A quarter of a million Chinese spent at least a billion rubles in St. Petersburg in a year. The city did not see this money. Market participants talk about a small but strong mafia.

Alexander Petrosyan/Kommersant

In terms of Chinese tourist traffic, the northern capital is second only to Moscow and, of course, the Far East. Over the past year, 225,000 Chinese arrived in the city on the Neva only within the framework of a visa-free exchange. In May this year, according to tour operators, more than 15.5 thousand tourists from China visited Moscow and St. Petersburg. They check into hotels, walk, eat, buy souvenirs and jewelry. That's just their money does not settle in the city budget. Spinning on the shadow St. Petersburg market, the yuan returns to the Celestial Empire, and sometimes does not leave it at all.

Bill and Tip - in China

The city has dozens of restaurants catering to Chinese tourists. Even if we do not talk about small chufalnye on the outskirts, only in the center are striking "Chinese Court" on Labor Square, "Tang Zhao" on Izmailovsky, "Compass" on the Griboyedov Canal. Such establishments belong to the Chinese. This does not mean that a native St. Petersburg resident will not be able to get there, but only a tourist from the Middle Kingdom, who arrived as part of a group, can count on special payment conditions. In Compass, for example, it turned out that money can simply be transferred to a manager's card in China on account of a future lunch. The main thing is to do this in advance so that the cardholder has information about the transfer of funds.

Apparently, this is common practice. “They work according to the scheme: I feed your groups here, and in China let someone give this money to my sister,” says Victoria Bargacheva, head of the St. Petersburg Association of Chinese Language Guides and Interpreters. “It turns out cheaply, sometimes about 30 yuan per person for lunch (about 250 rubles).” It happens that a group of 50 people is issued a check for 500 rubles, or even just something like an expense order. How this affects tax revenues to the budget is a rhetorical question.

Experts say it's all about traditional Chinese tastes. “One time they can try something out of curiosity, go in a huge crowd to a restaurant on Nevsky Prospekt, order a steak for each,” says Leonid Garbar, head of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers in the Northwest. - But we are talking more about those who came from Hong Kong, Shanghai, that is, cities open to Europe, and not from a million-plus village. The rest will initially choose Chinese food and Chinese restaurants, especially if there are agreements with them in advance.” At the same time, according to Leonid Garbar, in general, the tourist flow from the Celestial Empire does not have an impact on the urban restaurant landscape, and the expert does not notice the Sinicization of the market.

According to Bargacheva, often at restaurants they keep a semblance of exchange offices, where they exchange yuan for rubles. The emergence of Internet banking and the development of mobile applications have made this service less popular. However, at one time, participants in the tourist market recall, in the restaurant near the Lion's Bridge, the tour leaders, as if in a cell, kept funds, not wanting to often carry cash across the border.

Opaque amber

Even more indicative is the situation with souvenir shops. The host country, as a rule, again, the Chinese, create among tourists something like a cult of amber products. At least some of the jewelry comes to Russia from the same China: raw materials are purchased in Ukraine and Kaliningrad, processed in the Celestial Empire, and then transported to St. Petersburg, where they are sold at a crazy extra charge.

The most notable specialized store is located at Obvodny, 108. The owner is the owner of one of the largest tour operators in China "Efensin" Han Te. The defense against strangers is kept here no weaker than on the Great Wall in the film of the same name with Matt Damon. The correspondent of Fontanka was refused, under the pretext that the store is currently operating in the corporate service mode. During a short conversation with a security guard, three custom-made tourist buses with guests from China accumulated at the store.

It turned out no better with the Skazka souvenir shop on Aptekarskaya Embankment (owner Zhang Yu). Again, an unproductive dialogue took place with the security guard, who was clearly not ready for the appearance of a lone buyer. The correspondent was told that there was a stock count in the empty store, although it was difficult to notice this in the general atmosphere of the siesta in the hall. In addition, the security guard asked a question, quite strange for retail: “Who told you about our store?”. The economic theory is dry, and, apparently, for the "Fairy Tale" it is by no means advertising that is the engine of trade.

