Nanjing Road and the first-time visitor traps

Shanghai is a safe city with very little street crime. What it does have, concentrated around Nanjing Road and the Bund, is a set of confidence tricks aimed specifically at tourists.

All of them have a common structure: a friendly approach, a social premise, and then a bill.

The tea ceremony

Someone strikes up conversation near a major sight, often claiming to be a student practising English, then suggests visiting a traditional tea ceremony. What follows is a large bill for inferior tea, sometimes enforced aggressively.

It also happens in Shanghai’s neighbouring water towns, where it is equally common. The defence is simple: decline invitations from anyone who approaches you. Nothing good begins this way.

The taxi meter

Unlicensed drivers at both airports and outside major hotels quote "flat rates" several times the meter fare. Use the official queue at airports, or a ride-hailing app.

In a licensed taxi the meter is on and printed receipts are available. If a driver refuses the meter, get out.

The rickshaw detour

Around the Bund and Nanjing Road, pedicab drivers offer short rides and agree a price to one destination, then take a long detour and demand far more at the end.

Agree the price and destination explicitly and pay on arrival. Better still, walk or take the metro.

The "art student"

A recurring approach in which someone invites you to see their gallery, where you face pressure to buy overpriced prints.

Real galleries do not recruit visitors on the street.

General rules

Nobody approaches tourists in China to be friendly without a commercial motive. This sounds cynical and it is broadly accurate in these zones.

Everything legitimate has a printed price. If price requires negotiation before you can see it, leave.

Verdict

Five minutes of reading saves an unpleasant afternoon.