General Info

[StanBob]

Thanks, I tend to agree in my experience travelling stick to the big cities, but China is different the second tier cities are big 5-10 mill that's a lot of meet to chew on.

Talking about women gravitating to the big cities Shenzhen is the mother of all that right the entire city comes from elsewhere I read how is it? It'll be out of my way if I go this trip trying to stay away from Hong Kong money zones.

[AggieDad1]

Taxi card I realize now Thanks.

What do you think of this route for exploration.

April 1-15 Shanghai. Changsha - Chongqing. Chengdu.

April 15-30 Jinzhou. Shenyang - Changchun. Harbin - Dalian.

Is Shenzhen worth my time getting a bit rich? Beijing? I'm more a love tourist but do indulge now and again. Are they noticeably taller more beautiful in the north attitude tougher? How's weather in north late April spring jacket?

Overall looking for beauty and friendliness.

Can't really say much as I have not been to most of those cities. But in my travels in China it seems to me that the more beautiful women tend to gravitate to the bigger cities. I have had lovers from both Harbin and Dalian, but I met them in Beijing and Shanghai. None of the girls were really taller than the average Chinese woman but the two girls from Dalian were both very active lovers. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you will find that the Chinese standard of beauty does not match the western one. I have met some women who in China are considered very beautiful who I found to be not mt type.

Good luck and good hunting.

[StanBob]

Taxi card I realize now Thanks.

What do you think of this route for exploration.

April 1-15 Shanghai. Changsha - Chongqing. Chengdu.

April 15-30 Jinzhou. Shenyang - Changchun. Harbin - Dalian.

Is Shenzhen worth my time getting a bit rich? Beijing? I'm more a love tourist but do indulge now and again. Are they noticeably taller more beautiful in the north attitude tougher? How's weather in north late April spring jacket?

Overall looking for beauty and friendliness.

[AggieDad1]

What is "bring a taxi card for your hotel" ?

Hongqiao is about 11-12 km from the city centre is it a good idea easier to book my hotel close to People Square? Everyone knows in case. Any decent hotels 50 bucks range? Hostels?

I rarely taxi I take public buses in developing countries sometimes you got to ask for help push for an answer but its worth it I find both in savings and meeting the locals.

When you get to the Hotel you can ask for a "taxi card". The Taxi card has the hotel address on it in both English and Chinese. When you get into a taxi you show the card to the driver and most of the time the driver can understand and take you to the hotel. The problem in Shanghai is that a lot of taxi drivers are from the countryside and don't know the city very well or can't read mandarin. Of course if this is your first time visiting the hotel you want have a taxi card. Some hotel websites have the location in both English and Chinese so you can print the instructions and take them with you, or just take a picture to show the taxi driver. Since I have visited China many times and have many Chinese female friends I just send the address to one of my friends and have her send the address back to me in spoken Chinese via Wechat. That seems to work the best.

[StanBob]

LOL, newbie to China and wants to take a public bus. Forget about it. It will be confusing as hell where to catch it (likely no English signs), and you'll need to tell the driver in Chinese when you want to stop (no stop buttons on buses). The Chinese are not expecting foreigners to take the bus.

Just take a taxi & bring a taxi card for your hotel- make sure to go to the official taxi line and you'll avoid the huge scammers that try to pick you up in the arrivals lounge. Now, the regular taxi drivers may also try to scam you a bit by taking a long route, but it'll be no worse than 50 RMB extra, and since you are posting here, 50 RMB 'tip' should be no problem.

What is "bring a taxi card for your hotel" ?

Hongqiao is about 11-12 km from the city centre is it a good idea easier to book my hotel close to People Square? Everyone knows in case. Any decent hotels 50 bucks range? Hostels?

I rarely taxi I take public buses in developing countries sometimes you got to ask for help push for an answer but its worth it I find both in savings and meeting the locals.

[RobSH]

How the hell do I get out of this airport to my hotel after or around midnight.

I thought the Chinese were on the cutting edge no 24 HR metro.

I prefer bus there are two night buses apparently.

http://www.shairport.com/dmgjHE/index_234271677.aspx

Can someone give me detailed instructions which where to catch the bus around midnight or after at Hongqiao international and what are the drop off points hotels closest to cause I'll be tired as hell when I arrive. Last resort taxi are they scammers at the airport where to catch.

Maybe there's a link about late arrival?

Thanks.

