Lmfao this dude in a suit and tie walks up in front of a bunch of scammers and says casually, "And here you have a bunch of scammers behind me" I'm dying
not american here, but a chinese mentioning a "dirty village" is pretty funny imo. China is like those african villages where they use dung to build their shitty shacks with.
@paper plane lol they should be happy they can earn come $$$ with the tourists. It's not offending but annoying what else could I expect from a 3rd world shithole country.
When I was 16 my mom took me back to China and we almost fell for a scam. This guy approached us on the street and asked if we wanted to look at antiques. We followed them down this alleyway (hutong). The walk it self turned sketchy already because there was no one around. After a few turns we ended at this what seemed like a real antique store. We started browsing and someone came and wanted us to hold a vase. We noticed it was cracked. We immediately decided to leave, when we told this story to the locals they said thank god you didn’t touch the vase because what happens is that when they hand it to you it will be clumsy, and the vase will fall to the ground and break. Then they scam you for a broken vase money. Another time that was scarier was I was walking around at night with a friend. A white van pulled up and a women stuck her head out the back door and asked if we wanted a ride. We were also in our teens. Pretty sure it was a human trafficking attempt.
Thank you for sharing those scary and creepy stories. It helps to be more informed, because there are those who are TOO trusting and gullible when it's actually not very smart at all. Definitely not wise. I have my moments and can see how if I was greeted at an antiques store by a friendly merchant, offered to hold and admire a vase, but they let it slip and fall, then blame me ( and call the police? ), then I'd be pissed off but have little power since I am in their country. I could always run away and see how that goes, but point taken: Do NOT say yes and take the vase to hold it. ( Glad you didn't take the van ride, either. That is VERY suspect. )
I am Chinese. The things he talked about are right, but these things are not only been done to foreiners but also been done to local Chinese. Sometimes the police just work with the scammer, there is no place for victims to find the justice. even me, I has been a victim twice and once I was cheated by the union of police and scammers . As a Chinese I feel shameful about it.
Remember in China the People's Republic of China is run like the MAFIA or TRIAD, all "scammed/bribe" monies have a part forwarded up the Chain of Command, eventually getting to Comrade Xi's sister who lives in Hong Kong in a penthouse, where she uses that BRIBE MONEY to purchase property in the USA, Switzerland and throughout Asia and Europe!
Holy crap! I've been a flight attendant since 1988 and found this SO informative, yet SO exhausting! Amazing you're able to speak so well, so fluid amidst all the chaos! Impressive!
He's in America now. They were raided and harassed by the CCP and had to escape. These people have a video with that Michael guy who was arbitrarily detained, accused of being a spy, and held by the CCP for years as a political pawn.
I’ve seen the same American in Panama three times over ten years claiming he lost his passport. He actually recognized me the last time which I found hilarious.
@@dcm5523 simply dont go china to many scams and hate towards foreigners so why should foreigners come to your country if you do so many terrible things to them and scam them it is not okay !
Whenever someone in a European city approached me with scams or just trying to get free English lessons, I would start speaking Czech at them. They disappear very quickly.
I tried something similar in Turkey, replying in German. The salesman then switched to German, of which I know very little. He got annoyed when he realised I was b/sing him...
The tea house scam happened to me in china back in 2008. They charged us $250 per tea and they just have a group people staring at you waiting to pay. We just paid and canceled the payment with our bank right afterwards, we never called the police. That night they showed up at our hotel looking for us and we just never left our room lol.
Honesty, for mature adults, is an individual thing. IMO. I went shopping with a friend in Japan at an electronics store. He and I became engrossed in our conversation and were half way back to our lodging when he realized he left his purchase on the counter. It was a 20 minute walk. It was still there when we returned. Good for Japan's reputation. However, then we have a person I was in a long relationship with. It didn't turn out so well. Current partner is Chinese and, Holy Mary mother of God, she's AMAZING !! I'll just leave it at that, or Inwill run out of space. If you're reading this, I love you, "H2".
Bottom line, don't accept any solicitation of any kind. If you're approached assume it's a scam. That goes for any city, in any country, on any planet.
+Chris Eaton Straight up. Until you understand something, assume it's a trick. Worse case scenario, you look a bit untrusting until you figure out everything is legit; BFD, at least you never get played ;-)
I took a day trip to Morocco and on the ferry back to Spain, at the end of the day, more than half of the English speaking tourists had purchased rugs. They all had the same story, some guy offered to give them a cheap taxi-tour of Tangier and their "tours" all ended in a high-pressure sales pitch in a rug shop.
In my seagoing days if you visited "girly bars" you expected to have to pay stupid prices for "sticky drinks" as we called it in exchange for some small talk from the hostesses. Mainland China was still closed but Taiwan was a forerunner to what he described in the video.
@Person Hello dude, dont even bother,these people are too high up their asses that they wont listen to us. The've never even lived in china. Many european countries has the same problems as china like scammers, but they are gona pretend that they didnt notice. They are easily brainwashed by their media into hating China. If they hate China for being a "communist" country, then why wont they hate russia? Oh its because "russians are white and thus they look more intimidating, so we shouldnt fuck with them". I sometimes wish freedom of speech is not the thing it is today. That doesnt mean I support the tiananmen incident of course, i would hate for my own country's millitary to open fire on my own friends and family. But if the government had not done such a thing, the people wont know that the government are serious about not wanting their citizens doing stupid shit like this
Love how this guy cuts right to the chase and speak about any situation from a neutral point of view. Great video and really informative for anyone who plans on travelling to China.
When I lived in China for 2 years on business I was fortunate to have several good Chinese friends who clued me in on all the scams. This is a pretty good summary. I succeeded in largely avoiding the scammers, although I know I paid more than I could have for some goods. Once I got the price down to what seemed really cheap to me I would just pay it. Usually that was about a quarter of what was marked. But my Chinese friends would occasionally say I could have gotten another 50% off.
Living in Hong Kong I made it an art to BARGAIN, I eventually got so GOOD at it that my Chinese family there would have me buy things for THEM, since they said I was a BETTER BARGAINER than even they were!
hey Ken aren't the scammers afraid they might catch the wrong guy, say if someone was being treated unlawfully they might give out a warning punch or 2 or are you not allowed to defend your property over there.
Mary Fong not sure what you mean. I very much enjoyed my time in China, and most Chinese are very hospitable and warm. But there are scammers, and the guy running the TH-cam channel correctly points out some of the most common ones. It’s a public service. If you’re offended, perhaps you need to thicken your skin a bit. Nothing racist at all in this.
@@therealaustinbrown2712 Your comment states a subject just like "I drink water for life." You should think that I should learn some native language if I ever love or live their for a long time instead of they can't help for whatever special reasons you might have.
I hate to bargain. In my culture (German) it is actually impossible to bargain, except at flea markets or similar events. Either you pay the stated price or you leave it and don't buy it. For me it's more relaxed and saves time. However, you can ask here for discounts if you buy larger quantities. In addition, the fixed prices are easier to compare with each other and you know pretty well that you will not be ripped off. Of course, businesses also make a profit, that's how it should be, but in a market-based and legal framework and not through excessive usury.
"However, you can ask here for discounts if you buy larger quantities." Are you talking about a normal retail business? That doesn't happen here in the US.
@@Intelwinsbigly you could try to, in smaller shops. But in large shops it’s not possible (I’ve never tried tbh). It just doesn’t seem normal for us Germans to even try bargaining.
the price on the pricetags is actually only a suggestion so technically you can still bargain, esp in small shops, it's just that in everyday life we buy almost everything from chains where the cashiers do not have the authority to bargain with the customer i think
Really comprehensive guide mate, nice one. From my personal experience it takes quite a lot of time as a traveller (and I would imagine as a resident too) to be aware of all those scams (and others), so I can imagine this being really useful. The moral of a few of those is basically say no to things/services being offered to you on the street, and be strong/insistent, especially around bus/train stations where people will literally drag you into their taxi/bus/restaurant etc. Chinese language ability makes such a difference too, even basics.
This is just common sense anywhere. If you're walking about in a city people aren't just going to come up talking to strangers unless they want something from you.
When traveling in unfamiliar or dangerous locations, I recommend keeping two wallets and phones. Keep the real deal against strapped against your chest and the cheap decoys a bit more accessible. It may just save you a lot of blood and tears.
I like to share a scam. This happened in Shanghai but it could also have happen in any China cities. Upon getting into a taxis and I am now talking about registered bona fide taxis you might run into a cammer (just like I did) and as soon as he or she makes you out to be a foreigner the taxi driver might suddenly stop just outside the airport and then begin fiddling with his taxi meter, If this was your first ride into that city you probably won't notice anything odd but if this was your one of many trips and if you do recalled the trip price, you will begin to notice that the price is now awfully high. Even if you dont assume that a scam has just started. The taxi driver did something to the meter an it is now racing forward. My recommendation is not to get into an argument with the driver at that point because you will lose on language alone and no police will help you. What you need to do is to let him take you to a hotel (a big hotel) then get out of the car, take our all your luggages and then call the doorman to deal with the situation or ask for the duty manager. The doorman at those big hotels usually speak English. Tell him what happened and let him deal with it. DO NOT PAY the taxi driver. Those doorman are trained to protect the guest and they know of such scams. 10 times out of 10 the matter will be resolved and you get to pay the taxi driver the "right" amount and the doorman will be able to tell you what the "right" amount is. But if you are not checking into a big hotel, just find one along the way (closer to your ultimate destination) make sure it is a hotel like Hyatt or Hilton or Marriots or any big hotels and pretend that you are checking in.
That one happened to me in Athens where We were treated to a tour of the city on our way to our Hotel.We just enjoyed the ride and got our lugggage out. then I handed the driver the correct amount,Thats when the fun began. He left in a big huff with his middle finger sticking up out the window. Boo Hoo.
Honestly don't take taxis, use the ride hailing apps like everyone in China does. Kind of like how people got sick of taxis in the US and switched to Uber it's the same thing there. I had some Beijing cab driver drop me off in the middle of nowhere because he clearly got lost and was too lazy to figure out how to get to the right place, and the cabs are almost always disgusting in China with dirty seats. They also hide the seatbelts and if you do have a seatbelt to wear it's likely filthy. I was using Uber all the time last time I went except for the cities it wasn't in. Uber no longer operates in China but the company that bought their Chinese operations has an English app now (Didi) so you're better off just using the ride hailing app for everything. That way there's no issues about how much the ride costs, you can see where you're going on your phone, and there's no incentive for them to do anything stupid. Obviously this will require you to either get a Chinese SIM card or have a phone plan that covers some international roaming but this GREATLY improves traveling in China. I tried to avoid all taxis last time I was in China but ended up at one point in a third tier city and Didi wasn't available to Americans yet at that point so I actually hailed a cab and while the driver was an honest guy the literally drove on the highway like they were in an actual race...and the cab was clearly in complete disrepair since I could literally hear the worn brake pads squealing like crazy every time he touched them. And of course there were no seatbelts so I started thinking that this would be the last cab ride of my life, lol.
