Beijing: DO NOT Join a Tour Group!!
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Listen to my advice, ladies! When you're planning a trip to Beijing, never go with group tours! It's better to plan your own free trip instead of being lazy! This is a bitter lesson I learned the hard way.
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I had been planning a trip to Beijing with my parents and kids for a long time. I casually browsed on Xiaohongshu (a popular Chinese lifestyle-sharing App), and then someone from a travel agency contacted me.
- I asked about the price and itinerary - I had not compared prices with other agencies nor checked reviews about bad experiences online.
- For three adults and one child, the three-day itinerary came to approximately: RMB 1,280/adult x 3 people + RMB 480 child (plus an extra night we booked ourselves at RMB 540) = total cost RMB 4,860 (I paid RMB 100 as a deposit in advance).
- No hotel information was given until I explicitly enquired with them the day before departure.
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Watch out for accommodation horrors!
- They claimed to offer "business hotels", yet the family room was less than satisfactory. (If there were pictures, you would understand.)
- Upon arrival, I had complained of wanting to change rooms to the receptionist and the person in charge of the travel agency, but to no avail. The latter told us to "put up with it tonight, and they would switch us the following morning".
- We had a grueling day at the tourist sites; upon our return late in the evening, the room situation remained unresolved. The front desk had not received a change request.
- I angrily called the contact person, threatening a complaint if they didn't resolve the issue within 15 minutes. Just after hanging up the call, within two minutes, they claimed they could move us to another hotel instead – but this was a hotel located 11 kilometres away in a so-called "urban village" (relatively backward and unhygienic zones inside major cities).
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Insurance scams, do not be fooled!
- After checking into the hotel, they asked each of us to pay RMB 60 for accidental insurance and signed a contract. The contract contained all sorts of pre-selected shopping and other self-funded activities, leaving only our signature.
- The hotel receptionist mocked: "You must be coming from XX area? People from there are quite wealthy, right?" I felt uncomfortable and offended by that.
- Major point here: We didn't even have to pay the insurance expense at all! At the end of the tour when looking for the receipt of coverage, she confessed she did not buy any insurance at all!
- Good news: I got the insurance money returned (Ladies, if you encounter analogous situations, try to complain via the payment service provider and keep pressing the travel agency to explain yourself!)
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The "small group" becomes a "mixed bag", and self-funded projects can’t be avoided!
- Initially, this so-called "small group tour" is in fact a "mixed group" of miscellaneous scattered tourists. Due to my previous good experience, I accepted their proposal without doubts.
- My initial contract indicated usually 3-5 families per small group. However, we ended up with around 12 different families with 44 people altogether on board on the first day.
- In the first instance, our tour guide started employing manipulative tactics like psychological manipulation (PUA) and exaggerated grief stories to pressure passengers into paying for added expenses and activities worth RMB 390 per person.
- Except with me and a senior man there, nearly all passengers happily and promptly signed their agreement.
- In the end, our trip included added expenses costing: RMB 390/person x 3 people + RMB 100 child = RMB 1,270 total!
- Just imagine: with so many passengers eager to join in, you end up either waiting idly (if not paying) and then departing once everyone else is done on their optional activities. With all the elderly or kids around, it is practically coercion that makes this a mandatory expense.
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4️⃣ For three days, the tour guide was subtly trying to manipulate us, talking about feng shui and superstitions, clearly aiming to make us spend money. They'd say things like 'you need to have a good attitude, be good to your family, don't get into conflicts over small things' (which basically implied: you're already here, so just accept being scammed). However, judging from other online posts, this guide wasn't the worst; at least they explained a bit at the attractions and didn't give us dirty looks when we didn't buy much. I guess they were the best of a bad bunch. (My standards have really dropped after these few days.) The guide even admitted they're scared of customers from Xiaohongshu because they were all lured (or rather, deceived) by salespeople on that platform.
