Yang Yang, Shen Shuang, and the $23 tea lesson

It is needless to say that foreigners stick out in China; even easier to say that a lone Caucasian male walking by himself with a backpack might offer further distinction. This is how I came to meet Yang Yang and Shen Shuang.

I was walking alone in People's Square in central Shanghai, when the two of them stopped, introducing themselves in very good English as students from Beijing. If you have been to Shanghai you can probably stop reading because you have heard this one before; if you have not, please read on and enjoy my slight misfortune :)

Yang Yang (a 20 year old male) and Shen Shuang (a 25 year old female) asked me where I was from, what I was doing in Shanghai and proceeded to tell me that they too were visiting Shanghai, on a school trip from Beijing. They were spending the afternoon going to a tea tasting/ceremony that their professor had told them about. Asking if I had any further plans for the afternoon, they inquired if I wanted to join them. Having none, I obliged, thinking this would be somewhat of a unique cultural experience. We arrived at the teahouse which was a little off the beaten track and were directed to a small private room. Now my friends Andrew and Becky had forewarned me about certain scams in the city, including tea tastings where they invite you to try a variety of teas and then when the bill comes they have charged you an inordinate amount of money for each tea. Feeling slightly suspicious and moderately clever I asked in one of the few Chinese phrases I have learned 'how much is it?'. At this our private tea expert showed me a list, written all in Chinese but with the price of 30Y per person, or the equivalent of around $4.50 Canadian written on the side. Still holding on some reservations my Beijing friends assured me that they would pay their own way. This was enough to make me feel comfortable, as I was willing to pay $4.50 for tea and a unique cultural experience.

Six tea tastings later and after a short intermission of tea cookies the bill arrived. 1100Y or $170.00! Now what I had failed to realize, or had failed to be told was that the price of 30Y per person was actually 30Y per person, per tea! Plus a fee for the tea cookies! Plus a 'service fee' from our expert! I was now on the hook for $57.00 worth of afternoon tea and my unique cultural experience. My face must have went white when the bill arrived as I knew that I had left the house that morning with only 150Y ($23), with no debit card and no visa card. I was mortified that I did not have the money to pay my portion of the bill but my new student friends said they would gladly cover the difference. Embarrassed, I left the tea house and soon parted ways with Yang Yang and Shen Shuang, exchanging email addresses should I like to have them show Grace and I around in Beijing.

That evening I told the story to Andrew and Becky, my university friend hosts in Shanghai. They both laughed and were of the opinion that the 'students from Beijing' were in fact from Shanghai and likely worked for the teahouse, bringing unsuspecting and ignorant tourists in to pay inordinate amounts of money for a tea tasting. Becky then spoke of friends she has known that have been put in similar situations and have had to pay bills up to $300.

So I am glad my lesson in Shanghai street smarts only cost me $23, a price probably worth the story and lesson learned. Since that day, sure enough I have been invited to tea by 'students from Beijing' and an older Chinese man in various areas frequented by tourists. One thing is for certain, I am now once bitten and twice shy.


~Paul