I remember buying a geat looking china made Emergency lamp. I put it up for charging for around 6 hours. Returning back I found my room on fire. As the fire was just in my room I put it out fast. I lost my paasport and my bank documents in the fire. I am thankful the whole house did not burn down. After this I am wary of China made products at bargain prices. Better spend a little more than get your room and house get burnt.Even when you read the news you get news of mobile batteries catching fire in airplanes andusually these are of mobiles that we use on a daily basis.. edition.cnn.com/2017/05/31/us/jetblue-flight-fire/index.html
That's so true, I had the same incident. I waited in line on the Beijing airport for Registered taxis, got into one and the Taxi driver told me 120 Yuan for a distance less than 4 Kms. I said no, and asked him to go by meter. He looked at me and agreed and did something in his meter. As he drove his meter ran like anything and in just 5 minutes we reached our destination and the meter showed some 140 Yuan. I was like wtf. I got scammed.
Some really good advice here. I just love the way Collin bargains. Even though I've been out of the States for 3 years I'm still no good at bargaining. My first e-bike I paid 6,500 for when it shouldn't have cost more than 2,000. Oh well, live and learn. Stay awesome!
I want to give a advice,next time you want to buy something,try online shopping,it will save you the trouble of bargaining,you can buy almost angthing online,it is convenient.I recommend you "jd.com"
I've bought many things from Taobao so far and I'm quite satisfied with the service. I haven't heard of the site you recommended yet but I'll definitely give it a look. Thanks.
You should make some chinese friends to help you with bargaining,which is a great help. Bargaining is a culture for chinese though I did it bad for all my past years.
Your channel is so eye opening. Thankyou for showing the world what CHINA is really like with no filters or misconceptions. Keep it up I love your channel!!! 👍
Have lived in Beijing almost 4 years now. Basically, when anyone approaches you trying to sell or offer something just say "Bu yao (don't want), Bu yong (don't need), and Mei shi (no problem *I'm not intersted).
Yup, born in China, been back over 10 times. Besides seeing family and enjoying some cuisine, it's an extremely unpleasant experience from the moment you step off the plane.
OMG, there are 3 millions views and 10 thousands comments. This is how many westerners sees us Chinese. I used to have doubt, because my parents teaches me to be honest and I didn't see a lot of scams in my early life. But as I was getting older, I know scam is everywhere in Chinese society, that is true. It hurts my feeling and I was confused at that time. Now, I think we Chinese should face the truth, this is the reality. The foreigners see it, why can't we face it? Let these foreigner speak, let them expose these scams, that way, Chinese society could be corrected, could improve. Or at least, don't let any more foreigners fall into those traps. Good job, Mr. serpentza.
Also: When in China, it's best to make sure you have an app that translates input from your camera (e.g. billboards, prices, etc). This will keep you safe from most language barrier scams.
I am from Europe but I am an expat in China for just over 5 years (Suzhou and Shanghai), and I speak Mandarin very well. I usually like to carry my DSLR around as I am a photography fanatic, and look like a typical tourist with quite some cash to spend. I often get approached when I walk alone or with just one other foreign friend, and sometimes I think it is fun to play along with those scammers by acting like a gullible tourist... just to see what bullshit they talk in Mandarin. I never go inside their establishment, usually at the door or when I feel bored earlier on, I call them out in Mandarin... it's hilarious to see how they react (a mix of being shocked and ashamed, they also get angry sometimes and find hilarious ways to get out of the situation). My main purpose is entertainment but as I keep them occupied I might save some actual tourists from being scammed... Perhaps I should try to make some recordings in the future, for entertainment purposes of course... :)
I’m sorry to hear that your leaving China, your videos have been a wonderful introduction to China for . You always appear honest and sincere and when you criticise China it always seems from a place of love ❤️ thank you
SMART people LEAVE China knowing that a WAR will soon be coming to China! The Southern U.S. Border now has hundreds of Chinese arriving monthly for illegal immigration!
As a local Chinese, I have to say this guy nailed it. He really understands China! I really can't defend or correct him on these scams as they really exist in China. But the problem is all the scams are really rare and more targeted at tourist and foreigners. And the bad people are really a very small percentage of the whole population, justs like any place in the world. I do believe such scams are happening in every corner in the world, even in Europe and US, just probably with a different form. So if you are a foreigner and never been to China, please don't be scared by these scams as most (I'd say 99%) Chinese are friendly and nice people. And if you do come to China it's best to be mindful and try to make some local Chinese friends and ask for their advice from time to time. It should save you from all these scams. After all, you can't talk or create an experience, you can only undergo it. For all the people out there who wants to come to China, don't be discouraged by this video.
Great to see Collin in a Serpentza video. I knew Collin personally, he was a good friend of mine in middle school and part of high school. Anyways best of luck to both of you.
This one time I meet some tourist and they're talking to scammer, so I berated the Scammer for ruining tourism in my town, then I take them to good cheap place and show them around and they told me "oh I thought you're the scammers" 😂
i always lie when i go to Chinese . like one time when i go to a tea house with one of those girl then i found out when she ask me where i work and i told her im working with the Chinese military as a pmc (private military company) and her face turn white and i got very cheap tea :)
The only criticism I'd give is that he's already done at least one or two videos on scamming before. That said, it's not like he went over the same stories or anything, so it wasn't like stale content, just a re-visited topic.
I am a traveler and blogger and I can assure everyone that traveling to China is not as safe as you travel to the West or even Korea.. Surveillance, and hidden cam, and even plain clothes secret agents were watching every movement of any Western looking people, and through the satellite was transmitted to the data base nearby, and full profile of any Westerner in China is stored and at the airport when leaving for their home country you could be stopped at any time and any day and anywhere! Even a hotel I stayed at security officers regularly check any Westerner! It is still awfully police state reminding me of the Nazi Germany! Folks! let us not travel to China and spend money!
Thirty some years ago when I was touring Beijing and the tour guide took us to a Friendship store I bought a beautiful painting for $100 USD The sales clerk took it into a back room to wrap it up for me. After I flew back to California and opened up the painting it was not the one I paid $100 for but another painting that the quality is ridiculously cheap looking and poorly done. I then realized I’ve been scammed by that store!
My experience is, if somebody approach you and start to speak with you in English, just politely ignore him. Its always scam. Thats only rule you need to know.
@A Light Skin With Taste and maybe you should put some thought into something before arguring about it online. Think about it, why does America hate China so much? Its because China is successful in business in every aspect. The bias towards china is so obvious. China once developed a system to mass produce caviar to appeal to lower-income people in order to give them a chance at experiencing a delicacy, yet the American media responded with "China is ruining high class food"
@A Light Skin With Taste so you're supporting American businesses because they have human rights, in this case specifically towards your people? Right.......
Lived and worked in China for almost a year several years ago. I recognize the jade scam as part of the bus tour to the Great Wall. I didn't buy any jade though. But we did spend a lot of time there though. One of the first things I learned from a fellow expat when I arrived in China was not to ride those unmarked taxi cabs. Sure scam at the least or they might hold you up at the worst.
@@MrBoreray Not true, I mean, im southeast asian and people in my country would stare at foreigners as well. Because : 1. Because you guys are freaking tall 2. Oh look, blue eyes! So pretty! 3. Oh wow, blonde hair, so pretty!!! 4. Oh look, he/she is speaking English, its so fast we cant understand you at all! 5. Oh, foreigner. Do the foreigner know there's literally nothing to explore here? Weirdo. 6. Oh look, another foreigners that got scammed in broad daylight. Poor them. I think, once a foreigner stared at me and my family and smiled. I become so shy and we sort of have 'are you still staring?' sneaky eye contest. Why? I dont know. Chill, they mean no harm, just fascinated. After you go out of their eyesight they'll be back doing whatever they're doing previously.
maybe pick a country where the police dont side whit the criminals and you will be fine ;) try new Zealand Scandinavia Canada Singapore ect, you might get scamed but atleast the police wasent in on it and if somthing happens they speek english and well treat most pepol equal
I've traveled in numerous countries in Africa and not been scammed. I like to think I'm savy, but also the people I encountered treated me fairly and weren't just out to rip me off. When they could have charged me more, they charged me the local rate. This video shouldn't dissuade you from exploring the world.
When I was young and looked like I could not defend myself I was approached by scammers allot, never been to China though, but when I started looking like I could defend myself all that stopped happening. Scammers and bullies are the biggest cowards walking the earth. They prey on the weak.
You can safely say that ‘real monk’ is an outdated concept in China now. Do you know that the current grand master (the owner) of Shao Lin Temple in China drives Mercedes and have more than one concubines? It’s a business after all.
There is one more type, not sure if you heard of it before: When you purchase a small item (cheap wallets, souvenirs, etc) in a souvenir shop, they will give you a few lucky draw tickets that have been covered with some tape. You're supposed to scrape the tape off the voucher to see if you win the voucher. And they will usually give you such that there is one that will have a 'first' or 'second' prize. And the staff will say something like 'wow, that is so lucky, this is really rare to get the first prize'. Then they will lead you to a booth that sells you jade at an astronomical price and say "oh because its a first price it is on 80% discount" but it will still be a rip-off. I have a friend was actually considering to buy it but in the end he gave it a pass. We only realised this was a scam after the same thing happened to us again, so I just said: "wow, we have already won the first prize so many times today." They realised it and immediately walked off.
This scam is what they called "Gua Gua Le". It doesn't only happen when you purchase a small item, they will even approach in front of your households as a salesman.
Even though we probably overpayed for jade in Beijing, we thankfully were not scammed anywhere else in China. When I was in Xintai the people were even helpful, (maybe because it was not a huge city)…and once I asked a couple of girls to help me get a drink from a dispenser that only used Wechat money, and they even refused to take the cash from us, and gave it to us for free. I guess there are scammers and really nice people in China.
Years ago, after getting our USD changed for RMB at a Chinese bank we tried to make a purchase for some soft drinks at a cart. The young Chinese girl stated some of our RMB were counterfeit and showed us how to tell the REAL from the COUNTERFEIT. Eventually we managed to pass off all of that counterfeit RMB at Chinese Government stores!
i moved from the UK to thailand recently and i am surrounded by scammers most of the day, but i dont have to pay for a license to watch TV here or pay ridiculous tax bills etc … you have a choice here to be foolish enough to be scammed but back in the UK i have no choice but to get scammed
Scams are not just targeted towrds foreigners, Chinese gets scammed too if they go to somewhere other than their own city. My advice: Be vigilant at a person or few people that coming towards you offering anything or asking anything(mostly relate to money). If you got screwed big time, call your local consulate about the situation, they will try to contact the authorities and urge them to deal with the problem due to diplomatic pressure.
The Japanese don’t try to scam you. If they invite you for tea or something, take them up on it..... they just want to practice their English or want to be a good host.
”能骗就骗“ -- If you can scam, scam -- Wow. As a Chinese who grew up in Indonesia and Australia, I never thought the moral standards of my fellow race from our motherland are so low. I would never want to visit China. Lucky I didn't grow up with these mentality. I lived in Taiwan for 1 year, how can they be so different? Thanks for the excellent content Winston!
