Tourist Scamming

Shanghai From a Tourist's PerspectiveThere exists a fine line between tourism and traveling. Tourism is simply traveling for recreational purposes, it is widely considered a leisure activity and should be thought of as such. On the other hand, traveling is the wider immersion of oneself into a foreign culture. MacCannell states that tourists seek authenticity in their experiences. I would have to disagree with this statement. Tourists may ultimately think they are seeking authentic experiences but they are approaching situations from an outsider's perspective.

NYU students in Shanghai are naively looking to become a local Chinese. These students actively seek out, what they think are genuine Shanghainese experiences, but no matter what we do we will never be able to have an authentic experience. We are outsiders living in a foreign place. We can think that speaking in Chinese to locals, eating with locals, and socializing with locals constitutes being Chinese but that simply isn't the case. Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't socialize with locals and try and make this experience as genuine as possible, but it will never be a true authentic experience. Ever. I just think we should all try to immerse ourselves in the culture, but to take things with a grain of salt.

In the short number of weeks we have been in Shanghai, two students on separate occasions, tried to have authentic experiences. Her first week here, a girl in the program eagerly agreed to a tea tasting with a seemingly nice local couple looking to practice their English. This is the start of a famous scam that preys on unsuspecting tourists looking to have a traditional tea ceremony with locals. For those of you that are unaware, you can visit www.teascam.com. This overzealous girl was eager to have an authentic experience but she fell victim to this practiced scam. I suppose it could have happened to anyone of us. But, no matter how active you are in immersing yourself with the local culture, remember this: you are an outsider and will never truly be a local. Recently a boy in our program was walking along the Bund in Shanghai when four “college art students” approached him to come to their art exhibit. A quick google search of “Beijing art scam” turns up hundreds of links describing the scam.

All I am saying is, enjoy your experiences but take everything with a grain of salt. As much as you want to have the most authentic experience possible, you never truly will. You aren't a local, you're a tourist for 4 months.