Fooled by Badaling One-day Trip 

When my husband and I visited the Forbidden City, a lot of people were handing out leaflets about one-day trip to Badaling Great Wall. We both wanted to sign up for the easy transportation arranged by the travel agency. We were surprised at the prices on the leaflets! No expensive but it’s too cheap! The price of one day trip to Badaling and the Ming Tombs were only charged at 40 yuan or 50 yuan. Remarkable! But the travel agencies they provided were all the standard ones such as CITS, which made us sign the name without hesitation.

The next day, we came to the assembly point on time. When we were about to sign the agreement and get on the bus, we realized that it was not CITS. They used it just for advertise! The tour guide asked each of us for 100 kuai for the trip of the Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube. He also promised to take us back to the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube and responsible for the tickets after returned from the Great Wall.

We had embarked in the affair! The following experience was very similar to the tricks I found on the web. They took us to the Shuiguan Great Wall and spent totally one and a half hours on the wall. Then the tour guide scared us that it was inauspicious to visit the tombs and listed some typical examples to us, which made nobody brave enough to get off the bus to visit the tombs. During this period, the guide took us to buy jade stones, preserved fruits and peking duck and consulted the traditional Chinese doctors. They even drove us to get off the bus under the name of security check. But actually, they were helping a cheat boosting jade stones! The cheat claimed his new born twins were staying in hospital for observation and needed every visitor’s blessings. My kindhearted husband was about to buy his jades but I stopped him. I had already known it’s a dupery from net friends’ experience.

When we returned to the bus, we found the tour guide was gone! The bus drove us to the Bird’s Nest and left us alone. I asked the bus driver was that they should charge for our tickets?! He responded angrily that was none of his business! We should find the tour guide. However, he was missing immediately after the so-called “Security Check”.

We could do nothing. In fact, I had realized it was a dupery since they took us to sales drives. At present, I had no other choice. My husband and I went to the ticket office but it was already closed. Yes, I should have thought that we had no time to visit the Bird’s Next and the Water Cube after the long journey from the Great Wall. I was cruelly deceived!

Afterward, I dialed the complaint call but only told we had taken the unlicensed bus. (Nonsense, I know that clearly!) Therefore, here I shared my experience with other visitors who were interested in the one-day trip to Beijing, especially to Badaling Great Wall. I just hope the innocent visitors would not be fooled any more.

Shuiguan Great Wall