The daily turnover of large souvenir outlets in St. Petersburg, owned by the Chinese, can exceed 20 million rubles. At the same time, in the official reporting there are figures of several thousand, and in Smolny they know that cash receipts are not knocked out in stores.

In addition, the same scheme is used as in restaurants: even in China, tourists leave a certain amount in the form of a kind of deposit, and in Russia they may no longer think about paying for goods. Falling budget revenues are difficult to estimate accurately. The profile committee estimated that the average tourist leaves 40 dollars a day for souvenirs. Considering that the Chinese spend at least two nights in St. Petersburg, $18 million a year accumulates - more than a billion rubles, which, in fact, have not left China. Approximately this amount may escape the attention of the tax authorities. And this is without taking into account restaurants and expenses for.

Other Chinese shops - in the interval from the "Tsar's Palace" to "Tsar's Amber" were found on Blagodatnaya, Orlovskaya and Michurinskaya streets.

Approximately 150 thousand people out of 225 thousand arrived from the capital to St. Petersburg. With the arrival in the city of Petra through Belokamennaya, their solvency is already falling, and on the spot it turns out that, again, Chinese restaurants and merchants earn on tourists. However, according to the general manager and owner of the Helvetia Hotel, Yunis Teymurkhanly, hostels that accommodate visitors and premium stores also benefit. “A mass tourist from China is a “shuttle trader,” the expert says. - He comes to buy everything, on which he can then earn money. Not without reason in DLT all price tags are duplicated in Chinese.

Labor exchange

There is another interesting observation related to Chinese restaurants and shops in St. Petersburg - their activity in the recruiting market. She can either speak of gray schemes of labor migration, or the true extent of the expansion of the inner Chinese empire in the city. LLC "Avinant" Zhou Jingfang (restaurant "Compass") on the website of the city employment center is looking for 24 employees, including 13 chefs. Three Chinese companies registered at Galernaya 28 are recruiting 40 people. Hu Liqiang's Avrora LLC (Tang Zhao Restaurant at 1 Izmailovsky Street) has become even more roaming, which needs 52 employees (38 cooks). In Aurora itself, they explained their appetites by the expansion launched this year - in addition to Tang Zhao, they have a restaurant in the Gallery shopping mall, and another one is being built in Peterhof.

In theory, the following scheme is seen. Vacancies are opened with not the most favorable conditions (19-20 thousand rubles for each of these positions). If the Russians do not fill these vacancies, there is a basis for applying for quotas for Chinese employees. In the future, these permits can be disposed of depending on the true plans of the company: to transport acquaintances, to sell, and the like. The Committee on Labor and Employment emphasizes that the vacancy must remain unclaimed by Russians for 30 days in order for the employer to have grounds for applying. After that, an analysis is carried out, and in case of a positive conclusion, officials issue permission to attract foreigners. Quotas for migrants from China, as they say in Smolny, are not selected, and they themselves are being reduced - from 2,676 people last year to 1,460 in 2017. “The largest number of employees in 2016 was involved in the catering sector: a chef, a cook, a manager in catering and hotel services,” the committee says.

Limitless Monopoly

According to an agreement between Russia and China, tourists can enter for 15 days on visa-free lists in the amount of 5 to 50 people (Rostourism proposes to allow this for groups of 3 people). Under the agreement, a specialized information system (SIS) was created, which grew out of a data exchange system between insurance companies (and still performs this function). Initially, it was developed and maintained by SK World Without Borders LLC (now EIK MBG). In March 2016, Rostourism signed a service contract for 1.7 million rubles with another company, MVK Service LLC. Until the fall of 2016, Tatyana Vvedenskaya, the wife of the ex-deputy head of Rostourism Ivan Vvedensky, was listed as the founder. He is also the deputy head of the non-profit partnership "World Without Borders" of the same name with the developer. Judging by SPARK, the director of the NP was also Irina Yartseva, who held the position of head of the manager of Rostourism.

Chairman of the Board of the Association for the Promotion of Russian-Chinese Tourism Yuri Tsurkan argues that for many years the segment of receiving Chinese tourists has been practically monopolized, and even now newcomers are strongly recommended to join the NP if they want to get into the SIS and capitalize on the growing tourist flow. It is the partnership that has developed which is now being implemented at the state level, and also supports the introduction of a new specialty of an escort for Chinese groups. Fontanka's interlocutors from among the members of the NP link Tsurkan's claims with an attempt to take as much market share as possible.

