How it works:
- Opening: a street tout or driver tries to sell you a discounted ticket that can help you skip the queue.
- Set-up: this could either be a fake ticket or an inferior seat not worth the price.
Places to beware:
- Beijing: Summer Palace, Hall of Great Harmony
- Guilin: Impressional Sanjieliu
- Harbin: Harbin Ice and Snow World, Sun Island (Tai Yang Dao)
- Luoyang: Longmen Grottoes
- Shanghai: Shanghai Natural History Museum
- Suzhou: Suzhou Museum
- Xi’an: The Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses
What to do:
- Buy direct: from company/official counters and licensed retailers.
- Alternative: day tour platforms like Klook (best in Asia) – also has many bestselling tickets (e.g. Beijing Palace Museum, Shanghai Tower, Shanghai Disneyland, etc).