Thanks again, Winston. I know it's an old post, but I'm just watching it again. Do be careful, guys and girls, wherever you're from and whatever race you may be. There's a Chinese saying, "By being careful, we can sail a boat for 10,000 years." I guess it just means that being cautious all the time will take us a long way.
@@wobblebop4611 good, stay away from a country that you have no information of what it is like to live there first hand and trust a stranger's video on the internet. Im sure china wouldnt want to share their long history of food or culture with you anyway. But hey, more peking duck and la mian for me then! Yay!
@@nesttea2239 well back then, it wasnt really "china". It was just a bunch of other states that were at war at each other. "China" was formed after Mao killed 70 million people in order to unite China to what it is today
spot on. The concept of doing the right thing seems very foreign to most Chinese people. Here end justifies means. And not even any good end. Just pure greed. So sad. I like your videos, because you let me see things in China from a new perspective. I am learning to view my country from a objective angle, freeing myself from former nationalistic sentiment. The upside of this is that my heart is not made of glass any more.
I discovered your and laowhy videos today and there is so many similarities in China and Brazil culture, literally the same advices that I gave to all my foreigner friends that came to Rio and stuff.
Did you not pay attention to or understand the things he said about the culture? It's a respected part of the culture. If you can take advantage of someone, you should, and it is on each person to protect their own situation. There are many cultures that hold that view. If you get scammed, it's seen as your fault, not anything the scammer did wrong. If they make you a bad offer, and you take it, then you are to blame. Being seen as a 'scammer' by a westerner would only be seen by them as 'poor westerner can't handle someone who drives a hard bargain.'
Oh dang, I just realized that I might've dodged a teahouse scam during my Beijing trip..? Two girls saying that they lost their wallet and got no where to stay. They asked for some money which they will 'give back later'. I given them like 100 yuan and started walking away like how people usually do after giving money to a hobo. *Mentally feeling like having just done a good deed each time. Or feeling bad when not having anything on to give and walking away.* However they started following me and tried to talk me into going somewhere with them. I just gave them the slip near the way to my hotel because well they are total strangers.
I spent 14 years in China as an ESL teacher....black taxis will not only charge more, but if you put something like a computer in their trunk..they will drive off with it as soon as you exit the black taxi. Also, some cheeky beggars are not what they seem...also, fake monks...and on and on....you must aggressively protect yourselves in some situations...however, the local people that sell food products are usually honest. Be on your guard in train stations and bus stations...they will still your luggage....briefcase, wallet, etc....they are very quick...and will take advantage if you do not guard your stuff. Also, if you lose your wallet or briefcase the police are worthless...even if they understand English...they may even laugh at you...yep...happened to me in Guangzhou.
I've lived in China 20 years, seldom been stolen something by beggars or thieves. Maybe u are foreigner, they think u have a lot of cash in wallet. Just like my wallet has been stolen in Pairs. Just wanna say scams exist everywhere, guard carefully on u stuff, and enjoy life.
He is a liar. Most of the case, I don’t think it is scam. There are discrimination against tourists, or specifically foreigners everywhere, sometimes in the form of overcharge. It could be because there is a discount which is actually the subsidies from the government to pay back the taxes from folks. It could be because you are from a higher income class. You should acknowledge that a bargain is a bargain and when you can get good deal there must be people who are not happy with the offers. If you don’t want to get scammed, you can go to the standard market with price tag! If you want to take advantage of bargaining, you need to be aware of the possibility of getting scammed. Simple concept, simple trade-off. It makes perfect sense everywhere. If you don’t understand, I doubt if you are a qualified businessman or you have other insidious proposes!
For decades, criminal establishments (usually bars in Europe, tea houses in China) have been known as "Clip Joints". The big question is, when you get the huge bill, refuse to pay and the large thugs come out, what will they ACTUALLY do to you if you don't pay? In the infamous Pigalle district of Paris, the woman at the door lied about the entertainment in order to get me inside. I had 1 drink, huge bill, thugs, etc. But I still wouldn't pay. So eventually they let me go. Because actual assault is a much more serious offense than fraud and the Paris police aren't highly corrupt. What about China??
They wouldn't do shit about it! violence in china is avoided as the plague and for good reasons. everybody is so scared of the big brother. basically same thing.
In Jiaxing a few years ago on Irish guy left his flat for a night out, never came back found dead in the river, another German guy in Shanghai went on a date with a chinese woman, this womans husband turned up and in frenzied attack with a knife killed the German guy, Ive lived on and off in China since 2000 and can tell you back then westerners were treated like Gold now the honeymoon period is OVER, we aren't seen as special anymore, in Beijing a couple of years ago one guy attacked a western guy and his chiniese girlfriend in the street just cause he was a westerner and killed the chinese girl instead, I used to believe the idea that chinese people wont fight, man Ive seen so many!
Yes, but the honeymoon period is over, they dont see westerners as Gods anymore, I compare to the time I first arrived in China in 2000, yes it is rare but look at the news and you'll see people being killed, good people yes are afraid but in China but there are many bastards too that either have mental/emotional problems, others with money problems and feel they have nothing to lose, I forgt to mention the westerner who went to WALL early in the morning on his own and was bludgeoned to death for his camera, the guy was from the UK, in Jiaxing I remember one story of a guy who was sacked from a restaurant and he left peacefully, then took the bosses 2yr old and dropped a rock on his head killing him, I stopped one girl from being beaten do death - In Jiaxing just outside the main McDonalds one guy was beating the hell out of a girl and there was a crowd but nobody intervened, so I took my rucksack off and told him to stop he immediatly shouted 'Ni you haizi ma?' (Have you got kids?) so I asked the girl is he your husband or boyfriends she was crying and said No he was some work colleague before, not boyfriend, so I said to him if you want to hit her just hit me instead, well thats why I wanted to say but the way I said it it meant fight me, thank God he didnt, he shouted I know where you work I catch you tomorrow, and he left he was from Sichuan and the girl from Henan I think, I left and gave my mobile to the police, they caught the guy and told him off thats it!!! The girl somehow got my number and email and told me that I saved her life. Fighting is not so common but Chinese guys have massive face problem and will feel their pride hurt if a person swears at them and fights DO happen, but Ive lived in China since 2000 on and off so of course I will see more, I was fed the idea that people dont fight they will get fined but it doesnt seem to stop them, also late at night I used to drive in my electric bike and met some skinhead guys with tattoos everywhere drinking beer and that tiny road you'd see fights after dark and this is a tiny area I would assume its the same everywhere in China, how long have you lived in China?
@scisci Thanks for your response. I understand it is very frustrating! I agree there are quite a lot of brain damaged individuals around china, but if one have to statistically count them, the numbers would just the same as every where else. I am glad that messed up guy's story didn't didn't go further. I have been in china since 2009. I had a wild ride for a couple of years and now things eventually are stabilizing getting to middle age. I did hang out with locals far more than I did with 'foreigners'. there was a point when i wanted to learn chinese and didn't have time to go to school so i almost boycotted all non chinese speakers around me, including chinese who spoke english. I did learn a looot about handling conflict situations to avoid being found dead in a random apartment/hotel in a random city since i was traveling around for work lot. i also had to drink with suppliers at night, ktvs, bars, you name it ( did like it though, not so much anymore). it gets wild and there are all these weird people that show up from nowhere. bold, fat, rich, skinny, tattoos, bullies, guys approaching you more than girls, damn! so much weird stuff. so here it is some of what i learnt and some if it even subconscious: 1- always hang out with locals, as local as it gets( province, city, town, even street if possible). form aliances . for example last week with one supplier and other random korean/chinese of his aquantances turned in a bar having drinks listing to live songs in a small city in dongbei. coulpe of big moustache xinjiang guys with two other chinese. business men from the look of it (not of the nice kind). all wasted gangbei by the bottles. one of the two was huge took off his short dancing like a beast. not even the security guards dared to confront them. no problems so far. the other chinese shorter hates my guts from his eyes, came couple of times shakes my hands squeezing as to show dominance. foreigners attract attention. the big guy wants to dance with me, the xinjiang guy (ali) wants to gangbei by bottle of beer. i was having a really nice time with my group talking business, life and koreans where singer, and her band. i could say fuck to all of them but man they are waisted. i cozzied up with ali. Salamo alicom, eid moubarak (that was the muslim festival 3 months ago haha) well, common ground ... shaked hands, 2 minute dance with the beast, told ali them it's sime to to eat rice (put food on table for next year's lam of eid-not that i giv a f). took wechat. it took in total 5-10 minutes and it was fun in some sort. last thing i know ali was herding them away to come to hour table to socialize. (the reason of it all the bar was empty and we had a pretty girl with us). Ali was the dominant male in that pack of wolves. it worked perfectly . didn't give it much thought at first and happened in flow. felt a bit awekward dancing with a beast but WTF its china off track, back to the point. there great chinese people that can't speak english, and if you get to know them they turn out to be very good friends and allies. and that massive face problem, can into a massive solution to some of your problems. 2- girls are a source of huge conflicts. chinese have their subtle ways to work out their way into a girl. love/sex/relationship... it is all subtle. foreigners are more direct. with the language barrier, and lack of face (most foreigners not being in their own culture have no cultural name it face u get the idea ) it's most of the time even more direct. now that's i feel is not fair when the two play a game that have different rules and they chinese side might lose it. i put myself in their shoes and try to imagine it. even the girl when she gets a direct attempt from a chinese she would judge him as play boy versus foreigners as just open and cultural difference (which can't be true in all cases). human nature is lot similar to lots of animal when it comes to mating rivalery. elephants fight to death for a female and so would humans if there was no soceity watching. play the subtle game if you had to get the girl and have empathy for your rivals. it more human thing to do. 3- speak the language: no explanation needed. if i am found dead in my apartment, know that all the above is BS hahaha how is it like for you in china recently?
As a chinese,I agree with serpentza, my life philosophy is "don't trust anyone" ,everyone likely to be scammer,but there are also some new chinese generation like me try to change ..I never cheat ,because of that ,I fail to graduate from collage ,because of no fudge on Exam..
I have lived in many parts of China among the people. For most part, you are are right. Generally, they are good and inward looking people who struggle to make ends meet. The problem is the notion of cheating. In west and many parts of Christian world, cheating in any form is sin or crime that can drag you to hell or logically to prison or kill your worth of character as individual. In china they consider it as ultimate capitalistic art. It is as if they are outsmarting you and that you are dumb. No ethical nor religious or any legal premises can falsify that. It is part of the cultural upbringing. Even powerful Chinese government seems careless about it. Sadly, it kills the notion of China's greatness. That is why we see the scammers, cheaters, fakery in all forms, etc. Something Chinese people should take seriously. Because it kills the image of the country and the culture and breeds mistrust on Chinese products and services. As you said though, there are millions of good people with big heart. Very supportive and kind beyond average, but also let us never forget a little poisonous drop can contaminate the whole honey-jar. Thanks for the videos!
