Avoiding Scams in Shanghai—A Newbie’s Guide

Every major city has its scam of choice. Shanghai is no different, except that the scams seem to be a bit smaller in scale and more frequent in number. Her is a newbie’s guide to avoiding them.

1.) The unwitting foreigner. This is a simple ‘take advantage of the tourist’ scam that involves a beggar and your wallet. How it works is simple in design and as ancient as civilization. Unemployed folks pretend to be beggars, and pester you out of your cash. It is important not to play into their game, as in some cases adults mutilate their children in order to get more charity. You’ll often see women dragging their four year olds around the bar district at 2:00am looking for cash. If no one pays them, they’ll eventually give up the scam, so don’t encourage this behavior.

2.) Traditional Tea Ceremony. While walking around Shanghai, especially in Renmin Park or around the museum, you’ll encounter young men or women who pretend to be friendly and offer to show you a tea ceremony. They will lead you to a tea house and pressure you into buying expensive teas and then insist on paying their portion by credit card. Under some premise the person will leave the room and the tea house will refund their costs to them. You’ve been scammed, the kids worked for the tea house all along to draw in unknowing tourists for overprices (and low quality) tea. Similarly, young women will try to lure you into an art gallery. Don’t bother, it is a rip off with high-pressure sales and often a ‘fee’ to view the art kept in grandma’s attic.

3.) Fake merchandise. If anyone tells you the Coach purse you are looking at is genuine, and you are not standing in a mall store with marble floors and glass display cases then they are lying. A good price for a fake product is under 200 RMB, so never pay more than that unless they have a signed certificate of authenticity. This includes clothing, purses, electronics and shoes. If you are not at a certified mall, then you are buying fake products.

4.) The cab scam. In any city the cab drivers try to earn a few extra bucks by going the long way from A to Z. In Shanghai, unless you know your destination and the route, then you are sure to be taken advantage of. Ask in advance what an estimated cost will be for the ride, tell them you are in a hurry, and offer to tip them if they arrive quickly. All of this combined will inspire your driver to head straight away to your destination. The number one thing NOT to do is hand them a card with Chinese script on it and sit back silently. At least huff and haw and make gestures for the driver to rush.

5.) Hotel costs. Many times the hotel will post a fee per room rate on a board near the check-in counter. You should always ignore this and ask for the best price for a room. Like everything in China, bargaining at hotels is acceptable (unless, of course, you are at a name-brand hotel like the Hyatt). You can get a decent two or three star hotel for less than 100 RMB a night if you bargain a little bit. In addition, always view the room before you agree to pay or to stay. Insist on seeing the exact room that will be yours. This is customary and not considered rude, though it is polite to always remain calm.

Keep a cool head and always keep your temper under control while in Shanghai, as losing it is considered extremely poor manners. You can avoid these scams easily simply by knowing about them, or at least when they happen to you remember a few of these tips and try to mitigate your way to happier occasions.