All the tea in China

In Beijing there is a scam known as the 'tea ceremony', it's aimed at western tourists. I had not heard of this scam until Teach and Travel China (TTC) warned all the interns about it on day one. I guess like most I thought it wouldn't happen to me....

My friend and I decided to spend one of our free days by going sightseeing, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square seemed a good starting point. I was amazed leaving the subway station as to just how many people were coming up to us to talk. Some trying to sell us stuff, some just to practice the little English they knew "hello, how are you?" etc. My friend took a photo of me just in front of the Forbidden City, moments later two ladies (in their early 40's I think) approached us, "hello are you from England?" one asked, to which I replied "yes I am, but my friend is from America". They seemed very excited, they told us how they were from South China and were visiting Beijing for the weekend.

It was a particularly cold day, and after a minute or so of talking one of the ladies said they were about to go for a coffee if we would like to join them, "we can practice our English some more" she said. It seemed a reasonable request, plus my friend and I were also very cold and the prospect of a nice cup of coffee seemed very appealing.

We walked down a street not far from Tiananmen Square and eventually came to this little tea shop, "shall we try here?", one of the ladies asked, my friend nodded and in we went. Next thing I knew, I was in this private room with my friend and the two ladies, we were sat around a table which an array of teas laid out before us. I tried to read the menu but the waitress snatched it out of my hand. Then she spoke in Chinese, the ladies translated saying that it was traditional to try all the teas before picking the one you would like a pot of. I know very little about Chinese traditions but agreed to let the waitress do what she had to do.

We tried ten teas in total, all unique and all very enjoyable. Though each 'taster' came in a little tiny cup, possibly half the size of a shot glass you might see in a Western bar. We agreed to have three pots, picking our favourites, we sat for an hour or so and chatted. We discussed the differences between Western and Eastern life, and the discussion flowed as if we had known the ladies for years. Then it was time to go, one of the ladies asked for the bill.

Upon being presented with the bill, she looked stunned and exchanged a few remarks in Chinese with the manager before passing the bill for me to inspect. It was just under 5000RMB (£500), I thought back to what TTC said and turned to my friend, we both looked at each other and in unison we uttered "Tea Ceremony". 

So instantly I thought, all four of us had been stung and been caught out. My friend passed me a note scribbled on a napkin with black biro, "they're in on it". Of course, TTC had warned that two ladies would approach Westerners and ask if they wanted to go for tea and it would all be a scam, a bill of an astronomical value would then be presented at the end of the tea drinking. But what were we to do? Luckily, I had the number of the TTC and my mobile phone, so I explained to the manager that I didn't have that sort of money and needed to call my friend who would be able to help me.

TTC told us to sit tight, they would be there soon and not to pay the bill. I explained to the ladies that we had friends who could help but for some reason they wanted out so they paid their half of the bill using a credit card. As she handed over the credit card, she nearly burst into tears at the thought of paying 2500RMB for three pots of tea, well one and a half pots of tea. Was she acting? If so, it was a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination!

After the ladies went, we were left in the room for a good half an hour before TTC turned up. They exchanged heated (Chinese) words with the manager and he eventually left the room. "You will have to pay something, as the place is legit. The menu has all the prices on it" - Oh yes, the menu that was snatched from my hands upon entering the room! After a couple of minutes of negotiations, the manager agreed to let us leave if we paid 800RMB between us. TTC advised it was the lowest amount he would accept so reluctantly we agreed to pay. 

The bill broken down showed we were to be charged a room hire fee, and 35RMB (£3.50) for the little tasters of each tea plus 350RMB (£35) for each pot of tea. That is before a more reasonable (did I really just put that?) price was agreed.

So basically I paid £40 for some tea, I was that guy! The moral of the story? Don't trust anyone! But I guess if nothing else it does make for a nice story....

Me outside the Forbidden City, moments before being scammed!