I disagree. In the West and most Christian world they believe it's their religion and their God will forgive them so long as their intentions are good. Also sinners can go through a process and just be forgiven for the worst crap. Places like Texas still believe the ends justifies the means.
To be honest I spend rather more money and buy genuine product mostly made in Europe or in other western country than the rubbish from China, there are so many china products in Europe, the quality is weak, just a bad copy, never buy food made in china, no china product can enter my home only if I need something for short usage and then it goes to rubbish bin and it must be cheap otherwise it is wastage of the money for me!
yeah...I used to admire Chinese culture but I realized that for the most part people have a very very different notion of what we call being honest in the west. MAybe government has a big role in this ideology but anyway, I hate it the feeling that it is money over everything. Of course there are millions and millions of good, nice honest people around though.
The fake monk scam I'd forgotten about that, whilst in Shanghai I think the monk actually put something into my hand and he was really smiley and nice and he then asked for money from me for the object I was like ok, but then I was like no thats too much and then it was just really awkward and annoying so I had to force the object back into his hand so I could carry on but he wasn't having it so eventually i had to place the object on the floor, quite clever.
There is a variant of this. A person comes up to you and gives you a cheesy toy and a card that reads: "I'm from the [blank] school for the deaf. If you want to support us with X money we will give this thank-you-gift."
You don't have any pride in your country and your economy? Your nation is used to stealing intellectual property of others???. Come on! All your country wealth comes from stealing others? Anything you can steal? What a great nation. Occupying or claiming land and seas then take all the best of it also destroying it then leave. You think the world perceives you as a great nation? I doubt that. Your nation is the definition of "father of all illegal in asia". The "nature destroyers" and the "greatest money lender" with a cause and trap. You don't earn respect. Im sorry so much hate for your nation but your people and nation deserves it. You bully small countries because you can and you want to.Little did you know that what you are doing and actions makes other countries hate you and silently preparing for your threats because next thing you know war will come and i hope you have the balls to take what's coming and remember you don't have to fear an enemy who have nothing to lose. Thus you should be greatful because if the war comes your nation population will decrease dramatically yet another problem solve for your country of overpopulating. What a great nation. China will be remember as the greatest country in asia who make the world a better place for them to destroy along with russia. Lastly please dont take intellectual property of russia that country is your closest ally why did you have to stole intellectual property of them specifically weapons. What the heck. Hope you can still be trusted :)
@@chinadolls9424 but i know, unfortunately he is telling truth. if you tell truth, you will earn respect. that's why he got respect from chiense people. of course not those communist fanatics.....
first… Your videos are never too long. I just love how well you articulate everything. And filming on the street like that is really cool it's a good idea. Anyway you to stay awesome
Thanks for reminding us all, that we must be aware at all times, not paranoid, but just aware when we are travelling in unfamiliar places that we do not get taken
I've lived in Zhuhai for a year now and have had very little trouble. The local fruit sellers overcharged me a few times, I was new to the country and the currency and didn't realize at first. They were foolish though, if they hadn't I would have become a regular customer. Most Chinese street vendors will charge Westerners a bit more, but it's still cheap and by local standards I make a lot of money, so as long as it's not a huge amount I don't mind. Tantan is a hot bed of scammers. If you do use it, as soon as anyone mentions red envelopes, tells you it's their birthday or just comes straight out and asks you for money which happens a lot - just block them.
He actually sum up all scams in China, as a chinese I have never saw such comprehensive summary of scam in chinese language video.
会说中国话吗
He's intelligent. That's why he can see through all of you
@@l.whansen9611 It's why he left China as well. He's not there any more.
Yes I've noticed. Good for him!
@@中国爸爸-o1u 我会。 你去看Nathan Rich骗你吧。别看了
Lmfao this dude in a suit and tie walks up in front of a bunch of scammers and says casually, "And here you have a bunch of scammers behind me" I'm dying
Yeah that was pretty fucking smooth.
BlindMango lol fuk em
Most likely they don't understand English spoken at native speed unless it's something familiar like "taxi".
not american here, but a chinese mentioning a "dirty village" is pretty funny imo. China is like those african villages where they use dung to build their shitty shacks with.
He says "more about them later" and never mentioned them again. Which kind of scammers are they? @serpentza
Question: How do you know you got a good price in China? Answer: The merchant refuses to give you a bag for your purchase.
LoL. Scammers and cheapskates!
Ever been to Chicago? Might ask if you want to buy a bag.
Watching people in the background giving him weird looks is nearly as entertaining as the stories he’s telling.
I'm Arab, in my country it's even worse. They know if you live abroad and they will fucking stare at you the entire time. It's really really annoying.
@@padmad3k63 condolences.
They are just a group of pupils coming home from school，and this is only the only way for them to go home.
Lol so I'm not the only one who noticed that weirdness
@paper plane lol they should be happy they can earn come $$$ with the tourists. It's not offending but annoying what else could I expect from a 3rd world shithole country.
When I was 16 my mom took me back to China and we almost fell for a scam. This guy approached us on the street and asked if we wanted to look at antiques. We followed them down this alleyway (hutong). The walk it self turned sketchy already because there was no one around. After a few turns we ended at this what seemed like a real antique store. We started browsing and someone came and wanted us to hold a vase. We noticed it was cracked. We immediately decided to leave, when we told this story to the locals they said thank god you didn’t touch the vase because what happens is that when they hand it to you it will be clumsy, and the vase will fall to the ground and break. Then they scam you for a broken vase money.
Another time that was scarier was I was walking around at night with a friend. A white van pulled up and a women stuck her head out the back door and asked if we wanted a ride. We were also in our teens. Pretty sure it was a human trafficking attempt.
T Patty lucky they didn't sell you a Mogwai in that antique shop .
Thank you for sharing those scary and creepy stories. It helps to be more informed, because there are those who are TOO trusting and gullible when it's actually not very smart at all. Definitely not wise. I have my moments and can see how if I was greeted at an antiques store by a friendly merchant, offered to hold and admire a vase, but they let it slip and fall, then blame me ( and call the police? ), then I'd be pissed off but have little power since I am in their country. I could always run away and see how that goes, but point taken: Do NOT say yes and take the vase to hold it. ( Glad you didn't take the van ride, either. That is VERY suspect. )
So much scams in China and they blame other countries
@hanthedepressedgerman8750 should be a dea5h sentence every where
A friend went to train workers at his company’s new factory there and he came back showing off his jade antique pipe o my lol he got hooosed
I am Chinese. The things he talked about are right, but these things are not only been done to foreiners but also been done to local Chinese. Sometimes the police just work with the scammer, there is no place for victims to find the justice. even me, I has been a victim twice and once I was cheated by the union of police and scammers . As a Chinese I feel shameful about it.
If we expose them more then people will know how to avoid them!
Remember in China the People's Republic of China is run like the MAFIA or TRIAD, all "scammed/bribe" monies have a part forwarded up the Chain of Command, eventually getting to Comrade Xi's sister who lives in Hong Kong in a penthouse, where she uses that BRIBE MONEY to purchase property in the USA, Switzerland and throughout Asia and Europe!
@@serpentza
Take care be careful .
Don't you dare feel shameful about it, feel PISSED OFF about it. Seriously though you have nothing to be ashamed of.
@@leedavis2335 What if they fell for the same scam 3 times hehe.
Holy crap! I've been a flight attendant since 1988 and found this SO informative, yet SO exhausting! Amazing you're able to speak so well, so fluid amidst all the chaos! Impressive!
John Lee Bass wait ... you’ve got to be one of the oldest flight attendants ever.
As a Chinese, I have to admit that your comments on Chinese people and Chinese society are unfortunately true. Good luck in China.
He's in America now. They were raided and harassed by the CCP and had to escape. These people have a video with that Michael guy who was arbitrarily detained, accused of being a spy, and held by the CCP for years as a political pawn.
I find it sort of fascinating. Why is there such a lack of empathy to others in China?
China is full of scammers, looks like
Better than CCP propaganda.
@@xie2023 Its true
I’ve seen the same American in Panama three times over ten years claiming he lost his passport. He actually recognized me the last time which I found hilarious.
LOL i cant imagine both your face expression XD
It's funny how you've got these people randomly walking by you, then they suddenly decide to follow you around for a bit.
Foreigners aren’t commonly seen in China, a white man walking while talking to the camera is rarer
@@dcm5523 simply dont go china to many scams and hate towards foreigners so why should foreigners come to your country if you do so many terrible things to them and scam them it is not okay !
@@felekhd1739 dude I went to China and there was none of that bullcrap
@@mya4730 ok remove politic
@@mya4730 it only happens if you misbehave
Whenever someone in a European city approached me with scams or just trying to get free English lessons, I would start speaking Czech at them. They disappear very quickly.
I tried something similar in Turkey, replying in German.
The salesman then switched to German, of which I know very little.
He got annoyed when he realised I was b/sing him...
@@lazer2365 why would you chose German. Half of Berlin is Turkish!
@@AA-pk6fo
I wasn't in Berlin.
Neither were the people I was speaking to.
@@lazer2365 what flew over your head is that many turkish ppl speak german, in turkey as well
They most of the time don't even speak German in germany
The tea house scam happened to me in china back in 2008. They charged us $250 per tea and they just have a group people staring at you waiting to pay. We just paid and canceled the payment with our bank right afterwards, we never called the police. That night they showed up at our hotel looking for us and we just never left our room lol.
how did they know where you stayed?
@@jemand8462 our hotel was a block away and we stuck out like sore thumbs. So that probably had something to do with it.
@@jemand8462Probably asking around.
Guess they weren't very good sports about their scam being canceled lol
Quick thinking on the cancellation, I wouldn't have thought of that so fast, so I'd have probably been scammed good style.
Japan and China are night and day..... when it comes to honesty.
Japan is equally racist.
@@thegreatgatsby8180 East asians are mainly racist.
They believe that they are the superior race.
China and Taiwan are total opposites as well...
newbieshelper Isn't Generalization a Racist thing as well? 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Honesty, for mature adults, is an individual thing. IMO. I went shopping with a friend in Japan at an electronics store. He and I became engrossed in our conversation and were half way back to our lodging when he realized he left his purchase on the counter. It was a 20 minute walk. It was still there when we returned. Good for Japan's reputation. However, then we have a person I was in a long relationship with. It didn't turn out so well. Current partner is Chinese and, Holy Mary mother of God, she's AMAZING !!
I'll just leave it at that, or Inwill run out of space. If you're reading this, I love you, "H2".
"If you can cheat, then cheat." A very limiting national cultural notion...
Bottom line, don't accept any solicitation of any kind. If you're approached assume it's a scam. That goes for any city, in any country, on any planet.
Bingo
+Chris Eaton Straight up. Until you understand something, assume it's a trick. Worse case scenario, you look a bit untrusting until you figure out everything is legit; BFD, at least you never get played ;-)
in any solar system.
Go to Japan and you'll never experience this kind of shit...
SharkFin Attack... I'd like to take you out for tea sometime. I know a great place. You seem like a cool dude.
