Every Wednesday we round up some of the more obscure news articles circulating Chinese media. This week we're looking at the tourist traps in Sanya and the small city in Hunan province celebrating their lack of money. Check it out below.

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It’s Tough to be a Tourist
Tourists are always getting ripped off around China, but down in Sanya things are getting out of control. On Jan. 28, a Weibo user called Luo Di submitted a post about his experience in a Sanya restaurant during Spring Festival. The user claims that he had to pay RMB4,000 for three dishes in a very middling restaurant recommended by a taxi driver. When he refused to pay the hefty bill, several “gangsters” approached him and threatened to hurt him if he didn’t provide the cash. His post quickly attracted a lot of attention from both the media and fellow netizens. A news channel in Hainan tried to track down the restaurant, only to find it was closed by the commercial bureau for investigation. This incident has led to a hot discussion on Weibo and many users are now sharing their similar experiences. According to a Weibo poll of Sanya tourists (2,282 people surveyed in total), 72 percent admitted that they had been ripped off in Sanya. One Weibo user, cupid, said that he had to pay RMB745 for a simple noodle dish in Gulangyu Island, Xiamen. Even famous actress Ma Yili chimed in on the discussion. According to her post, two of her assistants were forced to pay RMB800 in a Sanya restaurant for one piece of fish and an egg and tomato dish. Ouch! Have you had any similar experiences around China?

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Congratulations, You’re Poor!
Xinshao County, a small city in Hunan province, was recently listed as one of China’s poorest cities by the central government. What was their reaction? They’re celebrating of course! The local government posted an article on their website that reads, “Great News: After great effort for the past two years, we have finally succeeded in being included in the poor area list.” Are you confused by their reaction? Now that the city has been dubbed as one of China’s poorest cities, they’ll be funded with truckloads of money by the government to improve the town. We can’t help but wonder what “efforts” the town went to in order to be added to the list…