This is not a snake at all, actually. It is a legless lizard, in the genus Ophisaurus, possibly O.harti, which is found in China. These lizards are often called "glass lizards" because of their shiny appearance and their extra-long tails, which are designed to break off very easily if the lizard is attacked, allowing the lizard to crawl away while a predator is occupied by the still-twitching severed tail. The lizard can regenerate its tail afterward. The scales are one clue that it's not a snake, along with the presence of its eye lids and ear openings, which no snake has.

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