5️⃣ Shopping. The entire morning of the third day was dedicated to shopping. If that wasn't enough, we had to gather at 5:45 AM. After shopping all morning, we had a bland and tasteless meal around 11 AM. In the afternoon, the Forbidden City tour and explanation lasted about half an hour, followed by over an hour of free time. Then we went to Shichahai for just 15 minutes of free time. -
6️⃣ Meals. They said breakfast and lunch were included. Let me show you what kind of 'meals' these were! I've never seen such a breakfast! Some posts even said if you didn't want this breakfast, you had to pay an extra 30 yuan to eat at a restaurant. Lunch was even worse – completely tasteless. I'm truly impressed by whatever 'master chef' could produce such dishes!
Actually, I don't have major issues with the guide's itinerary itself. After all, such travel agencies exist, and whoever wants to buy optional items or shop can go ahead! What's infuriating is how the initial contact person was so vague, making all sorts of grand promises while never mentioning the precise itinerary or the optional expenses after joining the tour! They trick you into joining, sell you off to the travel agency, get their commission, and then completely ignore you! -
I signed up for a tour, leaving from Shenzhen to Beijing on May 8th for five days. It's 4000 RMB for one person, and they said it's a 'pure fun' tour with no shopping, which is written into the contract.
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Anyway, just be extra careful.
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The standard procedure for legitimate Beijing travel agencies is: tourists don't pay upfront. First, they sign an electronic travel contract. We send the tourist a text message with a link; clicking it reveals the full contract. Any promises of 'no shopping' or 'no optional expenses' must be clearly written into the contract. The tourist confirms and signs on their phone, and it's directly uploaded to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for备案 (filing). After signing, you can verify the contract's authenticity on the National Tourism Regulatory Service Platform by entering the contract number. Only pay the deposit if the contract is genuine.
Just looking at a travel agency's business license is useless; a real license can be used for fake tours. Verifying the contract number on the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's official website is the only way to identify scammers. You must sign a contract before paying any deposit, whether it's a paper or electronic contract – it will always have a contract number! Just enter the contract number to verify it, and you'll know if it's real or fake. If it's a fake contract and you still sign up for a cheap deal, then it's your own fault!
Payment should be a corporate bank transfer, and the recipient's name must match the company name on the contract. -
Lesson learned. I'll never fall for this again.
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It's my third day in Beijing, and what this poster said is absolutely right. On the third day, we set off at 6 AM. Breakfast was just a small bun, a sausage, and a bottle of water. Then, first thing in the morning, we were taken to a mall to shop. When I was paying, it was the first time I'd ever heard a cashier rush me to enter my PIN. Everywhere else I've shopped, cashiers have always been patient.
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It's all the same old trick! These people are so shamelessly greedy, afraid you'll change your mind and not buy anything the next second. They try to rip off everyone they can!
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If it's your first time visiting Beijing, I'd recommend finding a small tour group beforehand. Understand the daily itinerary clearly. It's best to have a completely worry-free experience where you don't have to think about anything for places like the Forbidden City, National Museum, and others. Otherwise, you'll have to book many attractions yourself. With a good small tour, food, accommodation, and transport are all arranged. At the attractions, the driver and guide will help you with tickets and provide explanations. That's what my friends and I did, and it worked out great.
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You're pretty obviously a shill, aren't you?!
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I've joined local tours there before, and honestly, they were pretty good, especially the vehicles provided – super comfortable! For those who get it, you spend a lot of time traveling by car in Beijing, and not having a comfortable one is really unpleasant.
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Looking for recommendations!
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Going DIY, 4 people. Anyone want our itinerary/guide?
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4 days, 3 nights.
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I'm planning to take my parents and kid to Beijing. Just by posting that I wanted to go, I got added by so many salespeople. Their offers looked incredibly cheap with great service, so I was very tempted! But after reading your experience, I've given up on that idea! Does anyone have any good travel plan suggestions?
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This was sent by the salesperson who added me.
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It's a common tactic; a legitimate process involves signing an electronic contract before the trip, with all fees clearly detailed and the contract filed with the tourism bureau.
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I was thinking of taking my kid during the summer vacation and wanted the convenience of a tour group. I'm so glad I saw your post; I really need to reconsider now.
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Definitely don't do it! It's exhausting having to wake up in the middle of the night with kids just to assemble. The driver who took us to the airport told me that summer is peak season for these awful, rip-off tours!