That 'Authentic' West Lake Longjing Tea? More Like 800RMB for a Shock! #ChinaTravel #TeaScam #Beware

[Hazel Brown-Stracke]

Hi everyone! I went to Guangzhou during the May Day Labor Day holiday (which is one of China's public holidays, and boy, there were a lot of people around!). There are a few things I want to share.

Firstly, let me clarify that this article is in no way intended as discrimination against the locals. In fact, I do have lots of friends from Guangdong. However, after this trip to Guangzhou, I gained some interesting perspectives regarding this place.

The thing is, here's what happened:

• My girlfriend and I flew to Guangzhou from Chengdu (famous for the pandas!) on May 2nd. The city was just unbearably hot!

• We arrived at our hotel at 1 pm and were told that the room was not ready yet and we would have to wait until 2pm for cleaning. This made sense since it was a holiday and we could chill out in an hourly rental room with a flat rate (very common in hotels across China for travelers who wish to relax briefly).

• At that time, my girlfriend was experiencing period pain, so I ordered pain relief medicine through Meituan (China's largest and popular food delivery app that delivers basically anything) for her.

  • I placed the order at 12:44 pm, and the app estimated that the delivery would arrive by 1:19. Yet, the medicine only came at 1:44 pm!
  • To make matters even more frustrating, the rider (commonly known as food delivery riders) had a terrible attitude! But since my girlfriend was too uncomfortable then, I didn't bother arguing with him.
  • Reminder for taking medicine via delivery: in Guangzhou, the delivery estimate from apps like ordering food or medicines may not be accurate, especially during peak times such as holidays. If the need is urgent, try to order in advance or buy it yourself.

• By 2 pm, we finally checked into the hotel room. What we saw instantly made us dumbfounded!

  • The room's appearance was so different from what we saw on the booking app, it felt like fraud.
  • It turned out that the so-called "hotel" they claimed was split between building A and B. Having encountered such an issue on the first day of the holiday surely dampened our mood.
  • Fortunately, the hotel staff were fairly cooperative and refunded our money. Then we immediately changed to another chain hotel called home7 (a ubiquitous economical chain in China with more reliable quality).
  • Hotel Booking Reminder: when booking a hotel in Guangzhou using a third-party platform, be sure to check real reviews and pictures posted by previous guests; if the room vastly differs from the descriptions, promptly contact the hotel or platform for refund or change. If you select a well-known chain hotel brand, there’s less likely risk.

• On the night of May 2nd, we explored around the Canton Tower (Guangzhou's iconic structure) since we planned to play nearby.

  • Canton Tower is indeed quite beautiful. However, it can be hard to get a ride home after enjoying its beautiful view; cars are limited due to the crowd.
  • Note for Canton Tower Visitors: while the evening outlook of the Canton Tower is magnificent, expect long wait times for a ride back home after closing. Consider arranging your transport in advance by finding nearby MTR stations or public transit instead.

• Not only this, but Guangzhou delivery riders continuously challenged my expectations for service attitude.

  • My girlfriend ordered our breakfast via food delivery earlier at night and expected it to arrive right before May 3rd morning.
  • In the morning, there was no sign of the delivery and when I messaged the rider, there was no reply. When trying to make a call, the line was unavailable! There seemed no way to reach the rider.
  • After waiting for a long time, I had to apply for a refund via the app. When I finally got through, the delivery was so angry and his behavior was far worse than before. At last, he requested me check camera footage (most public spaces in China have security cameras) if it was truly lost and started abusing us on top of all these. I couldn't resist fighting back with him (admittingly I reacted rudely too; sorry about that). But I really could not understand why I ended up getting this bad experience, even though it wasn't my fault.
  • Luckily, my girlfriend stopped me in time - she complained the issue to customer services later. They claimed they would refund our money and seriously handle the rider.
  • Delivery Tips: if your food is lost or cannot be delivered, contact the rider through the app first; if you cannot connect, contact the app's customer services. If dealing with an aggressive rider, try to stay calm and avoid direct confrontation as you can report the matter to the application providers, who usually intervene. Also, keep order information and chat records as evidence.

As mentioned, the Chimelong Safari Park is indeed fun and entertaining. It has to be the best zoo I visited in China!

There are still other things to mention here, but I think I'll talk about them in another article to save space. But, one thing is for sure, the experiences I've shared above are the lessons I learned while travelling in Guangzhou, and I hope they help you plan for the next trip better.

#GuangzhouVisitTribulations #AvoidingPitfallsInGuangzhou #ChimelongSafariParkWasGreat