“Our task is to avoid any associations,” says Andrey Mushkarev, head of the St. Petersburg tourism committee. - No one is obliged to work through them, as well as to get into a specialized information system, this is simply not spelled out in any regulatory document. Now we are launching the process through our city tourist center, where it will be possible to draw up lists for receiving tourists, we will declare them.”

In total, according to the Federal Tourism Agency, in 2016 almost 1.3 million guests from China came to Russia, their number increased by 15%. Alexander Maklyarovsky, head of the inbound tourism department at KMP, believes that only 15% of the Chinese tourist flow can be called transparent, the remaining 85% is in the shade. “A strictly defined circle of companies of Chinese origin work with them, withdrawing money back to China,” the expert says. - Tourists are sold quasi-cheap tours, but these packages do not include many things that you have to buy on the spot. As a result, they bring in more money than "expensive" tourists from Australia or Brazil, only not to the Russian state, but to those who provide this non-transparent system. It harms the professional community. In fact, there are systems on the market that are self-contained, let’s say, small peaceful mafias for now.”

Chinese tourists are an inevitable attribute of megacities, where there are at least a few world-class attractions. At the beginning of the 2000s, an agreement was concluded between Russia and China on a visa-free regime for short tours, which made Moscow, St. Petersburg and several other regions important destinations for Chinese travelers. Add to this the fall of the ruble in 2014, the cooling of relations with Europe and America, and the growth of China's prosperity - and you get the Hermitage in St. Petersburg packed with Chinese on weekdays and Red Square, where Chinese speech sounds louder than Russian.

Every year, Russian media write that the tourist activity of Asian countries is breaking records, that this year there are themed tours from China dedicated to 1917 and the October Revolution to the Russian economy, that Chinese buyers are making checkouts for luxury stores and participating in the resale of Yeezy sneakers. In general, optimism is justified: according to the statistics of the Federal Tourism Agency for 2016, more than 1 million Chinese visited Russia (Finland is in second place with the same 1 million). However, some experts believe that most of the money that the Chinese spend in Moscow remains in the shadow sector of the economy or returns to China, because it is mainly Chinese businessmen who serve Chinese tourists in Russia.

Who comes to Moscow?

Anna Sibirkina

Deputy Director of the World Without Borders Tourism Association, Head of the China Friendly Program

“The Chinese are the most traveled nation in the world largely because they are the most numerous. But there are also many cultural factors: domestic tourism is very popular in China, people regularly travel to other provinces. The fact that among them a large number of pensioners is also due to cultural characteristics. For a long time in China there was a law “One family - one child”, so parents tried to invest in their children as much as possible, educate them and give them everything: an apartment, a car and education. After the children grew up, they traditionally began to take care of their parents.

Mass tourism to Russia from China appeared in the early 2000s, when an agreement was signed on visa-free travel, which is why most tourists come in groups. The Russian destination is popular due to its geographical proximity, low prices and good relations between the two countries.”

Victoria Levitskaya

Orientalist, translator from Chinese

“Most Chinese are very poor and cannot afford to go abroad. The stratum of the middle class and very wealthy people in China is very small. The very rich come on their own, hire translators, guides and go in small companies. Tourists of the middle class often travel by bus - you can see their crowds on Red Square with cameras.

Anna Stepanova

Guide - interpreter from Chinese

“Russia has become a popular destination because with the fall of the ruble, it has become cheap here. The Chinese are attracted by mystery: Moscow is far and unusual for them, so if they have a lot of time in retirement, then why not go here. Chinese tourists are also different. Some go to look at the communist legacy, they admire Putin and think that Russia and China are friends. There are those who buy luxury tours, or just businessmen who have already been everywhere and now come to Russia.”

How are Chinese tourists different from the rest?

Sibirkin:“If we talk about tourist groups, they are maximally geared towards All Inclusive. They always have a guide with them. Chinese citizens do not always know the history of other countries, Red Square for them is a place that is associated only with Lenin and Stalin. They have trouble with other details.

