Suzhou: Heads Up! Seriously, Protect Yourself Out There!
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Hey folks, be cautious when traveling abroad! This post is to remind people, especially about the tricks of taxi drivers in some tourist spots in Suzhou.
* Yesterday, after sightseeing along Qiliantan (a famous old street in Suzhou, with many tourists), we originally planned to use a ride-hailing app (in China, people often use similar software like "Didi Chuxing," akin to Uber or Grab abroad) for a ride back to our hotel.
* But at that intersection, no ride-hailing vehicles are allowed to drop off or pick up passengers; we had to continue walking further. At this moment, a driver by the roadside, approaching us enthusiastically, said, "Hey, beauty, where's your destination? Anywhere within five kilometers will only cost 10 RMB!"
* We were roughly 2 kilometers more from our return journey, so we heard the price and repeatedly confirmed there'd be no extra "tricks" or scams before taking his ride. Back then, we foolishly thought he might just want to finish his day early, taking us as an additional ride on his way home. He seemed such a kind soul! As only my mom got on, she kept praising the taxi driver for his kindness.
* The driver was indeed genuinely friendly; he gossiped with us the minute he picked us up, asking where we hailed from, even mentioning his relatives were also from our hometown.
* 重要的提醒#1：带长辈同行时，请务必提高警惕！不要一旦司机搭讪，就把自己的背景都暴露出来，这样容易被抓耳光，让他们知道你是异乡游客。* Once he finished his small talk, his "real intention" came to light. He began to ramble on about the history and culture of Suzhou, then gradually shifted the focus to introduce how good and fine its silk textiles were.
* Note: Suzhou silk is indeed renowned for its quality, and it's a local specialty. Many tourists buy it, making them prone targets for some vendors' tricks.
* He explained that a store selling quality silk quilts, favored even by locals, located near our hotel, was off-limits to most visitors. It was an almost exclusive treasure sold only to those in the know.
* However, we were not interested in the silk products and ignored him most of the time. My mom even told him that she just bought a silk scarf for 10 RMB. (I can imagine the frustration in the driver’s heart at that time, ha ha!)
* Upon realizing his futility in convincing us, a dramatic move came from him! He suddenly stomped on the brakes three to four times in a row!
* Afterward, he informed us, "Oh dear, sorry, it seems my car has broken down and I can't drive anymore. You may get off and find another vehicle, and I won’t charge you."
* As we got off the taxi, we felt awkward, thinking it was unfair not to pay him. However, at my mother's turn to look back at him, whoosh! He accelerated and sped away!
* With shock and anger, I opened my phone map to check our location, finding that we weren’t on our way back to the hotel at all, but had been taken on an unexpected detour to a strange place. It was really frustrating at the time.
* I doubted that he possibly colluded with other shady taxi drivers, leaving us here for them to take advantage of us. As I mentioned earlier, my sister immediately stated that she would never dare to take random taxis again instead, choosing to walk further or hail taxis through apps like Didi to ensure safe travel.
* Later that night, as my sister searched online “Suzhou taxi driver scams,” she was surprised that many fellow travelers had similarly encountered such cases!
* They shared nearly identical scams:
* Firstly, use low prices or exceptionally friendliness to lure you into their cars,
* Then, while riding with you, talk about local specialties like silk (or tea, pearls, etc.),
* If that sparks interest in you, they drive directly to the shopping stores recommended to you,
* Should you show disinterest, some drivers would simply change their attitude or even abandon you mid-way, like what happened to us.
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️ 重要提醒 #2：千万不要上当！
* Thankfully for us, this time we were just taken off track and delayed, without significant financial losses. However, if taken to those unrecognizable places, we’ll end up feeling as hopeless as the lambs waiting to be slaughtered!
* Small-scale losses are educational costs spent foolishly! However worst case scenarios, such as being forced into spending or worse possible events, would never even dare to imagine!*
How to Avoid Such Scams:
* Safety always comes first when abroad! Enhance vigilance!
* It’s best to use legitimate ride-hailing apps for taxi services (such as Didi mentioned above) since app-based bookings provide transparent driver information and journey records, offering safer journeys.
* Should you hail a taxi by the roadside, observe its behavior closely. If the driver overly recommends visiting certain “exclusive-to-locals” shopping places, particularly those selling popular tourist goods like silk, tea, jade products, stay wary!
* Safely refuse! Simply say you are not interested, either having purchased it before, or time constraints.
* Hope everyone has fun travels without getting affected by such tricks and scams!#避开坑洞 #出门在外必须保护自己 #苏州旅游 #苏州司机
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We got scammed.
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Huh? So we were conned?
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That's why you should always use a ride-hailing app. Even when I was with my parents, I didn't dare to just hail a taxi off the street.
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I'm never daring to take a taxi again after this. [Ugh!]
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I experienced this in Suzhou on April 27th. The driver deliberately drove super slow, told us a long-winded story about silk, and in the end, didn't even take us to our destination. He just dropped us off at some place called 'Fan X Xin' instead.
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Same thing happened to us, but we didn't buy anything.
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Always use ride-hailing apps when you go out.
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It's the same in Hangzhou. I ran into three of them the last time I was there – I've practically memorized their lines by now.
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This kind of thing happens in many places. Just be extra careful when you're out and about.
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Yeah, these kinds of 'tourist traps' should really put the tourism authorities on alert.
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Touting for customers = red flag, avoid!
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Suzhou might not have much else, but it sure has a lot of scammers. There are far too many of these cases. It's really given me a bad impression of Suzhou; I've encountered so many scammers here.
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Be careful at tourist attractions, train stations, and bus stations. I once encountered touts at the Suzhou bus station wearing what looked like staff badges, impersonating station personnel. The way they spoke sounded suspicious, so I went inside to ask actual staff and found out they were all fakes trying to scam people.