I took a day trip to Morocco and on the ferry back to Spain, at the end of the day, more than half of the English speaking tourists had purchased rugs. They all had the same story, some guy offered to give them a cheap taxi-tour of Tangier and their "tours" all ended in a high-pressure sales pitch in a rug shop.
Lol
@@ForTheWolf111 ... yes, and I want to pay ten times more then it usually costs in ikea!
nonwhite places are shitholes
@@deicidal88 wow way to be racist
@@cecilev5632 truth is racist
tea house scam got me back in the day. negotiated my way down from $4000 to $20.
4000 wtf
wow you must have had nothing on you smart lmao...
That's some serious haggling skills.
@@prime8nate tai gue la! too expensive. all the mandarin you need to know.
In my seagoing days if you visited "girly bars" you expected to have to pay stupid prices for "sticky drinks" as we called it in exchange for some small talk from the hostesses. Mainland China was still closed but Taiwan was a forerunner to what he described in the video.
i thought you were going to be scammed by those children
@Person Hello Did Serpentza not say in this very video that a subscriber was pickpocketed by a kid?
@Person Hello Wow... That's what you call a Whoooooosh... Idiot!
@Person Hello Communist manifesto in your library my guy? sure seems like it.
Idiot, these children are off school and on their way back home, they just outgoing kids!Plus, this blogger is talking about rare or even rare things
@Person Hello dude, dont even bother,these people are too high up their asses that they wont listen to us. The've never even lived in china. Many european countries has the same problems as china like scammers, but they are gona pretend that they didnt notice. They are easily brainwashed by their media into hating China.
If they hate China for being a "communist" country, then why wont they hate russia? Oh its because "russians are white and thus they look more intimidating, so we shouldnt fuck with them".
I sometimes wish freedom of speech is not the thing it is today. That doesnt mean I support the tiananmen incident of course, i would hate for my own country's millitary to open fire on my own friends and family. But if the government had not done such a thing, the people wont know that the government are serious about not wanting their citizens doing stupid shit like this
Love how this guy cuts right to the chase and speak about any situation from a neutral point of view. Great video and really informative for anyone who plans on travelling to China.
When I lived in China for 2 years on business I was fortunate to have several good Chinese friends who clued me in on all the scams. This is a pretty good summary. I succeeded in largely avoiding the scammers, although I know I paid more than I could have for some goods. Once I got the price down to what seemed really cheap to me I would just pay it. Usually that was about a quarter of what was marked. But my Chinese friends would occasionally say I could have gotten another 50% off.
Living in Hong Kong I made it an art to BARGAIN, I eventually got so GOOD at it that my Chinese family there would have me buy things for THEM, since they said I was a BETTER BARGAINER than even they were!
Having lived in China for about 11 years, I can say what this guy says is 100% true. Very good information for the uninformed.
hey Ken aren't the scammers afraid they might catch the wrong guy, say if someone was being treated unlawfully they might give out a warning punch or 2 or are you not allowed to defend your property over there.
Ron Bondie not sure. I guess they take calculated risks in what they do.
Mary Fong not sure what you mean. I very much enjoyed my time in China, and most Chinese are very hospitable and warm. But there are scammers, and the guy running the TH-cam channel correctly points out some of the most common ones. It’s a public service. If you’re offended, perhaps you need to thicken your skin a bit. Nothing racist at all in this.
Someone doesnt know these imbecile students wouldnt leave the square when the army showed up!
滚出中国，没人想要你们这些垃圾
I love how you leave in the sections where the locals interrupt you, it just gives a little more feel for the atmosphere.
While traveling, if someone approaches you, it's probably a scam.
#1 reason I'll die alone.
@@Oeufcoque i hope soon
@@SaeSaltIceCream edgy
@@Oeufcoque i rate it
its usually best when you approach them and they run
The constant scams are the reason that my trip to China was the worst trip that I have ever taken.
Scammers speak English but the cops don't.....
That's essential to their survival, while it is not so for the police. Kektus
English is not the only language for the world you prank, most European Polices don't speak in English...
@@hezhenshen88 did i say it was?
@@therealaustinbrown2712 Your comment implied it.
@@therealaustinbrown2712 Your comment states a subject just like "I drink water for life." You should think that I should learn some native language if I ever love or live their for a long time instead of they can't help for whatever special reasons you might have.
I like his way of talking so direct so straightforward so explicit
“Please take a hike if you don’t mind”
😂😂😂😂
Being rude is not I South African unless they say it three times
I hate to bargain. In my culture (German) it is actually impossible to bargain, except at flea markets or similar events. Either you pay the stated price or you leave it and don't buy it. For me it's more relaxed and saves time. However, you can ask here for discounts if you buy larger quantities. In addition, the fixed prices are easier to compare with each other and you know pretty well that you will not be ripped off. Of course, businesses also make a profit, that's how it should be, but in a market-based and legal framework and not through excessive usury.
"However, you can ask here for discounts if you buy larger quantities." Are you talking about a normal retail business? That doesn't happen here in the US.
@@Intelwinsbigly you could try to, in smaller shops. But in large shops it’s not possible (I’ve never tried tbh). It just doesn’t seem normal for us Germans to even try bargaining.
@@Shurtug Bei Expert und Saturn kann man handeln, macht mein Vater manchmal haha also bei größerer Dingen, klappt auch
@@aalleexx1997 bargain not trade.
the price on the pricetags is actually only a suggestion so technically you can still bargain, esp in small shops, it's just that in everyday life we buy almost everything from chains where the cashiers do not have the authority to bargain with the customer i think
Really comprehensive guide mate, nice one. From my personal experience it takes quite a lot of time as a traveller (and I would imagine as a resident too) to be aware of all those scams (and others), so I can imagine this being really useful. The moral of a few of those is basically say no to things/services being offered to you on the street, and be strong/insistent, especially around bus/train stations where people will literally drag you into their taxi/bus/restaurant etc. Chinese language ability makes such a difference too, even basics.
Japan Kofun 古墳 Scammers are everywhere around railway/bus stations. Keep away from these places. Being indifferent is a good way in China.
Even natives should watch this video. I got scammed in almost all the ways you’ve mentioned. And im chinese...
lol
err...is that a chatbot?
Shut up china man
tiannment square massacre happend lmao
@@amirahmad2099 He's literally agreeing with us bro...
Long story short: shut anyone down who approaches you. Say NO and walk away.
that is the way parents teach their kids to do in China. And that is why people always say that Chinese are 'shy'.
Chinese are shy which is protection for themselves
@@bender2752 This is the cost Chinese kids paid for their parent's dishonesty.
This is just common sense anywhere. If you're walking about in a city people aren't just going to come up talking to strangers unless they want something from you.
Like a kid with immune deficiency who lives in a bubble
When traveling in unfamiliar or dangerous locations, I recommend keeping two wallets and phones. Keep the real deal against strapped against your chest and the cheap decoys a bit more accessible. It may just save you a lot of blood and tears.
I like to share a scam. This happened in Shanghai but it could also have happen in any China cities. Upon getting into a taxis and I am now talking about registered bona fide taxis you might run into a cammer (just like I did) and as soon as he or she makes you out to be a foreigner the taxi driver might suddenly stop just outside the airport and then begin fiddling with his taxi meter, If this was your first ride into that city you probably won't notice anything odd but if this was your one of many trips and if you do recalled the trip price, you will begin to notice that the price is now awfully high. Even if you dont assume that a scam has just started. The taxi driver did something to the meter an it is now racing forward. My recommendation is not to get into an argument with the driver at that point because you will lose on language alone and no police will help you. What you need to do is to let him take you to a hotel (a big hotel) then get out of the car, take our all your luggages and then call the doorman to deal with the situation or ask for the duty manager. The doorman at those big hotels usually speak English. Tell him what happened and let him deal with it. DO NOT PAY the taxi driver. Those doorman are trained to protect the guest and they know of such scams. 10 times out of 10 the matter will be resolved and you get to pay the taxi driver the "right" amount and the doorman will be able to tell you what the "right" amount is. But if you are not checking into a big hotel, just find one along the way (closer to your ultimate destination) make sure it is a hotel like Hyatt or Hilton or Marriots or any big hotels and pretend that you are checking in.
That one happened to me in Athens where We were treated to a tour of the city on our way to our Hotel.We just enjoyed the ride and got our lugggage out. then I handed the driver the correct amount,Thats when the fun began. He left in a big huff with his middle finger sticking up out the window. Boo Hoo.
Honestly don't take taxis, use the ride hailing apps like everyone in China does. Kind of like how people got sick of taxis in the US and switched to Uber it's the same thing there. I had some Beijing cab driver drop me off in the middle of nowhere because he clearly got lost and was too lazy to figure out how to get to the right place, and the cabs are almost always disgusting in China with dirty seats. They also hide the seatbelts and if you do have a seatbelt to wear it's likely filthy. I was using Uber all the time last time I went except for the cities it wasn't in. Uber no longer operates in China but the company that bought their Chinese operations has an English app now (Didi) so you're better off just using the ride hailing app for everything. That way there's no issues about how much the ride costs, you can see where you're going on your phone, and there's no incentive for them to do anything stupid.
Obviously this will require you to either get a Chinese SIM card or have a phone plan that covers some international roaming but this GREATLY improves traveling in China. I tried to avoid all taxis last time I was in China but ended up at one point in a third tier city and Didi wasn't available to Americans yet at that point so I actually hailed a cab and while the driver was an honest guy the literally drove on the highway like they were in an actual race...and the cab was clearly in complete disrepair since I could literally hear the worn brake pads squealing like crazy every time he touched them. And of course there were no seatbelts so I started thinking that this would be the last cab ride of my life, lol.
He didn't text while driving? If they do that they'll probably not need the brakes anyways (or have time to use them).
I remember buying a geat looking china made Emergency lamp. I put it up for charging for around 6 hours. Returning back I found my room on fire. As the fire was just in my room I put it out fast. I lost my paasport and my bank documents in the fire. I am thankful the whole house did not burn down. After this I am wary of China made products at bargain prices. Better spend a little more than get your room and house get burnt.Even when you read the news you get news of mobile batteries catching fire in airplanes andusually these are of mobiles that we use on a daily basis..
edition.cnn.com/2017/05/31/us/jetblue-flight-fire/index.html
That's so true, I had the same incident. I waited in line on the Beijing airport for Registered taxis, got into one and the Taxi driver told me 120 Yuan for a distance less than 4 Kms. I said no, and asked him to go by meter. He looked at me and agreed and did something in his meter. As he drove his meter ran like anything and in just 5 minutes we reached our destination and the meter showed some 140 Yuan. I was like wtf. I got scammed.
Some really good advice here. I just love the way Collin bargains. Even though I've been out of the States for 3 years I'm still no good at bargaining. My first e-bike I paid 6,500 for when it shouldn't have cost more than 2,000. Oh well, live and learn. Stay awesome!