LOL, newbie to China and wants to take a public bus. Forget about it. It will be confusing as hell where to catch it (likely no English signs), and you'll need to tell the driver in Chinese when you want to stop (no stop buttons on buses). The Chinese are not expecting foreigners to take the bus.

Just take a taxi & bring a taxi card for your hotel- make sure to go to the official taxi line and you'll avoid the huge scammers that try to pick you up in the arrivals lounge. Now, the regular taxi drivers may also try to scam you a bit by taking a long route, but it'll be no worse than 50 RMB extra, and since you are posting here, 50 RMB 'tip' should be no problem.

[StanBob]

How the hell do I get out of this airport to my hotel after or around midnight.

I thought the Chinese were on the cutting edge no 24 HR metro.

I prefer bus there are two night buses apparently.

http://www.shairport.com/dmgjHE/index_234271677.aspx

Can someone give me detailed instructions which where to catch the bus around midnight or after at Hongqiao international and what are the drop off points hotels closest to cause I'll be tired as hell when I arrive. Last resort taxi are they scammers at the airport where to catch.

Maybe there's a link about late arrival?

Thanks.

[Mahaba]

I have a question for the long time China travelers that also have visited the Philippines.

All else being equal, if you were offered an all expenses paid trip to either country, which would you choose and why?

I ask because I see some smoking hot Chinese women in this forum's gallery. However, attitude and performance is also important. So, what is the verdict?

Thanks.

[ImAFisher]

Just came back from a trip to China, and the internet situation seems to be getting more serious as many more popular websites have been blocked. Arrived and my normal VPN was not working, but luckily I had a website bookmarked which allowed me to find and access a VPN website to purchase and download one. Purchased Express vpn and did not run into further problems.

www.jumpthegreatfirewall.com/

Stay safe and make sure to get a working VPN before arriving. It will save you the headache.

[TomSf]

Team,

I am going to Zhongshan, China next month. What is the scene there? Anyone been there that can tell me what to expect with the woman?

[TomSf]

I am a Chinese American businessman in Shanghai and staying by East Nanjing Road. At night, men and women will aggressively approach me as they apparently can easily tell I am a foreigner. I do my best to blend in but these people are able to tell. Last night, I went for a foot massage (which was great) and on my way back to my hotel on Nanjing Road, I was approached by a lady who spoke good-enough English. She offered the same service as countless of others before her but since I had just experienced a good massage, I asked her how much was it for normal, non-sexual massage. That was my first mistake. She engaged me and gave me "recommendations" on where to get massages for locals. She insisted I go with her so she could show me places where I can get normal massages or sexual massages. She assured me that it was perfectly fine to just look so that I could go there tomorrow by myself. I figured, since I only had 1 credit card and 30 RMB on me nothing could really go wrong. Also, I was under the impression I was going to a general area with multiple venues. This was my second mistake. So, we get on this motorcycle taxi to a tall building in a seemingly OK part of the city about 5 miles away. As soon as we got there, she walked fast in front of me to guide me inside the building and then to an upper floor. At that point, I sensed she was taking me to a sexual massage place and not the regular massage place I was looking for and I politely told her that maybe we shouldn't waste time. But again, she insisted I just take a quick look and if I didn't like it, she would take me to the massage place. I said OK and followed her into this open apartment with maybe 45 not-very happing looking prostitutes. As soon as I got in, she asked me to sit down in one of the rooms in the back so that I could meet everyone..

Excellent post Rick Mont. We can all learn from that story. I am glad to read it because I am off to China next month. You are lucky you speak mandarin. It could have been worse if you could not understand what they are saying. Right when the mama says you can try and pay tomorrow. That is when I would've gotten the mama and told her you want to stay but you need to go to your hotel to get cash. That would have been a possible way out. To follow any tout in China with no money is just asking for trouble. There is no such thing as just look. I am surprised that they did not demand to pat you down. I usually bring a dummy wallet with me. After reading this story I will not forget it. The amount they were demanding was ridiculous and your experience is just scary. Thank you for sharing.

