My Hangzhou Guide: 'You REALLY Shouldn't Have Come!' – Tourist Traps & Scams EXPOSED!

[Misty Anderson DDS]

Sure, no problem! I will help you adapt "Rant Conference" for foreign friends, so they can understand the key points without being confused by cultural differences. Rest assured, I'll keep your sharp style in mind!

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Attention to those planning a trip to Hangzhou, especially if you want to feel at ease with a planned tour group, pay close attention to my experience!

• On Xiaohongshu (an app where many young people share their lifestyle and shopping experiences), I saw some reviews about Hangzhou tourism that seemed great, so I made contact and booked a package.

• It turned out that the moment we landed, an enthusiastic driver handed me a contract with several designated shopping stops included! Since there was not much choice once we were in China - not even if it started to get dark - I signed it with a shrug.

• The first couple days were okay, following plans as expected. Hangzhou scenery is indeed impressive!

• Here is the focal event, which happened on day three (a fateful day in April 18th of 2025):

  • I woke up at 6:40 AM - oh dear!

  • Following this, it took us an entire hour to hear the tour guide promote Hangzhou's emerald (a kind of jade cherished by Chinese), silk (Hangzhou specialties with a smooth fabric) and green tea (very famous for Longjing tea), plus "feng shui" (an ancient Chinese method for interpreting how the environment affects fortune). So much promotion was designed to convince us that not taking anything was losing out big time.

  • First shopping point: Jade City

    • Not only were the price tags outrageous, but once I asked my informed friends, they agreed the prices jumped up significantly from standard. So there we sat, not buying - a smart decision.
    • Hot zone! The tour guide looked sternly over and said, "If you don't purchase, you shouldn't have signed up in the first place! And please don’t come along as we move forward!" He looked positively annoyed.（I just wonder what's this @Hangzhou culture tourism department’s idea of hosting guests?）

  • Second shopping point: Silk Store

    • Mainly focused on silk quilts.The strategy was concentrated sales, talking nonstop about the product's benefits.
    • ️Save money tip！
      • Buyers beware must bargain! bargain! bargain! The price is negotiable!
      • They may recommend a certain "cooling mat," which more often than not is made of imitation silk. Nothing valuable about these at all.
      • If asking for some souvenirs, go for the bedsheet sets - practical and cost-effective.
      • After listening to quite a few online users and doing observation, I can provide price suggestions:
        • Option one: With around 5000 RMB, get two of the “golden mother daughter quilt” (a quilt with layers of silk and warmth)，plus two sets of four-bed-sheet set. Add an extra cooling mat (or another bedding set).
        • Option two: 5000 RMB gets you three golden mother daughter quilts，plus some random freebies. More people in a group means better negotiating power.
      • Sincere advice: In reality, visiting reliable local silkworm farmers directly could be more satisfying- get real products at competitive prices and support local industries in Hangzhou.

  • Third shopping stop: “tea tannin” and tea shop

    • A live chemical reaction with rice would happen and you won‘t be able to take picture.The salesman will fool you and call it detox of human body. You know that's nothing but junior chemistry.
    • Also, salesman claimed to be professors from Zhejiang University！@Zhejiang University，is that being taught as education?

• ️Be advised for those planning to join such groups:

  • The schedule starts at half an hour after the early morning so don’t delay. A whole day just to visit three shopping spots until evening. If you find it too much physically and mentally, reconsider booking the package immediately.
  • Try to resist the “cold ridicule” and even reproach from the tour guide
  • Control yourself from impulsive consumption under the heavy selling pitch environment. Only buy what you love and need.
  • I've seen a lot of posts about avoiding these traps, and even though there are refunds if you purchase products, the process is troublesome and time-consuming. Since I didn’t buy anything this time, I can’t provide any specific advice on the refund process.
  • But good news is that many people have been successful at making refunds. Hopefully, someone who's had success returning their purchases can share the process here, helping future tourists avoid these pitfalls.

