Uninvited Offers:

If you walk through the streets of Beijing or Shanghai sweet, young girls who claim to be students will probably approach you at least once (almost certainly if you’re a lone male). Maybe their intentions are certainly genuine and merely inquisitive, but many visitors have reported that the single downside to visiting Beijing/Shanghai is being approached by such young students who want to ‘have a drink’, or visit an art gallery or teahouse, or just practice their English, with the intention thatyouwill pay for their costly treat. If you’re taken to an art gallery you’ll be given impressive artwork to admire and offered a ‘great’ price, which in fact is well above the art selling average. Be warned if you choose to stay with them! You may get stung and fully ripped off. Do not take up their offer. In my research, I have not met any foreigners in Beijing who have not been approached by such ‘students’. Also, it’s possible a mother or father may approach you with a young child in tow asking you for money to help them out of their predicament (usually, they have travelled across China to escape some sort of evil like a violent husband, victim of robbery, and so on). They will give you a sob story and once you hand over any cash they will hastily, suspiciously, disappear from view. Avoid getting sucked into their ‘tragic’ stories and feeling the urge to hand over your cash – most likely, it is one big trick. Around Beijing some foreign tourists have reported being charged much more than the agreed price for rickshaw rides around the Forbidden City. It is unlikely one of these guys will do this, but if it does, you should insist that you will call the police (or ‘PSB’). Most of the time you’ll have no problem at all and will have a great time exploring the city.