Is Beijing Safe in January 2026?

Outside the Summer Palace, Great Wall (Badaling), and other major sites, drivers of unmarked cars solicit tourists with seemingly reasonable fixed prices. Fares are often tripled at the destination, and drivers have been known to lock doors or become threatening when tourists refuse to pay the inflated amount.

How to avoid: Use only metered taxis with visible license plates and official signage, or book through DiDi which shows price and driver details upfront. Arrange return transport through your hotel or a pre-booked tour operator.

Friendly locals posing as university students practising English approach tourists near Wangfujing or Tiananmen and invite them to a traditional tea ceremony nearby. The experience ends with an exorbitant bill of several hundred USD for tea sampled, and some visitors report being blocked from leaving until they pay.

How to avoid: Be extremely wary of strangers who approach you in tourist areas and invite you to a venue. If curious about tea culture, research a reputable tea house independently, walk there yourself, and confirm all prices before consuming anything.

On heavily used lines such as Line 1 through the Tiananmen–Wangfujing corridor and Line 10, coordinated pickpocket teams operate with one member creating a distraction while another removes valuables. Tourists are consistently targeted at major transit hubs during peak hours.

How to avoid: Keep valuables in a front pocket or concealed money belt. Use a bag with zip closures worn on your front. Stay alert when boarding or alighting at crowded stations where passengers are pressed together.

Near Tiananmen Square and Wangfujing, friendly English-speaking students approach tourists claiming to want to practice English. They invite tourists for tea, and the bill arrives for hundreds or thousands of dollars. Intimidating staff prevent leaving without payment.

How to avoid: Politely decline invitations from strangers near tourist areas who want to practice English or show you around. This is the most reported tourist scam in Beijing. Walk away from persistent strangers.

Rickshaw drivers near the hutong areas offer free neighbourhood tours that always end at a calligraphy or traditional art shop with aggressive sales pressure. The driver earns commission on purchases, so the entire tour is designed as a delivery mechanism to the shop.

How to avoid: Book hutong tours through a reputable agency with a fixed itinerary specifying no shopping stops. Politely decline to enter unplanned shops and tell the driver upfront you are not interested in shopping diversions.