I want to give a advice,next time you want to buy something,try online shopping,it will save you the trouble of bargaining,you can buy almost angthing online,it is convenient.I recommend you "jd.com"
I've bought many things from Taobao so far and I'm quite satisfied with the service. I haven't heard of the site you recommended yet but I'll definitely give it a look. Thanks.
You should make some chinese friends to help you with bargaining,which is a great help. Bargaining is a culture for chinese though I did it bad for all my past years.
why do u always dress like " the transporter " ?
My style
Watch his video,"Why wear suit " ;)
Kamil Kostrzewa but why wear aleays the same style of suite ? Is it his working uniform ?
Tigre 555 he sounds like him too!
serpentza lol! “My style”
Your channel is so eye opening. Thankyou for showing the world what CHINA is really like with no filters or misconceptions. Keep it up I love your channel!!! 👍
Have lived in Beijing almost 4 years now. Basically, when anyone approaches you trying to sell or offer something just say "Bu yao (don't want), Bu yong (don't need), and Mei shi (no problem *I'm not intersted).
3 most important words :p
VPN
I've been to China once. Between the scams and the rude behaviors, never again.
Yes, they seems have zero manners.
Yup, born in China, been back over 10 times. Besides seeing family and enjoying some cuisine, it's an extremely unpleasant experience from the moment you step off the plane.
Dont cone we dont need your fucking foreigner come here
@@8531213 yeah if a couple more foreigner it will be so packed no one will be able to breath
just leave, ez.
what you said are true, this would really help the foreigners who are coming to china
If foreginers need to be told NOT to take cab services that do not seem official then they deserved to get scammed
@@IndoGunsnGear yes, and also to die right?
I mean it's mot far if isn't it?
OMG, there are 3 millions views and 10 thousands comments. This is how many westerners sees us Chinese. I used to have doubt, because my parents teaches me to be honest and I didn't see a lot of scams in my early life. But as I was getting older, I know scam is everywhere in Chinese society, that is true. It hurts my feeling and I was confused at that time. Now, I think we Chinese should face the truth, this is the reality. The foreigners see it, why can't we face it? Let these foreigner speak, let them expose these scams, that way, Chinese society could be corrected, could improve. Or at least, don't let any more foreigners fall into those traps. Good job, Mr. serpentza.
I was born in china, this guys definitely knows what he is talking about! big thumbs up!
傻逼 洋垃圾舔的開心？
nathan lin Are you serious??
!🙃
@@peterwang3021 他说的对？ 同类就是爱舔同类。 毕竟都是垃圾
其實基本上他說的那些詐騙集團每個國家都有。 沒必要說到好像只有中國才有的“特色”這樣自我矮化。
個人認為沒有人出門穿到那麼端重tuxedo，你看看他服裝跟四周圍的人根本格格不入。
我不是中國人但在我國如果這樣穿出門的話在街上走基本上就是吸引詐騙集團的裝扮。
不要說拿著照相機在blog啊。。分分鍾鍾blog到一半電話都會被搶走。
@@sibo89 我用的了翻墙？ 笑
Also: When in China, it's best to make sure you have an app that translates input from your camera (e.g. billboards, prices, etc). This will keep you safe from most language barrier scams.
I am from Europe but I am an expat in China for just over 5 years (Suzhou and Shanghai), and I speak Mandarin very well. I usually like to carry my DSLR around as I am a photography fanatic, and look like a typical tourist with quite some cash to spend. I often get approached when I walk alone or with just one other foreign friend, and sometimes I think it is fun to play along with those scammers by acting like a gullible tourist... just to see what bullshit they talk in Mandarin. I never go inside their establishment, usually at the door or when I feel bored earlier on, I call them out in Mandarin... it's hilarious to see how they react (a mix of being shocked and ashamed, they also get angry sometimes and find hilarious ways to get out of the situation). My main purpose is entertainment but as I keep them occupied I might save some actual tourists from being scammed... Perhaps I should try to make some recordings in the future, for entertainment purposes of course... :)
The master troll! You should open an on-line trolling school!
Yeah; I am very interested about that.
id watch that
yes make a video of it thanks ...
Just do it
I’m sorry to hear that your leaving China, your videos have been a wonderful introduction to China for . You always appear honest and sincere and when you criticise China it always seems from a place of love ❤️ thank you
Otherwise the CCP would not have spared him
SMART people LEAVE China knowing that a WAR will soon be coming to China! The Southern U.S. Border now has hundreds of Chinese arriving monthly for illegal immigration!
liked a subbed for telling the kids to take a hike, I appreciate honesty.
As a local Chinese, I have to say this guy nailed it. He really understands China! I really can't defend or correct him on these scams as they really exist in China. But the problem is all the scams are really rare and more targeted at tourist and foreigners. And the bad people are really a very small percentage of the whole population, justs like any place in the world. I do believe such scams are happening in every corner in the world, even in Europe and US, just probably with a different form. So if you are a foreigner and never been to China, please don't be scared by these scams as most (I'd say 99%) Chinese are friendly and nice people. And if you do come to China it's best to be mindful and try to make some local Chinese friends and ask for their advice from time to time. It should save you from all these scams. After all, you can't talk or create an experience, you can only undergo it. For all the people out there who wants to come to China, don't be discouraged by this video.
Rex Wang I'm sure he's got experience in the chicken field as well LOL
So does President Trump !
Thanks for the confirmation good to know
hehehe, hello hanjian
shut the fk up，real Chinese？
fantastic and concise. China TH-camr God for a reason.
What is the channel of the 'bargain video' guy?
Collin Abroadcast
Yes, he appreciates his supporters, even the ones that just give him $1.
Leavea Aline is Winston's secret admirer
Han Chinese ow man true that. he takes his vlogging to seriously over a young menace, chill winstonn!
Great to see Collin in a Serpentza video. I knew Collin personally, he was a good friend of mine in middle school and part of high school. Anyways best of luck to both of you.
Winston is the ONLY person in China wearing a suit. 😂😂😂😂
I like walking around too but man I am suprised you didn't reach the Great Wall by the end of the video!
This one time I meet some tourist and they're talking to scammer, so I berated the Scammer for ruining tourism in my town, then I take them to good cheap place and show them around and they told me "oh I thought you're the scammers" 😂
Not even a minute in and i love this channel already
i always lie when i go to Chinese . like one time when i go to a tea house with one of those girl then i found out when she ask me where i work and i told her im working with the Chinese military as a pmc (private military company) and her face turn white and i got very cheap tea :)
Lol, wow.
xD
rex wolf LOL! i’m gonna do this too
@og loc What a scumbag!.
wow
"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" - Ancient global proverb
An old-timer in the U.S. told me that. There have been times when I forgot it. SMDH
That sun tzu dude said this one too
@@MAN-xs2lq The Art of GWAR?
"This video has dragged on for far too long"
Are you kidding? I enjoyed every minute.
"There will be more in the future"
Neat.
The only criticism I'd give is that he's already done at least one or two videos on scamming before. That said, it's not like he went over the same stories or anything, so it wasn't like stale content, just a re-visited topic.
yeah please double the length!
I am a traveler and blogger and I can assure everyone that traveling to China is not as safe as you travel to the West or even Korea..
Surveillance, and hidden cam, and even plain clothes secret agents were watching every movement of any Western looking people, and through the satellite was transmitted to the data base nearby, and full profile of any Westerner in China is stored and at the airport when leaving for their home country you could be stopped at any time and any day and anywhere!
Even a hotel I stayed at security officers regularly check any Westerner!
It is still awfully police state reminding me of the Nazi Germany!
Folks! let us not travel to China and spend money!
WAT
Very useful information! Good job buddy
Thirty some years ago when I was touring Beijing and the tour guide took us to a Friendship store I bought a beautiful painting for $100 USD The sales clerk took it into a back room to wrap it up for me. After I flew back to California and opened up the painting it was not the one I paid $100 for but another painting that the quality is ridiculously cheap looking and poorly done. I then realized I’ve been scammed by that store!
My experience is, if somebody approach you and start to speak with you in English, just politely ignore him. Its always scam. Thats only rule you need to know.
Petr Rubeš just pretend to speak a different language 😂
Tryed that ones and it works. No one understand norwegian in China!
I just love your style. You sound so true when you speak. Your ego is far away. You are so informative and so caring. I just love you.
Sounds like your running a scam
Im from Rio de Janeiro. For us from Rio, all of those stories, are like Sunday morning.
Yea but America doesnt owe you guys any money so they dont brainwash your people into hating your country
@A Light Skin With Taste and maybe you should put some thought into something before arguring about it online. Think about it, why does America hate China so much? Its because China is successful in business in every aspect. The bias towards china is so obvious. China once developed a system to mass produce caviar to appeal to lower-income people in order to give them a chance at experiencing a delicacy, yet the American media responded with "China is ruining high class food"
@A Light Skin With Taste so you're supporting American businesses because they have human rights, in this case specifically towards your people? Right.......
@A Light Skin With Taste uhmm sure then okay, stick with your delusional misguided beliefs and i will stick to mine
@A Light Skin With Taste no jackass, im saying that there is a chance that it MIGHT just be misguided
Lived and worked in China for almost a year several years ago. I recognize the jade scam as part of the bus tour to the Great Wall. I didn't buy any jade though. But we did spend a lot of time there though.
One of the first things I learned from a fellow expat when I arrived in China was not to ride those unmarked taxi cabs. Sure scam at the least or they might hold you up at the worst.
Who else looked at all the people behind him to see if they would look at him
"Evil Uncles" everywhere!
😅
China seems a bit similar to Thailand in this matter
Generally don't accept when somebody comes *to you* and wants to sell you something.
So many stares from passersby. Kind of highlights the difference in status quo between east and west.
For years I've always thought --the longer the stare,the lower the intelligence and even lower if the mouth is open as well!
Lol no they just hate white people
@@lexheart5877 I think you might be too stupid to understand my comment.
@@MrBoreray Not true, I mean, im southeast asian and people in my country would stare at foreigners as well. Because :
1. Because you guys are freaking tall
2. Oh look, blue eyes! So pretty!
3. Oh wow, blonde hair, so pretty!!!
4. Oh look, he/she is speaking English, its so fast we cant understand you at all!
5. Oh, foreigner. Do the foreigner know there's literally nothing to explore here? Weirdo.
6. Oh look, another foreigners that got scammed in broad daylight. Poor them.
I think, once a foreigner stared at me and my family and smiled. I become so shy and we sort of have 'are you still staring?' sneaky eye contest.
Why?
I dont know. Chill, they mean no harm, just fascinated. After you go out of their eyesight they'll be back doing whatever they're doing previously.
@@lexheart5877 wtf?
I was there 13 years ago for 1 week. And I had experienced more scams there then anywhere else. Therefore I have no desire to go back.
The message I get from these videos is don't go anywhere everybody in the world is out to rip you off.
Your loss, there is a beautiful world out there, just beware of your surroundings .
maybe pick a country where the police dont side whit the criminals and you will be fine ;)
try new Zealand Scandinavia Canada Singapore ect,
you might get scamed but atleast the police wasent in on it and if somthing happens they speek english and well treat most pepol equal
KingFahtah try japan if you can, great place 9/10 would recommended
I've traveled in numerous countries in Africa and not been scammed. I like to think I'm savy, but also the people I encountered treated me fairly and weren't just out to rip me off. When they could have charged me more, they charged me the local rate. This video shouldn't dissuade you from exploring the world.
