I, again, was not aware that was the price. Both me and my friend stupidly signed the receipts. However, we did not even get a customer copy back. Even at the end of the ceremony, when I asked to see the receipt, they managed to wave it away. Warning number six.

As I said earlier, the group leader offered to pay for part of the bill. This may have been the biggest giveaway that we missed. Although he gave them his card, they never had him sign any sort of receipt. That was warning seven.

After it all, I was feeling extremely nervous and wanted to rush back to the hotel immediately to check my balance. However, on our way out of Hutong, they continued to befriend us, offering to buy us street food and souvenirs to gain back any trust that may have been lost. We declined for everything (mostly because I was so concerned). They even exchanged contact info with us. On our way back, I was still immersed in their trust so the word ‘con’ never even crossed my mind. But when we got back to the hotel, our worst fears were confirmed. I first thought it was just extremely expensive tea. But after googling ‘tea scam’, I found that I had been conned.

The little payback we got did not redeem anything. It turns out the number they gave us was legit, and my friends seized the opportunity to bluff and cuss him out before we left for the States. Either way, I lost $350 USD because I missed seven warning signs. There were so many ways I could have forseen it, but it never occurred to me because of their friendliness. Now I have a packaged box of dried fruit tea sitting in my bag, and I’m wondering whether to dump it or use it.

The two young ladies outside the museum in Shanghai, NEVER pushed me into doing anything, they NEVER asked me to pay for them. We spent maybe an hour wandering around talking about life before they mentioned they were going for a Chinese tea ceremony. They were from somewhere right in between Beijing and Shanghai, and were on vacation in the city.
I felt that I was in charge to choose wether I wanted to join or not, no pressure what so ever!

When the bill came they seemed confused about the high bill themselves. They paid theirs (I noticed that they did not ask me to pay theirs). I figured the tea I had just bought was sold per hektogram and not kilogram as I had thought and was rather upset with myself for being so dumb comitting myself to buying tea I could have bought in a store for 20 RMB. I paid up 1200RMB thinking that at least I had a nice afternoon (acting or not), the tea tasted good and the stories about it were nice. Even if, in my heart I still want to believe that they REALLY were tourists too and were pulled into the scam themselves. Reading the above, next time I’ll pull the “Je ne parle pas Anglais, je suis francais, parlez vous francais?” as mentioned above.

I know I’m not dumb, but Jeez do I fell dumb and embarrassed right now!
The question is, shall I frame my 1200 tea or drink it?

Whilst on our way, one of them insisted shes thirsty and wanted to have something to drink. I was thirsty(and a little hungry) too and i insisted we go to any MacDonalds or some familiar chains nearby where they would be serving some familiar food. But she pointed to some Chinese shop along the street(selling tea!) and insisted we go there. I am not particularly fond of Chinese green tea so I refused to this part and started walking on when the other girl pushed my friend to another tea shop. They said they are taking us to the “tea ceremony” and then the episode followed. The number of teas tasted were six and the bill at the end of it all was 2400 RMBs! highway robbery!

I grew suspicious and said I only had 100 with me…my friend said hes also got 100 and that we dont have any credit cards. They insisted we use our debit card but we refused (citing some reason i dont remember). When they still coerced, I told them I have to call up my friend working in the embassy and ask for the extra bucks. This made them jittery. I then pretended to make a call and called up my chinese colleague from the workplace instead. I then handed the phone over to the owner of the shop. He refused to speak to anyone and cut the phone.

The owner, who was till now acting as if he is irritated, smiled and said that our “friends” have paid for us and that we can leave. I found it pretty odd but was happy to make a sprint out of the the place :D. But a day was wasted amidst all this, never the less.

All the people we met otherwise in China were really friendly but this experience left us with a bitter taste in mouth. I feel they tried to take advantage of our trust in them. Hope the Chinese government cracks down on such antisocial elements before the olympics begin later this year.

• their back-story was PERFECT! They were from out-of-town (which would explain why they were so keen to practice English - obviously there are many English speakers in Shanghai) but their friend had shown them where the tea house was the day before which explained how they knew where it was. They still found the place too quickly though.

• I was on my own, first day in the city and was so up for hanging out with these nice Chinese kids that I actually asked them where they were going and asked if I could come with.

• I nearly asked to give the most expensive tea I was buying back as I didn’t have enough cash. But I didn’t want to cause a scene so went to use the ATM instead.

• The first thing that gave it away to me afterwards was that I never saw any of the scammers take their own tea.

• I even asked if they fancied going for lunch afterwards but they had to go and meet their other friends. Guess I just wasn’t entertaining enough for the lunch segment

• Got some good pix - especially one of the hostess taken through the glass of lychee tea.

• Don’t know if it was a real address but I emailed “Betty” to congratulate her and suggest she use her charm and guile on something that doesn’t involve taking advantage of people…

Still I feel a lot better now. Cheers chaps. I’m surprised this isn’t in the Shanghai Lonely Planet they’re normally big on scams.