#Hangzhou #Travel Guide #Hangzhou Tour Trap Avoidance #Dark Side of Hangzhou Tours

[Jermaine Satterfield]

If all that sounds okay, the best bet is to stick with the tour for just the first two days. When it's time for the shopping stops, just leave the group, grab a taxi, and go explore on your own. You'll have an extra taxi fare and miss one West Lake boat ride, but it's worth it. If you're on a budget, just exploring around West Lake is stunning too. For roughly an extra 100 RMB per person (if there are two or more of you), you can skip the shopping trips. Don't worry about the contract; you were likely tricked into it anyway. A true 'contract spirit' should be about mutual honesty. I highly recommend switching to independent travel early on the third day, but make sure to haggle the tour price down from the start to make up for the 'lost' last day.

[Lindsey Jerde DDS]

It's pretty standard for instructors here in Hangzhou to take their trainees to buy local specialties like tea and silk.

[Marion Barrows]

Yeah, I've scrolled through so many posts and almost never see any 'no-shopping' tours.

[Felix Glover]

Hey sisters who scrolled to this! Cheers!

[Sally Breitenberg]

I'll drink to that!

[Pat Pagac]

Here's our itinerary for your reference. If yours looks like this, think twice before booking:

Day 1: A 'free' visit to the outer area of Xixi Wetland Park (you have to pay to go inside – they didn't mention it was just the outskirts at first), then Wuzhen in the afternoon.
Day 2: Nanxun, Fuyan Temple, then Xitang (which included a complimentary boat ticket).
Day 3 (highly recommend ditching the tour here for free-and-easy): Three shopping stops, followed by a West Lake boat ride after 6 PM.

[Reginald Ziemann]

Same for us. We were pushed to buy jade, silk quilts, tea polyphenols, and at Qiandao Lake, DeMuxi brand cookware. They even claimed the jade was from a state-backed joint venture between Zhejiang and Myanmar, supposedly cheaper than in Yunnan...

[Howard Legros]

Sis, I had the exact same awful experience, and I even paid more than double what others did for the tour fee! How do I get customer service to issue a refund?

[Ms. Alberta Moen]

The tour I booked wasn't expensive; I was just really unhappy with the guide's attitude, so I didn't push for a refund or anything. I've seen in other posts that you might need to call the 12345 hotline and the tourism bureau to complain. I haven't researched the details myself. You should browse more posts and look in the comment sections for people who successfully got refunds – maybe send them a private message to ask for tips.

[Maryann Daniel IV]

It seems like every damn tour group in the country is all about sales nowadays.

[Zachary Hayes]

You go, sis! Don't let these scammers walk all over you. Haven't you seen all those apologists on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) saying things like, 'The first two days' expenses are subsidized by the last day's shopping stops,' or 'If you opt for a cheap tour, you have to put up with the shopping,' or 'Freeloading on transport and accommodation for two days and then bailing on the last day shows a lack of contract spirit,' blah blah blah. Screw that! They're the ones who lured people in with low prices in the first place. Now they're just getting a taste of their own medicine.

[Karen Zulauf]

Exactly! Before we left, there was zero mention of any shopping. Our plane tickets were 2,000 RMB each, and only after we landed did they tell us about the shopping – I even put up with that. But then the guide started berating me! So, out of anger, I decided to post and teach everyone how to turn the tables and get some value back from the travel agency. (Honestly, if the guide hadn't kept nagging me, I would've just let it slide). So, to all the sisters who see this post, listen up: on that last day, just make your escape ASAP! A West Lake boat ride is about 50 RMB, and transport is around 50 RMB per person. For an extra 100 RMB, you can have a whole day of independent travel. If you haven't gone yet, haggle like crazy on the price beforehand, and you might even save that 100 RMB. You've clearly read this thoroughly – this is the real practical guide!

[Dr. Ruben Larkin MD]

The initial customer service agent was pretty good, so I won't name and shame the travel agency. But the tour guide? Terrible. He's all talk – he threatened to kick me off the bus but didn't have the guts to actually do it. Just plain annoying. That guide is a real piece of work. Even when his partners told him to smooth things over with customers, he wouldn't lift a finger. All the grunt work and difficult tasks fall on the sales team, while he just waits to collect his cut. Honestly, these tourist traps all run the same playbook, but it's rare to see someone who won't even handle their own customer service issues. With an attitude like that, who's going to want to work with him in the future? He's totally shooting himself in the foot.