7 Tourist Scams in Guilin

You're strolling along West Street in Yangshuo when two friendly young locals approach, ...

You're strolling along West Street in Yangshuo when two friendly young locals approach, complimenting your outfit and asking where you're from. After a few minutes of chat, they suggest you join them for a 'traditional Chinese tea tasting' at a nearby tea house. The tea comes in tiny cups and the experience feels cultural and authentic. Then the bill arrives: 800-2,000 RMB for what amounted to a few sips. The staff blocks the door if you protest. As r/china users confirm, this is China's most widespread tourist scam, and Guilin's tourist areas are prime hunting grounds.

You step out of Guilin North Station with your bags and unlicensed drivers immediately swarm you, ...

You step out of Guilin North Station with your bags and unlicensed drivers immediately swarm you, quoting 200-300 RMB for a ride to your hotel in the city center. A legitimate metered taxi would cost 50-80 RMB for the same trip. If you take the bait, the driver may also route you through commission-paying restaurants or hotels. Some r/china travelers report being driven to remote spots where the driver's associates appeared and demanded additional money. The scariest part is there's no meter, no license, and no accountability if something goes wrong.

You rent a bicycle to explore the countryside around the Yulong River.

The rental shop demands your passport as a deposit instead of cash. When you return the bike hours later, the owner claims there's new damage — a scratch on the frame, a bent spoke — and refuses to return your passport until you pay 500-2,000 RMB for 'repairs.' Some shops use duplicate keys to move or sabotage the bike while you're swimming at a river stop. Without your passport, you're trapped. Redditors on r/china call this one of Yangshuo's most infuriating scams.

You've booked a Li River bamboo raft experience for 216 RMB.

After merging into a coach of 80 tourists, you're shuttled to the dock where your raft driver casually mentions that for an extra 100 RMB you can ride a raft 'without a noisy motor' and stop for photos with a cormorant fisherman. If you decline, your raft speeds through the best scenery without stopping. Twenty minutes of your ride is eaten up by photo-op upsells. As travelers discuss on r/travel, the whole operation is designed to extract maximum money — the 'premium' experience is just what the basic ride should have been.

You hail a taxi in Guilin and pay with a legitimate 100 RMB note.

The driver takes it, makes a quick hand movement below the seat, then turns around holding a wrinkled bill and says 'this is fake, give me a real one.' He's palmed your real note and swapped in a counterfeit. Now you're out 200 RMB — the fake bill plus the replacement. As r/china users explain, this switch trick is one of the oldest scams in Chinese cities and targets anyone paying with large bills. The 100 RMB note is the most commonly counterfeited denomination.

You tell your taxi driver you want to visit Moon Hill.

He shakes his head solemnly and says it's 'closed for renovation' or 'no access today.' But don't worry — he knows an even better place nearby, or maybe a nice tea house where you can wait. The attraction isn't actually closed; the driver simply earns commission from wherever he redirects you. Some r/china travelers report being told multiple attractions were closed in a single day, all conveniently rerouting to the same jade shop. It's one of Yangshuo's most frustrating cons because it sounds so believable.

Near the Li River or Elephant Trunk Hill, a young person introduces themselves as a local art ...

Near the Li River or Elephant Trunk Hill, a young person introduces themselves as a local art student and shows you beautiful landscape paintings they claim to have painted themselves. They offer you one as a 'gift between friends' or at a special student price of 200-400 RMB. The paintings are mass-produced prints sold wholesale for 5-10 RMB each. As an r/travelchina poster recounted, an American traveler in Guilin was suckered into paying 40 dollars for a crappy Guilin landscape painting because the 'artist' claimed he was a struggling student. The same paintings appear at every tourist site across China.