Why are Chinese tourists often ripped off both when traveling domestically and abroad? Recently, Chinese citizens can travel to Russia visa-free. According to embassy statistics, there were about 800 incidents in 2023 (accounting for 16% of tourist safety incidents), about 1,300 in 2024 (a 62% increase, due to strict border checks from the Russia-Ukraine conflict), and over 1,500 are expected in 2025 (due to the visa-free effect, with tourist numbers rising from 1 million in 2024 to 1.5 million). On Xiaohongshu, there are over 3,000 posts on "extortion during Russia travel." Similarly, in 2025, the number of Russian tourists visiting China is expected to be about 1.5–2 million, and Russian tourists in China enjoy high safety, with almost zero extortion incidents—far better than the reverse.

The reason is: Chinese tourists are seen as "walking ATMs" around the world because they fit all the preferred conditions of scammers and exploiters: they have money (top three in global per capita spending), dislike trouble and are afraid to fight back, face extreme information asymmetry (language barriers, unfamiliar with local laws, heavy reliance on mobile phones/Alipay), value face and love to share photos (posting on social media is more important than defending their rights; will delete videos if threatened), and whether joining tours or traveling independently, they love bargains (cheap tours, shady guides, street vendors, group bargaining), and tend to move in groups and appear in crowds. All of these are culturally driven, and if you think about it, this is the "chives" (easy-to-exploit) culture.

As a result, in the global tourism food chain, Chinese tourists are currently stuck in the most awkward, most easily exploited layer: "wealthy, but the easiest to scam; conspicuous, but the least likely to fight back." This is the fundamental reason why the whole world—especially third-world countries—see Chinese tourists as "premium fat sheep." If Western tourists are robbed, it's international news; if Japanese or Korean tourists are scammed, it's a diplomatic incident; but if Chinese tourists are extorted, it's just a minor travel episode—there will be another busload tomorrow.