The key point is food. At 12 o'clock, almost all of China goes to dinner en masse: food is exclusively on schedule, the cult of food and catering reigns there. Many guides have a saying: "A Chinese group has arrived - there will be a drought." You have probably seen that many Chinese people walk around with bottles of water or thermoses: they constantly drink water and teas. This is due to traditional medicine: they believe that warm water promotes all physiological processes.

But due to the fact that the level of culture and education among Chinese tourists is very different, there are oddities - some cook noodles in teapots. They have a completely different attitude towards cleanliness and dirt: when they eat, they can throw garbage from the table to the floor, because it is convenient. It is also important to know that the Chinese are quite disciplined and if you point them to some things, they will obey.”

Irina Grishina

Sinologist guide

“Unlike European tourists, they strongly respect the USSR and the country's communist past. This is largely due to the fact that the Soviet Union helped China. They consider us a friendly people. The key difference from all other tourists is the constant presence with a guide. If European tourists can buy one or two excursions for the whole trip, then the Chinese are always on excursions.”

Daria Zhdanova

MSPU student, sinologist, works as a guide

“In autumn, I was a guide for tourists from Taiwan - and they saw the first snow. It is clear that in Moscow it’s not God knows what, just a small croup is falling. But they were simply amazed, later they told how cool it was. True, when a real snowstorm began a few days later and Moscow fell asleep, they were disappointed in the snow.

Sibirkin:“They go to Moscow for what they once heard about: Red Square, Lenin, the Mausoleum. They are very happy about the opportunity to attend Russian ballet - they have a reverent attitude towards Russian culture and music. They love the metro, visit the Novodevichy cemetery, watch all the big buildings. They know "Bunker 42" on Taganka, and they are very interested in all excursions dedicated to the Soviet period. But you can’t drag them to museums of modern art or some newfangled shows, because Chinese tourists are terribly conservative.”

Stepanova: “Tourists have different groups and routes. For example, there is "Red China" - these are tours to places of the Soviet past. They go to the Mausoleum, go to Lenin's homeland, and on Red Square they go to the cemetery where political figures are buried. We also take you on a sightseeing tour: it is always Moscow State University, Victory Square, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and Kutuzovsky Prospekt. Few people go to the Tretyakov Gallery, this year, for example, there has never been a group there. In the Pushkin Museum - more often. Therefore, the main museum is the Kremlin, and the Armory is there.

Most of all, tourists are surprised by the structure of the city: a lot of traffic jams, wide roads and the absence of mopeds and motorcycles. Many people like monumentalism, Stalin's Tverskaya and skyscrapers. They are pleasantly surprised by the friendly Russians - before the trip, they think that very gloomy people live here.”

Where else do tourists go?

Souvenir shop "Heritage" in GUM

Souvenir shop "Zhostovo" in GUM

Banquet hall in "Bunker 42"

© Bunker 42

Restaurant "Three Wise Men" - a frequent stopover for groups of Chinese tourists

© wikimapia.org/Moscowich

Shop "Russian Souvenirs" on the Arbat

About illegal guides

Grishina: “Now there is a problem with illegal guides who tell all sorts of pearls about them. The difference between us and professionals is that we tell about the history of the country, and they sell amber and gold. But this problem is obviously not very important to our government, because no matter how much we talk about it, nothing changes. What needs to be done? It is necessary that only a citizen of the Russian Federation who has a license can work as a guide. And it is also important that the law not only exists, but is also enforced. Because now, for example, many Chinese guides work in the Kremlin through translation: they hire a guide with an unclaimed language, for example, Latvian, and go with him, and then the Chinese guide somehow translates everything to the group.”

What are they photographing?

Zhdanov:“I took a small group of Chinese students around Moscow: VDNKh, Victory Park, Park of Culture and Muzeon with Bryusov still standing there. Also were in the Tretyakov Gallery and Pushkin. They did not like museums - they liked walking around the city more. Red Square was especially fond of - there they arranged a photo shoot for 30 minutes. They were also very surprised by the Moscow metro, in which they took pictures literally at every meter. We went out with them only at the most beautiful stations, although they were ready to watch literally everything.

