Most “scary” China stories are nonsense — and the real traps are easy to dodge once you know them. Here’s what actually happens, and exactly what to do.
Common · costly
The tea house / coffee invite
The trap: Friendly “students” or a couple practising English invite you to a nearby tea ceremony or bar. The bill is $150+ and they vanish.
Real talk: Real locals don’t walk tourists into a private tea room. Decline politely and keep walking. If you sit down anywhere, see the price first.
Common · costly
The “art student” gallery
The trap: Someone practising English steers you to a student art exhibition and pressures you to buy overpriced prints.
Real talk: It’s a commission trap. You owe nobody a purchase — just leave.
Common · costly
Airport / station taxi touts
The trap: A person inside the terminal offers you a taxi. You get an unmetered car and a huge fare.
Real talk: Ignore anyone who approaches you. Use the official taxi queue outside, or DiDi. Insist on the meter (‘da biao’).
Watch out
The scenic long route
The trap: Driver takes a long loop or claims the meter is broken.
Real talk: Use DiDi so the route and price are fixed in-app. For street taxis, follow along on offline maps.
Watch out
Cash change swap
The trap: On the rare cash payment, a vendor swaps your real note for a fake and asks for another.
Real talk: China is almost entirely digital — use WeChat Pay / Alipay and you sidestep this completely.
Watch out
QR code swap
The trap: A sticker with a different QR is placed over the real merchant code.
Real talk: Always check the payee name shows the business before you confirm. When in doubt, let staff scan YOUR code.
Watch out
Station ticket touts
The trap: Someone offers to ‘help’ buy train tickets or sells attraction tickets outside the gate.
Real talk: Buy trains on Trip.com / 12306 and attractions at the official window or app. Touts sell fakes or marked-up tickets.
Minor annoyance
“It’s closed today”
The trap: Near a big sight, someone says it’s shut for a holiday/ceremony and offers an alternative (that pays them).
Real talk: Check opening hours yourself. Most ‘closed’ claims outside famous sights are false.
Minor annoyance
Costume photo / temple blessing
The trap: A ‘monk’ gives you a bracelet or someone dresses you for a photo, then demands a donation/fee.
Real talk: Nothing is free if it’s pushed on you. Hand it back and walk on.
Minor annoyance
Rickshaw price after the ride
The trap: A cheap hutong pedicab quote becomes 10x at the end (‘that was per minute’).
Real talk: Agree the total in writing/on a calculator before you get in, or skip it.
Watch out
No-price tourist restaurant
The trap: Menus with no prices near landmarks; seafood/hotpot billed by unclear weight.
Real talk: Only eat where prices are printed. Busy places full of locals are your friend.
“But isn’t China…” — myth-busting
The fears that keep people home, and the honest reality.
“China is dangerous.”
Real talk: Violent crime against tourists is very rare and cities feel extremely safe late at night. Your real risks are scams and traffic, not muggings.
“I’ll get arrested for using my phone / photos.”
Real talk: Normal tourist photos and browsing are fine. Just avoid photographing military sites and don’t bring political materials. You’re a visitor, not a target.
“Nobody speaks English, I’ll be lost.”
Real talk: Signage in big cities is bilingual, young people often speak some English, and a translation app closes the rest of the gap. Our phrase cards handle the key moments.
“I need to carry lots of cash.”
Real talk: The opposite — China is cashless. WeChat Pay and Alipay with a foreign card cover almost everything. Carry a little cash only as backup.
“The internet is unusable.”
Real talk: With a travel eSIM or a VPN set up before arrival, your normal apps work fine. Sort it out before you fly and it’s a non-issue.
Compiled from long-running, widely reported traveller experiences and updated for mid-2026. Scams evolve and are the exception, not the rule — the vast majority of visits are smooth. In an emergency dial 110 (police) or 120 (ambulance). See our emergency phrase cards.
Independent travel resource, not a government or travel agency.
Independently researched. Always verify time-sensitive details with official sources. Last reviewed July 2026