[The Guy]

I am a Chinese American businessman in Shanghai and staying by East Nanjing Road. At night, men and women will aggressively approach me as they apparently can easily tell I am a foreigner. I do my best to blend in but these people are able to tell. Last night, I went for a foot massage (which was great) and on my way back to my hotel on Nanjing Road, I was approached by a lady who spoke good-enough English. She offered the same service as countless of others before her but since I had just experienced a good massage, I asked her how much was it for normal, non-sexual massage. That was my first mistake. She engaged me and gave me "recommendations" on where to get massages for locals. She insisted I go with her so she could show me places where I can get normal massages or sexual massages. She assured me that it was perfectly fine to just look so that I could go there tomorrow by myself. I figured, since I only had 1 credit card and 30 RMB on me nothing could really go wrong. Also, I was under the impression I was going to a general area with multiple venues. This was my second mistake. So, we get on this motorcycle taxi to a tall building in a seemingly OK part of the city about 5 miles away. As soon as we got there, she walked fast in front of me to guide me inside the building and then to an upper floor. At that point, I sensed she was taking me to a sexual massage place and not the regular massage place I was looking for and I politely told her that maybe we shouldn't waste time. But again, she insisted I just take a quick look and if I didn't like it, she would take me to the massage place. I said OK and followed her into this open apartment with maybe 45 not-very happing looking prostitutes. As soon as I got in, she asked me to sit down in one of the rooms in the back so that I could meet everyone. I sat right next to her as I didn't want to get swarmed by these women but as soon as I sat down, she left to "get water" and the mama san asked me which one I thought was pretty. I told her I wasn't looking for sex at all and that they were all pretty. She then asked me what was my type, I said slim ones and she chose one and left me in the room with her. At that point, I was confused as to what was expected of me. The girl couldn't speak English and she did not exactly look happy to be there either. So when the mama san came back after a minute, I asked her what was I doing there. I told her again that I had no money. She said I could "try" a little and if I like then I could come back the next day and pay 400 RMB and then left. I tried to be nice to the girl and told her that I was more sleepy than anything else and that I wasn't a good prospect. After this, she called the mama san and they both left and told me she was going to get the scout that got me there in the first place. Then, to my surprise, two men came in the room with one man acting as the boss / bill collector and the other as muscle and shut the door close. Technically speaking, I could have taken on both of them as I am strong and skilled in fighting. However, there was no way to know who else was out there or if they had any weapons, plus I just didn't know how bad it could get if things got violent. So, I realized that I had to oblige to everything they said to get out of the situation. The bill collector demanded money for using the room and spending time with the girl. I told him I only had 30 RMB and I had explicitly told the scout and the mama san that I had no money on me. Then he said, the services were going to cost me 29,000 RMB and that I had to find a way to pay him. I remained calmed but acted nervous, I explained to him that I had no way to get cash since I wasn't carrying an ATM card but that he could try charging my credit card that had a limit of $3000. He then called a third person that came with a bag of point-of-sale machines and started swiping my card. After charging me 23,000 RMB, he said I would get a discount and to be careful in Shanghai. I said ok and I reminded him I had no money to get back to my hotel, so he asked someone in the front and got me 100 RMB for a taxi. I quickly left the premises escorted by the guy who came with the bag of machines and he was even talkative and friendly, he got the taxi and waved goodbye as if nothing had happened.

As soon as I got to the hotel, I called my credit card to report the incident and to dishonor all charges. The credit card company issued me another card and I am sure the scammers will not only get a single RMB out of me. Instead, they actually lost money by giving me 100 RMB for the taxi home. I am always cautious when I travel abroad and I am glad that my cautious plan of taking only 1 credit card and some cash out worked in this case. In almost 30 years of traveling internationally, I never had an experience as bad this one and this serves as a reminder that one should NEVER trust anyone approaching you on the street, especially in China. It's rather sad that authorities seem to turn a blind eye on this issue as there are numerous scouts on Nanjing Road approaching foreigners with the police present. I was lucky to not lose money and learn from the experience but I am sure many others are not. These practices stain the image of China and my hope is to contribute my story so that it can help others in avoiding scams.

Great report. Yeah, in shanghai never follow a tout. In a regular massage place, and even a sauna, you can leave money around and never worry about it. However, 100% of tours are crooks.

[Sammartin8935]

Traveling to China soon for the first time.

Can you recommend a working VPN for the iPhone that allows me to use Google, Google Maps, WhatsApp, Line, etc? Ideally free, but wouldn't mind paying for a month as long as it's working.

