Hello everyone!
I just want to share my experience in a jade carving factory (as they claim).
Just a little info, Jade is prized rock in china used in feng shui and other purposes like jewelry, carvings etc. you can search online for more info.
Its really not a carving factory. ITS A TOURIST TRAP. I mean there is just one guy that carves in the entrance for everyone to see and they didnt really do that thing there. they claimed that the carving factory is somewhere else (its stupid, so to speak) and they keep on telling tourist over and over that its a government place and they say no tax etc.
so first things first they will give you a stub that looks like this.
behind it you can write the things you purchase and basically the tour guide will get commissions. Thats how the system works here. The FORCED shopping is a thing with Chinese tours and it sucks big time.
They will give you a presentation that they say is just 2 mins but it lasted at least 10 minutes and you have to stay in that place for 45 minutes (minimum and we stayed there LONGER!) instead of just staying longer at the tourist spots we want to see,
I just want to share my experience in a jade carving factory (as they claim).
Just a little info, Jade is prized rock in china used in feng shui and other purposes like jewelry, carvings etc. you can search online for more info.
Its really not a carving factory. ITS A TOURIST TRAP. I mean there is just one guy that carves in the entrance for everyone to see and they didnt really do that thing there. they claimed that the carving factory is somewhere else (its stupid, so to speak) and they keep on telling tourist over and over that its a government place and they say no tax etc.
so first things first they will give you a stub that looks like this.
behind it you can write the things you purchase and basically the tour guide will get commissions. Thats how the system works here. The FORCED shopping is a thing with Chinese tours and it sucks big time.
PS: this lady didnt tapped the glass. just the marble and jade example
i felt like the jade that she is holding is actually some sort of a stained glass kind.
and she is scared that the glass will give out the same sound
They will give you a presentation that they say is just 2 mins but it lasted at least 10 minutes and you have to stay in that place for 45 minutes (minimum and we stayed there LONGER!) instead of just staying longer at the tourist spots we want to see,
Im not saying that the place is bad. I actually enjoyed looking at the things on display. They offer a lot of things but also remember that since this is a tourist stop (forced shopping itinerary)
I do like Feng shui stuff but i would rather go to experts for this kind of things. I didnt touch anything at all for the fear that some thing might break (See reviews online) so i just looked.
This is how the place looked like outside. Its a nice place to look around in if you like arts and sculpture.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS PLACE
- Artistic carvings
- silk embroidery diplay (very few though)
- fake terracotta display outside
WHAT I DONT LIKE ABOUT THIS PLACE
- People are pushy, sales people are gonna follow your every move! like they keep on bothering us (INCLUDING THE PUSHY TOUR GUIDE)
- They will force you to touch something (i didnt fall for that)
- MISLEADING! Its not a jade carving factory! its a freaking store for goodness sake!
- The prices are very very expensive. (tourist price)
- You will not know if its real or not, They might claim its real, but your wont know if it is right? especially since most of the population are not really experts on this things (myself included)
- This place cuts our time short of the places we really wanted to visit.
- Forced shopping tour- this place was claimed by the tour to be a carving factory and they are not they are just a mere shop trying to get tourist to buy from them.
- They will keep on telling you that you can pay via card. etc
Overall i dont like this place and im happy that even if there are nice things on sale there i was not tempted to buy at all. I did a ton of research about tourist traps in Beijing. So i was pretty ready on what will happen,
TIPS:
- Just look around and dont touch anything you dont intend to buy.
- Since they will not let you stay in the van or tour bus just sit down and act not interested.
- just ignore their sales pitches (its kinda annoying really)
- You cant avoid this tours since this is STANDARD for tours to take you to a forced shopping trip.
- If you are in a budget and its so hard to resist unnecessary shopping during the tours bring just a little bit of money.
So thats it for this post. I hope you guys find this helpful and not be a victim of this tourist traps.
xoxo,
Therese