One of the best and most informative videos you have produced. An essential guide to anyone planning to visit China.
70% of the people in the video were staring at you
what do you expect when he's just walking round town virtually accusing everyone in china out to rip you off
White guy walking around in a suit talking into a camera, yeah, obviously people will be staring.
The best scammer deterrent is strapping a Gopro on your chest. No scammer would dare scam you with a camera recording them.
When I was young and looked like I could not defend myself I was approached by scammers allot, never been to China though, but when I started looking like I could defend myself all that stopped happening. Scammers and bullies are the biggest cowards walking the earth. They prey on the weak.
“Real monks don’t wander the streets. Real monks stays in monastery.” 😂 duh 🙄
Actually wandering monks are very real and common.
Real monks play World of Warcraft
We have monks wearing the same outfit here in Chicago. They don’t take less than $20! Now I know they are not legit
Monks in Thailand can be seen in most streets.
You can safely say that ‘real monk’ is an outdated concept in China now. Do you know that the current grand master (the owner) of Shao Lin Temple in China drives Mercedes and have more than one concubines? It’s a business after all.
There is one more type, not sure if you heard of it before:
When you purchase a small item (cheap wallets, souvenirs, etc) in a souvenir shop, they will give you a few lucky draw tickets that have been covered with some tape. You're supposed to scrape the tape off the voucher to see if you win the voucher. And they will usually give you such that there is one that will have a 'first' or 'second' prize. And the staff will say something like 'wow, that is so lucky, this is really rare to get the first prize'.
Then they will lead you to a booth that sells you jade at an astronomical price and say "oh because its a first price it is on 80% discount" but it will still be a rip-off. I have a friend was actually considering to buy it but in the end he gave it a pass. We only realised this was a scam after the same thing happened to us again, so I just said: "wow, we have already won the first prize so many times today." They realised it and immediately walked off.
This scam is what they called "Gua Gua Le". It doesn't only happen when you purchase a small item, they will even approach in front of your households as a salesman.
Even though we probably overpayed for jade in Beijing, we thankfully were not scammed anywhere else in China. When I was in Xintai the people were even helpful, (maybe because it was not a huge city)…and once I asked a couple of girls to help me get a drink from a dispenser that only used Wechat money, and they even refused to take the cash from us, and gave it to us for free.
I guess there are scammers and really nice people in China.
Years ago, after getting our USD changed for RMB at a Chinese bank we tried to make a purchase for some soft drinks at a cart. The young Chinese girl stated some of our RMB were counterfeit and showed us how to tell the REAL from the COUNTERFEIT. Eventually we managed to pass off all of that counterfeit RMB at Chinese Government stores!
i moved from the UK to thailand recently and i am surrounded by scammers most of the day, but i dont have to pay for a license to watch TV here or pay ridiculous tax bills etc … you have a choice here to be foolish enough to be scammed but back in the UK i have no choice but to get scammed
Scams are not just targeted towrds foreigners, Chinese gets scammed too if they go to somewhere other than their own city.
My advice: Be vigilant at a person or few people that coming towards you offering anything or asking anything(mostly relate to money). If you got screwed big time, call your local consulate about the situation, they will try to contact the authorities and urge them to deal with the problem due to diplomatic pressure.
The Japanese don’t try to scam you. If they invite you for tea or something, take them up on it..... they just want to practice their English or want to be a good host.
Jerks
chinese people want to learn english as well... dont focus on the merchants focus on the general public...
But tbe english will never invite a chinese to their home. They cannot be hosts coz they only believe in only receiving.
unless theyre a bunch of shady guys and youre a lone girl that is. that seems like a japanese trademark
Until the tsunami of a bill comes your way lol.
”能骗就骗“ -- If you can scam, scam -- Wow. As a Chinese who grew up in Indonesia and Australia, I never thought the moral standards of my fellow race from our motherland are so low. I would never want to visit China. Lucky I didn't grow up with these mentality.
I lived in Taiwan for 1 year, how can they be so different? Thanks for the excellent content Winston!
Cultural differences
Thanks again, Winston. I know it's an old post, but I'm just watching it again. Do be careful, guys and girls, wherever you're from and whatever race you may be. There's a Chinese saying, "By being careful, we can sail a boat for 10,000 years." I guess it just means that being cautious all the time will take us a long way.
Sounds like a great place to stay away from actually.
Right? No way in hell am I ever going there
@@wobblebop4611 good, stay away from a country that you have no information of what it is like to live there first hand and trust a stranger's video on the internet. Im sure china wouldnt want to share their long history of food or culture with you anyway. But hey, more peking duck and la mian for me then! Yay!
@@IndoGunsnGear China's history was destroyed by Mao
@@nesttea2239 well back then, it wasnt really "china". It was just a bunch of other states that were at war at each other. "China" was formed after Mao killed 70 million people in order to unite China to what it is today
@@nesttea2239 and America's history was destroyed by the whites, your point is?
spot on. The concept of doing the right thing seems very foreign to most Chinese people. Here end justifies means. And not even any good end. Just pure greed. So sad. I like your videos, because you let me see things in China from a new perspective. I am learning to view my country from a objective angle, freeing myself from former nationalistic sentiment. The upside of this is that my heart is not made of glass any more.
+tony zhang that’s very encouraging news! Keep on being awesome my friend
It's a shame more people in the world aren't as self-reflective and wary about nationalism as you are.
Nationalism is a plague whose only purpose is to obfuscate the truth that human beings transcend lines on a map.
I discovered your and laowhy videos today and there is so many similarities in China and Brazil culture, literally the same advices that I gave to all my foreigner friends that came to Rio and stuff.
0:25 The fact that he is fearlessly exposing chinese scammers in front of them. 😂
They scam tourists that speak English...
like anyone cares and understands him? he is so brave and constantly walking.
nigga has a suit and they cant do shit attacking a tourist would land them straight into jail probably worse
Did you not pay attention to or understand the things he said about the culture? It's a respected part of the culture. If you can take advantage of someone, you should, and it is on each person to protect their own situation. There are many cultures that hold that view. If you get scammed, it's seen as your fault, not anything the scammer did wrong. If they make you a bad offer, and you take it, then you are to blame. Being seen as a 'scammer' by a westerner would only be seen by them as 'poor westerner can't handle someone who drives a hard bargain.'
Dustin Rodriguez fair enough but im still kinda on fence with that one.
Who else felt like he was about to get mugged as he walked? Maybe that’s we he dresses like Jason Statham so no one messes with him.
James Festini 🤣😂😂😅
I think Jason Statham dresses fine.
15:39 rejection hits you hard bro... :P
He did mention that violent crime is rare in China. Mostly petty theft and whatnot.
lol. people look at him strange he walk by them, like wtf？
Just found your channel and you are extremely informative and theres no fluff, no fake persona, just the real deal, thanks for the info
Provocateur
This is so taboo. Our lives does not have any value
from 16th century to 20th century, whites have also harassed, loot, killed non whites.
Exodarion you have good taste
Man, China sounds horrible [crosses off of bucket list].
what has information that someone killed someone not his race in 16th century in common with fact that there is a lot of scammers in china?
Oh dang, I just realized that I might've dodged a teahouse scam during my Beijing trip..?
Two girls saying that they lost their wallet and got no where to stay.
They asked for some money which they will 'give back later'.
I given them like 100 yuan and started walking away like how people usually do after giving money to a hobo. *Mentally feeling like having just done a good deed each time. Or feeling bad when not having anything on to give and walking away.*
However they started following me and tried to talk me into going somewhere with them.
I just gave them the slip near the way to my hotel because well they are total strangers.
You can find all these scams in Vietnam as well. If you carry that camera around like this, it would be gone in 5 mins.
You noticed the Cuts in this Clip ? Maybe that's the Reason
Me rove you rong time!
Walk into Tenderloin with that setup and neither you nor your camera will survive :)
smellcaster how many cameras do you think it took to film this?
I spent 14 years in China as an ESL teacher....black taxis will not only charge more, but if you put something like a computer in their trunk..they will drive off with it as soon as you exit the black taxi.
Also, some cheeky beggars are not what they seem...also, fake monks...and on and on....you must aggressively protect yourselves in some situations...however, the local people that sell food products are usually honest. Be on your guard in train stations and bus stations...they will still your luggage....briefcase, wallet, etc....they are very quick...and will take advantage if you do not guard your stuff. Also, if you lose your wallet or briefcase the police are worthless...even if they understand English...they may even laugh at you...yep...happened to me in Guangzhou.
Good advice!
thx for the advice
I've lived in China 20 years, seldom been stolen something by beggars or thieves. Maybe u are foreigner, they think u have a lot of cash in wallet. Just like my wallet has been stolen in Pairs. Just wanna say scams exist everywhere, guard carefully on u stuff, and enjoy life.
He is a liar. Most of the case, I don’t think it is scam. There are discrimination against tourists, or specifically foreigners everywhere, sometimes in the form of overcharge. It could be because there is a discount which is actually the subsidies from the government to pay back the taxes from folks. It could be because you are from a higher income class. You should acknowledge that a bargain is a bargain and when you can get good deal there must be people who are not happy with the offers. If you don’t want to get scammed, you can go to the standard market with price tag! If you want to take advantage of bargaining, you need to be aware of the possibility of getting scammed. Simple concept, simple trade-off. It makes perfect sense everywhere. If you don’t understand, I doubt if you are a qualified businessman or you have other insidious proposes!
John Tatum ...this is notoriously true.
For decades, criminal establishments (usually bars in Europe, tea houses in China) have been known as "Clip Joints". The big question is, when you get the huge bill, refuse to pay and the large thugs come out, what will they ACTUALLY do to you if you don't pay? In the infamous Pigalle district of Paris, the woman at the door lied about the entertainment in order to get me inside. I had 1 drink, huge bill, thugs, etc. But I still wouldn't pay. So eventually they let me go. Because actual assault is a much more serious offense than fraud and the Paris police aren't highly corrupt. What about China??
They wouldn't do shit about it! violence in china is avoided as the plague and for good reasons. everybody is so scared of the big brother. basically same thing.
In Jiaxing a few years ago on Irish guy left his flat for a night out, never came back found dead in the river, another German guy in Shanghai went on a date with a chinese woman, this womans husband turned up and in frenzied attack with a knife killed the German guy, Ive lived on and off in China since 2000 and can tell you back then westerners were treated like Gold now the honeymoon period is OVER, we aren't seen as special anymore, in Beijing a couple of years ago one guy attacked a western guy and his chiniese girlfriend in the street just cause he was a westerner and killed the chinese girl instead, I used to believe the idea that chinese people wont fight, man Ive seen so many!
exceptions.
