Mark, as I read about all the potential scams, the ones you describe are prevalent as well (tea house, club, etc., grossly overcharge, then I assume threaten you with either violence or report to the police to get you to pay). I never got beyond chatting for a while with some lovely young girls out in the open among thousands of other people, so didn’t find out what actually happens. The tourist premium you describe is kind of a scam, not sure if your guide was just laying off his cost on your bill, or the real cost was actually 25c. I guess that’s just expected everywhere, maybe even here in a way - if you’ve ever taken a wine tour of any kind through Napa, there’s a good chance the guide/driver took you to at least one place where he gets a kickback from purchases you make. I had that happen on a corporate outing sponsored for some customers who were visiting. I could see the hard sell and obvious linkage between the guide and the “winery” (a storefront wine tasting outfit off Healdsburg square that no longer exists). I tried to kick my friends under the table, but when the VP of a large Silicon Valley tech company (who is your boss) falls for it, you keep your mouth shut
The Forbidden City art scam worked like this (for me): I was inside the FC, i.e., inside the paid admission walls. Went through it from south to north, then turned back to get out the front entrance. As I was wandering through the grounds, and attractive young lady found me, started talking (obviously) in near perfect english, then told me about a student art show they were having. I was pretty much done for the day, just trying to kill jet lag, so agreed to look at it for fun. We went through a large wooden door to another courtyard, and then into a decent size art gallery/shop, with stuff plastered on the walls all over. She gave me her pitch about some of the art being done by professionals and teachers, and some of it being done by students, and that sales would contribute to funding the art school. I’m not stupid, and am pretty darn skeptical. Had actually already dealt with a couple of similar pitches outside the FC on the public street. But being located inside the walls seemed to give this a little more authenticity - and this wasn’t some popup art stand on the street, like you see in Paris, it was a large, fully equipped room, with tons of stuff up on the walls, clearly not something you could do even overnight. As I said, I bought something that was nice to look at as a Xmas gift for my son’s Chinese gf. Overpaid, and it was certainly a print, not an original, now that I understand the scam. So instead of buying an airport souvenir, I bought a Forbidden City souvenir for a few more bucks. Thing is, there were much more expensive pieces in there, and much more sophisticated sales guys (adult, well dressed men) hanging around to up-sell someone who might fall into the trap of believing they were looking at real art.
Couple of web sites that outline the most common scams:
http://www.tour-beijing.com/blog/china-travel/tourist-traps-in-china/top-10-tourist-scams-beijing/
If you look Chinese I assume they would never approach you. Westerners (or any non-Chinese) are the targets.
Different cultures have different expectations, obviously. American culture is very trusting, I’m unusual having spent a lot of time throughout South America bargaining for everything and dealing with that different culture. If you do move here, get ready to see people trying to bargain for products with the Costco cashier Seriously, I’ve seen it.