Connecting to public WiFi can open us up to a number of risks. When we connect to a public WiFi hotspot, we have no way of knowing whether the router has been configured securely. I would highly recommend you none other than Ivacy VPN to stay secure and browse safely especially when you are traveling.

https://www.ivacy.com/

[Midwestern]

I am a Chinese American businessman in Shanghai and staying by East Nanjing Road. At night, men and women will aggressively approach me as they apparently can easily tell I am a foreigner. I do my best to blend in but these people are able to tell. Last night, I went for a foot massage (which was great) and on my way back to my hotel on Nanjing Road, I was approached by a lady who spoke good-enough English. She offered the same service as countless of others before her but since I had just experienced a good massage, I asked her how much was it for normal, non-sexual massage. That was my first mistake. She engaged me and gave me "recommendations" on where to get massages for locals. She insisted I go with her so she could show me places where I can get normal massages or sexual massages. She assured me that it was perfectly fine to just look so that I could go there tomorrow by myself. I figured, since I only had 1 credit card and 30 RMB on me nothing could really go wrong. Also, I was under the impression I was going to a general area with multiple venues. This was my second mistake. So, we get on this motorcycle taxi to a tall building in a seemingly OK part of the city about 5 miles away. As soon as we got there, she walked fast in front of me to guide me inside the building and then to an upper floor. At that point, I sensed she was taking me to a sexual massage place and not the regular massage place I was looking for and I politely told her that maybe we shouldn't waste time. But again, she insisted I just take a quick look and if I didn't like it, she would take me to the massage place. I said OK and followed her into this open apartment with maybe 45 not-very happing looking prostitutes. As soon as I got in, she asked me to sit down in one of the rooms in the back so that I could meet everyone. I sat right next to her as I didn't want to get swarmed by these women but as soon as I sat down, she left to "get water" and the mama san asked me which one I thought was pretty. I told her I wasn't looking for sex at all and that they were all pretty. She then asked me what was my type, I said slim ones and she chose one and left me in the room with her. At that point, I was confused as to what was expected of me. The girl couldn't speak English and she did not exactly look happy to be there either. So when the mama san came back after a minute, I asked her what was I doing there. I told her again that I had no money. She said I could "try" a little and if I like then I could come back the next day and pay 400 RMB and then left. I tried to be nice to the girl and told her that I was more sleepy than anything else and that I wasn't a good prospect. After this, she called the mama san and they both left and told me she was going to get the scout that got me there in the first place. Then, to my surprise, two men came in the room with one man acting as the boss / bill collector and the other as muscle and shut the door close. Technically speaking, I could have taken on both of them as I am strong and skilled in fighting. However, there was no way to know who else was out there or if they had any weapons, plus I just didn't know how bad it could get if things got violent. So, I realized that I had to oblige to everything they said to get out of the situation..

First, sorry about your terrible experience. Second, thanks sincerely for taking the time to report your experience as a warning for others. Third, unfortunately, these kinds of scams are common in all large cities around the world, especially in areas where tourists congregate. This is why every monger needs to RTFF. The person that approached you is called a tout. About every other page on the Chinese forums, someone will report a tout or remind others about them. Other scam touts are people that come up to you while you are pub-hopping, and they want to take you to a lady bar. Once you get there and order a beer, a pretty girl (or two) will approach you and ask you to buy her a drink. You will say sure. But when you are ready to leave and ask for the bill, you will discover that her drinks are something like 2,000 rmb each. These places are known as black bars among the locals. Another scam tout is a girl approaches you and asks if she can practice her English with you. You say sure and she suggests a tea house. Sounds innocent enough. When you guys get there, she orders a tea set. When it's time to pay, the bill is something like 20,000 rmb. And less egregious scams are bait-and-switch girls on WeChat, CL, from pimps. And sometimes, when you get these girls into the room, they will ask you to pay first and then they ask you to shower. But while you are showering, they run off, sometimes with some of your belongings. And nowadays, there is some fear of using well known escort agencies. Last year, a dozen foreigners got jailed for 2 weeks in a sting operation that was going after a well known escort agency. The police had the communications between the johns and the agency, so they knew where to find the foreigners to arrest them. These foreigners were then jailed for 2 weeks because the police needed them to testify against the agency's owner and assistant. And nowadays, there are a fear of raids at saunas and even at MPs. You might be coming out of an MP, and the police may show up and ask you to admit to a handjob with a promise to go easy on you, but once you admit to it, they take to you jail for 2-12 days. A few years ago, a guy in Beijing refused to admit to getting a handjob, and the police beat him up. This is nothing unique to Shanghai. Stuff like this happens everywhere. But if you RTFF, you can learn some safe ways to enjoy some naughty fun in Shanghai. Though, nothing is 100 percent safe. Anyway, stay safe. And thanks for reporting.