Yes, but the honeymoon period is over, they dont see westerners as Gods anymore, I compare to the time I first arrived in China in 2000, yes it is rare but look at the news and you'll see people being killed, good people yes are afraid but in China but there are many bastards too that either have mental/emotional problems, others with money problems and feel they have nothing to lose, I forgt to mention the westerner who went to WALL early in the morning on his own and was bludgeoned to death for his camera, the guy was from the UK, in Jiaxing I remember one story of a guy who was sacked from a restaurant and he left peacefully, then took the bosses 2yr old and dropped a rock on his head killing him, I stopped one girl from being beaten do death - In Jiaxing just outside the main McDonalds one guy was beating the hell out of a girl and there was a crowd but nobody intervened, so I took my rucksack off and told him to stop he immediatly shouted 'Ni you haizi ma?' (Have you got kids?) so I asked the girl is he your husband or boyfriends she was crying and said No he was some work colleague before, not boyfriend, so I said to him if you want to hit her just hit me instead, well thats why I wanted to say but the way I said it it meant fight me, thank God he didnt, he shouted I know where you work I catch you tomorrow, and he left he was from Sichuan and the girl from Henan I think, I left and gave my mobile to the police, they caught the guy and told him off thats it!!! The girl somehow got my number and email and told me that I saved her life.
Fighting is not so common but Chinese guys have massive face problem and will feel their pride hurt if a person swears at them and fights DO happen, but Ive lived in China since 2000 on and off so of course I will see more, I was fed the idea that people dont fight they will get fined but it doesnt seem to stop them, also late at night I used to drive in my electric bike and met some skinhead guys with tattoos everywhere drinking beer and that tiny road you'd see fights after dark and this is a tiny area I would assume its the same everywhere in China, how long have you lived in China?
@scisci Thanks for your response. I understand it is very frustrating! I agree there are quite a lot of brain damaged individuals around china, but if one have to statistically count them, the numbers would just the same as every where else. I am glad that messed up guy's story didn't didn't go further.
I have been in china since 2009. I had a wild ride for a couple of years and now things eventually are stabilizing getting to middle age. I did hang out with locals far more than I did with 'foreigners'. there was a point when i wanted to learn chinese and didn't have time to go to school so i almost boycotted all non chinese speakers around me, including chinese who spoke english. I did learn a looot about handling conflict situations to avoid being found dead in a random apartment/hotel in a random city since i was traveling around for work lot. i also had to drink with suppliers at night, ktvs, bars, you name it ( did like it though, not so much anymore). it gets wild and there are all these weird people that show up from nowhere. bold, fat, rich, skinny, tattoos, bullies, guys approaching you more than girls, damn! so much weird stuff. so here it is
some of what i learnt and some if it even subconscious:
1- always hang out with locals, as local as it gets( province, city, town, even street if possible). form aliances .
for example last week with one supplier and other random korean/chinese of his aquantances turned in a bar having drinks listing to live songs in a small city in dongbei. coulpe of big moustache xinjiang guys with two other chinese. business men from the look of it (not of the nice kind). all wasted gangbei by the bottles. one of the two was huge took off his short dancing like a beast. not even the security guards dared to confront them. no problems so far. the other chinese shorter hates my guts from his eyes, came couple of times shakes my hands squeezing as to show dominance. foreigners attract attention. the big guy wants to dance with me, the xinjiang guy (ali) wants to gangbei by bottle of beer.
i was having a really nice time with my group talking business, life and koreans where singer, and her band. i could say fuck to all of them but man they are waisted.
i cozzied up with ali. Salamo alicom, eid moubarak (that was the muslim festival 3 months ago haha) well, common ground ... shaked hands, 2 minute dance with the beast, told ali them it's sime to to eat rice (put food on table for next year's lam of eid-not that i giv a f). took wechat.
it took in total 5-10 minutes and it was fun in some sort. last thing i know ali was herding them away to come to hour table to socialize. (the reason of it all the bar was empty and we had a pretty girl with us).
Ali was the dominant male in that pack of wolves. it worked perfectly . didn't give it much thought at first and happened in flow. felt a bit awekward dancing with a beast but WTF its china
off track, back to the point. there great chinese people that can't speak english, and if you get to know them they turn out to be very good friends and allies. and that massive face problem, can into a massive solution to some of your problems.
2- girls are a source of huge conflicts. chinese have their subtle ways to work out their way into a girl. love/sex/relationship... it is all subtle. foreigners are more direct. with the language barrier, and lack of face (most foreigners not being in their own culture have no cultural name it face u get the idea ) it's most of the time even more direct. now that's i feel is not fair when the two play a game that have different rules and they chinese side might lose it. i put myself in their shoes and try to imagine it. even the girl when she gets a direct attempt from a chinese she would judge him as play boy versus foreigners as just open and cultural difference (which can't be true in all cases). human nature is lot similar to lots of animal when it comes to mating rivalery. elephants fight to death for a female and so would humans if there was no soceity watching. play the subtle game if you had to get the girl and have empathy for your rivals. it more human thing to do.
3- speak the language: no explanation needed.
if i am found dead in my apartment, know that all the above is BS hahaha
how is it like for you in china recently?
"Real monks don't wander the street trying to extort money" 😂
As a chinese,I agree with serpentza, my life philosophy is "don't trust anyone" ,everyone likely to be scammer,but there are also some new chinese generation like me try to change ..I never cheat ,because of that ,I fail to graduate from collage ,because of no fudge on Exam..
chinhai hai 还是自身实力不够啊
大兄弟。。。考试不作弊这是应该的呀。你诚实和你没毕业是两回事，还是努力不够吧。
99MrWarrior qq
You are an honest person, thanks.
You can’t graduate from college it is because you are not smart enough 拉不出屎不要怨地硬
That date at the bar scam is pretty common in other parts of the world. I’ve heard of it in Eastern Europe too.
Correct, i had it happen in Budapest. Costs me 240 euros.
I have lived in many parts of China among the people. For most part, you are are right. Generally, they are good and inward looking people who struggle to make ends meet. The problem is the notion of cheating. In west and many parts of Christian world, cheating in any form is sin or crime that can drag you to hell or logically to prison or kill your worth of character as individual. In china they consider it as ultimate capitalistic art. It is as if they are outsmarting you and that you are dumb. No ethical nor religious or any legal premises can falsify that. It is part of the cultural upbringing. Even powerful Chinese government seems careless about it. Sadly, it kills the notion of China's greatness. That is why we see the scammers, cheaters, fakery in all forms, etc. Something Chinese people should take seriously. Because it kills the image of the country and the culture and breeds mistrust on Chinese products and services. As you said though, there are millions of good people with big heart. Very supportive and kind beyond average, but also let us never forget a little poisonous drop can contaminate the whole honey-jar. Thanks for the videos!
I disagree. In the West and most Christian world they believe it's their religion and their God will forgive them so long as their intentions are good. Also sinners can go through a process and just be forgiven for the worst crap. Places like Texas still believe the ends justifies the means.
To be honest I spend rather more money and buy genuine product mostly made in Europe or in other western country than the rubbish from China, there are so many china products in Europe, the quality is weak, just a bad copy, never buy food made in china, no china product can enter my home only if I need something for short usage and then it goes to rubbish bin and it must be cheap otherwise it is wastage of the money for me!
yeah...I used to admire Chinese culture but I realized that for the most part people have a very very different notion of what we call being honest in the west. MAybe government has a big role in this ideology but anyway, I hate it the feeling that it is money over everything.
Of course there are millions and millions of good, nice honest people around though.
@johan jc it's the upbringing and the nations value of a persons character. Atheist or not, they still would most likely have judeo-christian Values
Agree, even Chinese immigrated to USA, tend to cheat, scam overall.
"Violent crime is very low..."
Most localities consider burglary a "violent" crime even if nobody is physically injured.
The fake monk scam caught me off guard in New York.
Saw some kids getting scammed in Chicago too.
I've seen them in NY and I always ignore them. I never thought of them being scammers. After watching this, it all makes sense.
The fake monk scam I'd forgotten about that, whilst in Shanghai I think the monk actually put something into my hand and he was really smiley and nice and he then asked for money from me for the object I was like ok, but then I was like no thats too much and then it was just really awkward and annoying so I had to force the object back into his hand so I could carry on but he wasn't having it so eventually i had to place the object on the floor, quite clever.
Happened to me in Seattle, now I know 🤷🏻♀️
There is a variant of this. A person comes up to you and gives you a cheesy toy and a card that reads: "I'm from the [blank] school for the deaf. If you want to support us with X money we will give this thank-you-gift."
What a bloody awful place wearing a suit like that probably singles you out I would NEVER go in a bar. A bloody country full of con artists.
Lived in China for 5 years. All these are so true. The good and the bad.
if u believe this stupid white guy then i sorry u no know my contry
You don't have any pride in your country and your economy? Your nation is used to stealing intellectual property of others???. Come on! All your country wealth comes from stealing others? Anything you can steal? What a great nation. Occupying or claiming land and seas then take all the best of it also destroying it then leave. You think the world perceives you as a great nation? I doubt that. Your nation is the definition of "father of all illegal in asia". The "nature destroyers" and the "greatest money lender" with a cause and trap. You don't earn respect. Im sorry so much hate for your nation but your people and nation deserves it. You bully small countries because you can and you want to.Little did you know that what you are doing and actions makes other countries hate you and silently preparing for your threats because next thing you know war will come and i hope you have the balls to take what's coming and remember you don't have to fear an enemy who have nothing to lose. Thus you should be greatful because if the war comes your nation population will decrease dramatically yet another problem solve for your country of overpopulating. What a great nation. China will be remember as the greatest country in asia who make the world a better place for them to destroy along with russia. Lastly please dont take intellectual property of russia that country is your closest ally why did you have to stole intellectual property of them specifically weapons. What the heck. Hope you can still be trusted :)
@@chinadolls9424
but i know, unfortunately he is telling truth. if you tell truth, you will earn respect.
that's why he got respect from chiense people. of course not those communist fanatics.....
@Andy T it's ccp China.
not China. =)
first… Your videos are never too long. I just love how well you articulate everything. And filming on the street like that is really cool it's a good idea. Anyway you to stay awesome
Thanks for reminding us all, that we must be aware at all times, not paranoid, but just aware when we are travelling in unfamiliar places that we do not get taken
Shiit, was just planning on watching Collin's bargaining videos after this and then suddenly the guy appears in the video.
Haha, nice one
Deata I was surprised as Well
A Good surprise
whoa..yeah...right
Deata Torille!
Wild Deata spotted moi.
"Take a hike please"
😂😂😂😂
I've lived in Zhuhai for a year now and have had very little trouble. The local fruit sellers overcharged me a few times, I was new to the country and the currency and didn't realize at first. They were foolish though, if they hadn't I would have become a regular customer. Most Chinese street vendors will charge Westerners a bit more, but it's still cheap and by local standards I make a lot of money, so as long as it's not a huge amount I don't mind. Tantan is a hot bed of scammers. If you do use it, as soon as anyone mentions red envelopes, tells you it's their birthday or just comes straight out and asks you for money which happens a lot - just block them.