Chinese tourists take pictures of all the monuments they see along the way. Sometimes cafes and foreigners are also filmed - especially if they are standing in a crowd. It is difficult for me to talk about tourists in general, but the students with whom I went were not very interested in the history of places: for them, the main thing was just to take a photo. Probably in order to later post it on social networks.

Sibirkin:“The citizens of China are very connected - they have a large circle of friends and acquaintances, and photography is an opportunity to share and show off. Chinese social networks also play a big role - they have huge communities in which they instantly post photos. We took a selfie against the backdrop of the Nikulin Circus - and immediately posted it on WeChat. They love to shoot anything that is different from China. For example, white fair children - they constantly arrange photo shoots with my child, literally passing from hand to hand. In the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, after the influx of tourists from Asia, a rule was introduced prohibiting taking selfies with icons: they do not have such an attitude to holiness as we do. At the entrance to the territory of the Lavra, I need to specifically stipulate to them that it is forbidden to spit, litter, smoke and take selfies with icons here.”

What do they eat in Moscow?

Levitskaya:“We went to China News, they praised their cuisine, but they lack pepper, spices and glutamate. They don't understand borscht - there's no noodles there! In the evening they sat in the “Country that does not exist”, and they liked vodka; beer and wine - for them it is small, not held in high esteem. Vodka, nesting dolls, furs, jewelry, large-scale architecture and spiritual heritage - this is how you can describe the interests of the Chinese in Moscow.”

They don't understand borscht - there's no noodles there!

Stanislav Lisichenko

Owner of Chinese News restaurant chain

“The Chinese can only eat their own food, they do not perceive anything else at the physiological level - they simply feel sick from meat and potatoes. In Moscow, they eat in specialized Chinese restaurants - and even in serious hotels, for example, in the Azimut chain, Chinese breakfasts and lunches appear. Some enterprising travel agency owners open eateries that cater exclusively to Chinese tourists, such as the Fuda restaurant in MDM. Tourists also go to China News and always order strictly defined items: beef noodles, tofu cheese, steamed dumplings, fried pork noodles and smashed cucumbers.

Moscow - a city that attracts many tourists, including Chinese tourists. Therefore, in the capital, we organize excursions in Chinese.

Our tour guides - they are licensed professional guides in Chinese with many years of experience in the tourism industry. Our guides are not only fluent in Chinese, knowledge of the history and culture of the city, but also know all the subtleties of communication with tourists and guests from China.

Excursions for Chinese tourists in Moscow include the most interesting story of the guide, who will reveal the secret of our city, tell about the features of the architecture of past times.

Chinese tourists will be able to appreciate the beautiful monuments, the magnificent historical part of the great city.

For a more detailed sightseeing, you can create an individual route that allows you to cover all the interesting historical and significant, popular with tourists, modern places.

When ordering a tour in Chinese, you get

1. A well-planned excursion program adapted to the Chinese tourist.

2. High-quality transport service, punctuality and courtesy of the driver and guide.

3. The optimal route for visiting attractions, visiting museums without queues.

4. Convenient payment method.

Excursions for Chinese tourists in Moscow.

Tour of evening and night Moscow for Chinese tourists.