[RickMont]

I am a Chinese American businessman in Shanghai and staying by East Nanjing Road. At night, men and women will aggressively approach me as they apparently can easily tell I am a foreigner. I do my best to blend in but these people are able to tell. Last night, I went for a foot massage (which was great) and on my way back to my hotel on Nanjing Road, I was approached by a lady who spoke good-enough English. She offered the same service as countless of others before her but since I had just experienced a good massage, I asked her how much was it for normal, non-sexual massage. That was my first mistake. She engaged me and gave me "recommendations" on where to get massages for locals. She insisted I go with her so she could show me places where I can get normal massages or sexual massages. She assured me that it was perfectly fine to just look so that I could go there tomorrow by myself. I figured, since I only had 1 credit card and 30 RMB on me nothing could really go wrong. Also, I was under the impression I was going to a general area with multiple venues. This was my second mistake. So, we get on this motorcycle taxi to a tall building in a seemingly OK part of the city about 5 miles away. As soon as we got there, she walked fast in front of me to guide me inside the building and then to an upper floor. At that point, I sensed she was taking me to a sexual massage place and not the regular massage place I was looking for and I politely told her that maybe we shouldn't waste time. But again, she insisted I just take a quick look and if I didn't like it, she would take me to the massage place. I said OK and followed her into this open apartment with maybe 4–5 not-very happing looking prostitutes. As soon as I got in, she asked me to sit down in one of the rooms in the back so that I could meet everyone. I sat right next to her as I didn't want to get swarmed by these women but as soon as I sat down, she left to "get water" and the mama san asked me which one I thought was pretty. I told her I wasn't looking for sex at all and that they were all pretty. She then asked me what was my type, I said slim ones and she chose one and left me in the room with her. At that point, I was confused as to what was expected of me. The girl couldn't speak English and she did not exactly look happy to be there either. So when the mama san came back after a minute, I asked her what was I doing there. I told her again that I had no money. She said I could "try" a little and if I like then I could come back the next day and pay 400 RMB and then left. I tried to be nice to the girl and told her that I was more sleepy than anything else and that I wasn't a good prospect. After this, she called the mama san and they both left and told me she was going to get the scout that got me there in the first place. Then, to my surprise, two men came in the room with one man acting as the boss / bill collector and the other as muscle and shut the door close. Technically speaking, I could have taken on both of them as I am strong and skilled in fighting. However, there was no way to know who else was out there or if they had any weapons, plus I just didn't know how bad it could get if things got violent. So, I realized that I had to oblige to everything they said to get out of the situation. The bill collector demanded money for using the room and spending time with the girl. I told him I only had 30 RMB and I had explicitly told the scout and the mama san that I had no money on me. Then he said, the services were going to cost me 29,000 RMB and that I had to find a way to pay him. I remained calmed but acted nervous, I explained to him that I had no way to get cash since I wasn't carrying an ATM card but that he could try charging my credit card that had a limit of $3000. He then called a third person that came with a bag of point-of-sale machines and started swiping my card. After charging me 23,000 RMB, he said I would get a discount and to be careful in Shanghai. I said ok and I reminded him I had no money to get back to my hotel, so he asked someone in the front and got me 100 RMB for a taxi. I quickly left the premises escorted by the guy who came with the bag of machines and he was even talkative and friendly, he got the taxi and waved goodbye as if nothing had happened.

As soon as I got to the hotel, I called my credit card to report the incident and to dishonor all charges. The credit card company issued me another card and I am sure the scammers will not only get a single RMB out of me. Instead, they actually lost money by giving me 100 RMB for the taxi home. I am always cautious when I travel abroad and I am glad that my cautious plan of taking only 1 credit card and some cash out worked in this case. In almost 30 years of traveling internationally, I never had an experience as bad this one and this serves as a reminder that one should NEVER trust anyone approaching you on the street, especially in China. It's rather sad that authorities seem to turn a blind eye on this issue as there are numerous scouts on Nanjing Road approaching foreigners with the police present. I was lucky to not lose money and learn from the experience but I am sure many others are not. These practices stain the image of China and my hope is to contribute my story so that it can help others in avoiding scams.