WTF Does This Sign Say?! Urgent Translation Needed! #ChinaTravel #LostInTranslation
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Hi there, friends planning to travel and have fun in Suzhou, hear me out!
Just returned from the famous Liu Yuan Garden, a super famous classical garden in Suzhou. The scenery is indeed beautiful, but my experience buying tickets... Oh man, I almost wanted to perform a "I am torn apart" show right there on the spot!
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Wish to collect paper tickets? Take note:
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Buying physical tickets at the ticket window only accepts cash! I'm not kidding, this is cash-only even though mobile payments are popular everywhere!
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Can’t you buy online? Yes, you can get electronic tickets through various apps, but you won't be able to get those cherished physical tickets then! You know, there are folks like me who enjoy collecting them as souvenirs. This practice really confuses people.
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No cash? Oops, there's “surprise” waiting for you:
- So thinking of changing cash at nearby stalls should work, right? But it turns out, they charge an exorbitant 12% handling fee! Wow, that’s worse than robbing!
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Service quality... you know the drill:
- I just don't understand why, with such advanced technology nowadays, everyone is using QR code payments; yet, here they’re sticking to old ways.
- Besides, the staff at the ticket counter were quite cold in demeanor （not exactly uncooperative, but they seemed to be busy discussing something else on their computers or printing stuff while we were queuing, giving a rather unfriendly vibe）. It was not until an elderly lady ahead in line insisted they help us purchase tickets as many others were eager to enter the garden, that they started dealing with us – albeit slowly and without a smile.
️ Important! Important! Important! Reminder for those heading to Liuyuan Garden:-
If you, like me, have a passion for paper tickets, remember: Make sure to prepare cash in advance!
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Don't think about exchanging money at the entrance; that handling fee could really sting you.
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How do you avoid this?
- Prepare cash beforehand.
- Or if electronic tickets are okay with you, do a prior purchase through official channels or reliable travel apps, which saves you a lot of trouble!
I hope my complaint can help others avoid these pitfalls! Suzhou is still lots of fun, just that ticketing experience at Liu Yuan is... Ugh, I hope it gets improved soon!
#LiuYuanGardenComplaints #SuzhouTravelTips #AvoidPitfallsGuide #SuzhouTourismTips -
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I'd like to ask, after making online reservations for the various gardens in Suzhou, can I also buy tickets on-site?
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If you buy tickets online, you just scan a QR code to enter. If you want a physical ticket, you absolutely have to go to the ticket window and pay with cash.
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I just had a bit of a confrontation with the tourist center at the scenic spot. They claimed they don't charge any handling fees, and the manager was adamant, completely denying they have physical tickets.
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Are the surrounding shops managed by the scenic area? So when you try to get cash using your card, it's not the merchant who wants to charge you, but rather they have to pay a 12% commission to the scenic area?
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Isn't that even more ridiculous? So my money in WeChat Pay or Alipay effectively loses value? I'm not buying anything, just exchanging it for cash, and I still have to pay a fee? That's a bit outrageous, isn't it?
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It's the same at Hanshan Temple; you can only get a physical ticket if you pay with cash.
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Exactly! I always collect physical tickets as souvenirs. For Hanshan Temple, whether I booked online or bought a ticket on-site by scanning a QR code to pay, there were no physical tickets available.
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Are physical tickets still a thing now?
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If you have exact cash, you should be able to get one.
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I ended up getting change for a 100 yuan bill from another tourist, a young guy.
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When I asked if they had physical tickets, they even told me that all of Suzhou has stopped using them. They didn't even mention that you could buy one with cash.
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I specifically went to ask too! They said there are no physical tickets anymore! All I got were QR codes!
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It was the same for me at Tiger Hill today. I specifically wanted a physical ticket as a souvenir.
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For student tickets, can I use a household registration booklet (Hukou) to get in?
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What time is it now?