Night tour of Moscow for Chinese tourists

Moscow... Chinese tourist on Red Square	Excursion. ★★★ An excursion accompanied by a professional guide in Chinese is a unique opportunity to get to know the capital in all its beauty and diversity, enjoy the city landscapes, learn many interesting historical facts, and fall in love with this city forever! ★★★ We will drive along the famous embankments and streets of the historic city: Boulevard and Garden Rings, Kutuzovsky Prospekt; you will see the Bolshoi Theater and the Manege, Stalin's skyscrapers, the Arc de Triomphe, the golden domes of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the swan pond near the walls of the Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills, the Moscow State University building, the Luzhniki stadium. ★★★ At the end of the sightseeing tour you will walk along the famous cobblestones of Red Square, see the multi-colored domes of St. Basil's Cathedral, enjoy the magnificence of the panorama of the ancient Kremlin from the Sofia embankment of the Moskva River. The duration of the tour is 4-5 hours.
"Lights of Moscow" for Chinese tourists. ★★★ Excursion accompanied by a professional tour guide in Chinese - You will plunge into the sea of ​​luminous lights and learn all the secrets of the night capital ★★★ On the tour you will see St. Basil's Cathedral, admire the view of the Kremlin from the Sofiyskaya embankment, the panorama of Moscow from the Sparrow Hills, visit the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Novodevichy Convent, Poklonnaya Hill, Novy Arbat, Tverskoy Boulevard, Theater Square. ★★★ We will start our tour of Moscow at night from the central part of the city, drive along the beautifully illuminated Garden Ring, and also look at all the main sights of our beloved capital. The duration of the tour is 3 hours.
Tour of Red Square for Chinese tourists Excursion around the Kremlin for Chinese tourists Excursion around the Kremlin for Chinese tourists	for Chinese tourists. ★★★ The heart of Moscow, the main square of the city, stretching along the northeastern wall of the Kremlin. The Mausoleum, Lobnoye Mesto, St. Basil's Cathedral, Kazan Cathedral, the Historical Museum and other sights make it the place where all the guests of the capital go first of all. ★★★ We will start our walk from Manezhnaya Square, see the modern hotel, which was once the Soviet hotel "Moskva" and built under Stalin, look at the Manezh building, which was built by the outstanding architect Osip Bove, the famous creator of the Bolshoi Theater. Let's go to the Alexander Garden, see the main Eternal Flame guarded by the soldiers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment and find out that there are actually three gardens there. And, of course, we will visit Red Square itself with all its main attractions. The duration of the tour is 2-3 hours.

The cost of a sightseeing tour for Chinese tourist groups.

Price in rubles (₽) per person

Tell about yourself through Chinese gastro bloggers!

Chinese tourists traveling in groups and individually, on trips, most of all like:

LOOK at the sights SHOP goods and souvenirs TASTE the local cuisine

And most of all they like to repeat one after another - effect "word of mouth" in China is driven by all sales!

Therefore, a story about your restaurant, hotel, club or shop from the lips of Chinese bloggers, popular in China, is the easiest and most effective (in terms of cost / speed of return) tool to attract Chinese travelers.

How will it be implemented?

Several top Chinese food bloggers with over 30 million followers in China will travel, watch, buy and taste our hospitality!

Bloggers will continuously post everything they see, their emotions on their blogs:

And also at specialized tourism forums in China, where, in addition to tourists, representatives of Chinese travel companies receive information.

Where will bloggers go / visit / look?
To you!

Do not miss the opportunity to fit your business into the schedule of a Chinese tourist who will follow the bloggers in the footsteps of his publications!

THE COST OF PROMOTION OF YOUR RESTAURANT, SHOP, HOTEL OR CLUB INCLUDES:

Visited by bloggers one day from staying in your city Write a review/description on three social networks: WeChat, Weibo, Youku Write an extended review for travel portals in China Provide all materials in Chinese for later use

How will your Chinese customers find you?

We will register an account for you in the most popular messenger/social network WeChat in China (the cost of the blog tour includes the registration of one service account).

The description of your business, address and contact details in a WeChat account will allow you to place a link to your account in blogger posts and easily find you for your Chinese guests.

All you have to do is answer to the requests of Chinese travelers!

Fear not, solo travelers speak English, so you don't need to learn Chinese.

In July-August 2017 (that is, quite recently), the digital agency CHINA SMM proved the effectiveness of working with Chinese bloggers not for the first time.

During this visit of the blogger to Russia, the task of attracting Chinese users for several Russian companies at once was solved:

Ginza Project restaurant chain;

Azimut Hotel;

DLT (the oldest department store in St. Petersburg);

United Confectioners is a branded retailer of the chocolate brand "ALENKA".

And these are not all the tools that we have at our disposal to develop your business with China!

Ctrip traffic: PC Homepage Page View 2 Million per day, APP Homepage Page View around 20 Million per day

Qunar: PC - 75 million monthly visitors and 34 million activated mobile app users per day

Elong: PC - 1M/day, APP 4M/day

Leading Chinese travel and ticket aggregators - multi-million daily coverage and great variability in advertising formats.

Make a request, we will prepare a personalized offer!