Hangzhou Day Tour Alert: Dodge This Tourist Trap!
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Well, let me share an extraordinary experience that I had in Hangzhou with all of you, and hopefully it will serve as a reminder to my fellow travelers who are planning their journey.
First, we four people signed up for a day tour with transportation included, negotiating the price down from RMB 400 to RMB 350. While the offer was tempting, little did we know what lay ahead.
For your information, I have actually visited Hangzhou before and wanted to revisit two famous Buddhist temples, Fashi Temple and Lingyin Temple, but the limited time spoiled my plan.
As for the day's itinerary, here is a recap:
We gathered at 11 am, but didn't depart until almost noon.
We took a scenic boat ride on West Lake, Hangzhou's landmark. Good so far.
Unfortunately, the highlight was lunch at a restaurant suggested by the tour guide, where each person paid a hefty fee of RMB 35 for food that left much to be desired. Because of my mother's low blood sugar, we reluctantly had to eat there. The price was unfair compared to the poor quality food.
By the time we finished eating at 1:40 pm, our tour was already behind schedule.
Following this, our “scenic drive” along Qiantang River, another important river in Hangzhou, was purely perfunctory.
Later, we were dragged to a tea plantation to taste tea – another forced visit that felt like a pitch for sales gimmicks. It was extremely wasteful.
Finally, I would say, watch out for this trickery:
That tea shop really wasted our time, which caused the planned vehicle to take us to Lingyin Temple was called off without any sign of remorse on the guide’s side. She kept pestering us to buy candles while postponing our departure time.
The ticket prices at Lingyin Temple weren't included in the trip costs; we had to individually pay RMB 30 (Note: tickets need to be purchased separately at the entrance of Xifayi Mount and the Lingyin Temple).
Prior to entering the temple, our tour guide continued her aggressive promotion of candles or flowers, which added up to be over RMB 200. Unwilling to comply with such schemes, we received ugly faces from our guide.Our experience at Lingyin Temple was cut short due to the lack of time, I hadn't even managed to pay respect as the timing coincides with my "period", following some traditional views I couldn’t proceed with the prayer.
At 5:50 pm, we regathered again by the West Lake before ending the day's tour with empty hands.
Lessons learned and advice to fellow English-speaking travelers:
Reflecting on this tour, the only worthwhile expense came from our RMB 50 scenic boat ride at West Lake.
Warning! Warning! Warning!
Please beware of those convenient, budget tours like this one! Here’s why:- They tend to force you into visiting commercial spots that drain your precious travel time, like that forced stop at the tea plantation.
- They often push extra spending opportunities, such as purchasing those incense sticks or lanterns, and may even give you a snide look if you don’t comply.
- The actual sightseeing spots could either be compressed into a too-short visit within your itinerary, or as in our case, even fail to honor the pre-planned transportation commitments.
- Be smart! Avoid such arrangements altogether if your goal is primarily the temples or other specific landmarks. Travel independently! The public transportation system in Hangzhou is very accessible, and booking a taxi or a ride-hailing app like Didi are easy options to arrange as well.
- If you decide to tour independently as I suggest, you get to decide how long to stay at each site and avoid dealing with any unwelcome faces.
I won’t be making such naive decision when choosing a tour anymore, as now I know better!
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There was a loudspeaker on a trash can opposite the LV store, constantly warning people not to sign up for unofficial tour groups because they're scams. Lesson learned the hard way.
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Wish I had heard it back then. Oh well, it wasn't a lot of money anyway. I'm posting this to help others avoid the same trap.
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Why would you even join a tour for city attractions that have such convenient transportation and don't even require an entrance fee? You're just asking to get ripped off.
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To be honest, I wanted to leave around noon. But then I remembered we were going to Lingyin Temple later, so I thought I'd just leave after the boat ride.
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I paid 180 yuan for a one-day tour to Wuzhen and Nanxun. I have no idea how they're making a profit off me. An older lady in our group paid 230!
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The people who roped us into this tour even asked if we wanted to go to Wuzhen the next day, saying it would only be 80 yuan.
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Their main goal is to sell tea. And the tea isn't even local; it's all shipped in from elsewhere.
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Wow, so it's actually shipped in from other places?
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This kind of scam has been around for over ten years! Our whole family got duped in Shanghai.
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What kind of scam was it in Shanghai?
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Oh no... I signed up for this one.
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Just try to enjoy it and relax.
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I'm listening to the tea sales pitch right now. I'm about to lose my mind!
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Yeah, that's the part that drove me crazy too.