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Thread: what to do when ripped off in China and how to prevent?

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[quote=APAULT                  ,35462]Just in case this topic frightens some people from visiting China, I will describe my mostly positive excperiences.I had little problem with being ripped off in China.  One reason is that I did not visit many of the core tourist spots where this is most common (I am told) and the other is that it is not a common occurance.  In Shanghai I could have fallen for the invitations to go for a coffee with one of the many youung people that approached me In Nanjing Street and then being presented with a large bill, by local standards - but we should all be aware of that one.  On the other hand, people approached me in many cities and smaller places to be friendly and to practice English.  They expect nothing, though often hope to get an email or phone contact.  Some will offer to buy you a meal!  A bus driver knew I might have some difficulty in his tourist village - (Yangmei west of Nanning, Guanxi - well worth a visit) and phoned ahead to arrange an English major uni student to neet the bus AND took me to his home for a meal.In Sanya, a 'travel agent' wanted 200 RMB for a ferry and bus ticket that going south cost less than 100 RMB.  If you travel alone and unbooked you must allow enough time and have the confidence to say 'no', a cab to the ferry was a simple alternative.In a real travel agent (CTS) in Chikan District Zhanjiang, Guangdong, (yeah, that's a plug) an agent made a big effort to get me a cheap flight to Australia... even to the extent that I got the internal flight to Guangzhou at a negative price!  They could easily have made a big bonus by charging me something for that.Sure I paid a few yuan more occasionally in taxi type transport, BUT equally I paid the rounded down metered fare just as the locals do in many places.  Yes I might pay a little more in some shops,markets, and hotels, not because I was a foreigner but because I didn't know how to bargain, or prefer not to - I don't begrudge the few extra yuan.Overall, help outwieghed the rip offs by 100 to 1, I am sure the more experienced travellers (compared with me) in this forum have similar stories.[/quote]

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