Among Nanjing’s many specialties is of course the city’s selection of local food. From butcher to table, there is no end to the interest to be had when filling your stomach. However, cuisine is only the beginning of a long list of scams in which it is easy for you to end up as the one being slaughtered.
Snacks @ Confucius Temple
Risky from the get go, the many tempting and often delicious snacks around the infamous Confucius Temple in Nanjing are dubious in the extreme. With thousands to satisfy each and every day, it is very difficult to believe any guarantee of quality, while it is also not just the toufu which is stinky; so are the prices. For authentic Nanjing snacks, better to try around local residential areas.
Fortune Telling @ Jiming Temple
As the city’s top temple, so there are those present who would look to take advantage of spiritual needs. Often asking to look at your face or the palm of your hand to tell your fortune, scammers here will typically offer a first consultation for free, after which it will be virtually impossible to escape. Best to simply refuse any demands and temptations.
Hotels, Day Trips and Taxis @ Nanjing Railway Station
Not unlike many a railway station all over the world, Nanjing Railway Station is a magnet for fraudsters. Upon going through the ticket barrier at the exit, it is guaranteed to be approached with offers of cheap hotels, a day trip around Nanjing or most commonly, a taxi ride to your destination. No such taxis are licensed and the prices quoted are 50-100 percent over the odds. Make a bee line for the taxi queue or the metro; better still, next time, choose Nanjing South Railway Station that remains a well-managed and altogether less risky experience.
Antique Markets @ Confucius Temple and Chaotian Palace
Due to large tourist footfall thanks to their proximity to the attractions, many stalls herein sell Chinese antiques, most of which are fakes. Only a real antique expert shall be able to distinguish between the fake and the genuine. Coming across the latter would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Electronics @ Zhujiang Lu
Around the birth of the electronics industry, a multitude of individual shops and malls set up along Zhujiang Lu, offering every imaginable product and service. If the prices seem to good to be true, that’s because they are. For Zhujiang Lu is where you are most likely to buy refurbished or second-hand goods that have been repackaged as new.
Beggars @ Nanjing
Most big cities have beggars, and Nanjing is no exception. While some are no doubt genuinely in need, in our case, beware of anyone begging people passing by to make a donation to Hope Primary School. Check out the legitimacy of so-called charities online, and perhaps make a donation via an official website of the charity. Tricks employed by other beggars might also include the carrying of a fake disability certificate.
Memberships @ Hair Salons
Going to a hairdresser, it is very likely that your hairdresser will recommend services that you do not necessarily need; hair dye, perm etc. The next step will be to persuade you to join the salon’s membership program that includes all these services, and perhaps more, but perhaps not.
Part-time Job @ Model
Have you ever had a stranger come up to you saying that you are so beautiful or handsome that you have the potential to work as a part-time model? Were you then taken to a small company in some unknown building and asked to pay various fees to sign up? Were you then told to go home and wait by the phone for a call that never came?
Nanjing remains a wonderfully safe city, but it remains true that the majority of crime is financial in nature. Beware of scammers; don’t be careless and think it’s not a big deal, for they are very persuasive.
