Tourist claims to have been injured after clash with low-priced tour guide at shopping spot; relevant departments in Guilin have intervened
Recently, Mr. Li from Pingdingshan, Henan province, reported to The Paper’s public interaction platform “Service Pai” (https://tousu.thepaper.cn) that on December 1st, while following a low-priced tour group organized by Guilin Shanhai Travel Agency to a shopping location, he had a conflict with the tour guide, Ms. Liu, who stated that “if you don’t make any purchases, you must pay the difference in price.” As a result, he got into a physical altercation with Ms. Liu, sustaining facial scratches and an injury to his right cornea. Afterwards, he was also surrounded and insulted by Ms. Liu and others.
Regarding this dispute, on December 4th, a reporter from The Paper called the travel agency involved. The relevant person in charge of the agency stated that the tour guide Ms. Liu involved had been suspended from her duties to assist in the investigation, and the other tourists continued their trip with a new guide without being affected. In response to the allegation of forced shopping, the person in charge said, “The tourist cannot provide evidence of being forced to shop by the guide. It is possible that the facts are unilaterally exaggerated and distorted.”
Mr. Li said that when he was insulted by Ms. Liu, he first shoved her, and then she retaliated. “If the other party was injured during the mutual fight, I am also willing to compensate according to the judicial appraisal report.”
A staff member from the Complaint Center of the Enforcement Squad of Guilin Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau responded to The Paper that the incident was under investigation.
Tourist Claims Being Injured in Conflict with Tour Guide at Shopping Point
“A friend who loves to travel told me that there was a tour group going to Guilin and Hunan, and they were still missing one person. I thought I had nothing to do recently, so I joined them.” In November 2024, Mr. Li signed up for a low-priced “6-Day Tour of Shaoshan, Guilin, and Yangshuo” upon a friend’s recommendation.
“Since I registered through an acquaintance, I didn’t fill out any registration form. There was indeed a lack of procedure, but the local travel agency in Guilin had my information,” he said.
The promotional poster showed that the tour Mr. Li joined was a “VIP Exclusive Event” with “government and scenic area subsidies.” The introduction on the poster’s link stated, “The tour includes visits to 4+2 shopping stores. Supermarkets and ethnic minority villages are not considered shopping stores. Visitors are welcome to purchase voluntarily during the group visits, and please cooperate with the tour guide’s shopping schedule.”
Mr. Li said that on November 30th, the local tour guide Ms. Liu greeted the tour group. “She introduced herself as the local tour guide in Guilin but did not show her tour guide license or inform us of the travel agency she belonged to.”
That evening, Ms. Liu led the tour group to visit Xiangshan Park and the Sun and Moon Twin Towers, and then the tourists checked into a hotel for rest.
On December 1st, Ms. Liu took the tour group to a kitchenware store in Wayao Town. Mr. Li said that Ms. Liu informed the tourists that since it was a low-priced tour, there would be about four shopping stops, and she hoped everyone would purchase items they liked based on their needs. For the next 20 minutes, the tour group received sales pitches from the staff in the exhibition hall. During this period, when he looked down to check a message on his phone, Ms. Liu told him not to use his phone. When he left the exhibition hall and walked into the corridor, he was stopped by Ms. Liu again.
“She said that if we didn’t make any purchases, we would have to pay the difference for the low-priced tour.” Mr. Li believed that the tour guide had no right to restrict tourists’ phone use or demand payment of the difference. Therefore, he asked Ms. Liu to show her tour guide license and inform him of her travel agency. “After she refused to show it, she started insulting me. She said several insulting things, and I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I shoved her first, punched her, and then she retaliated. During the process, I got multiple scratches on my face, and my right eye was injured by her fingernail.”
On December 1st, officers from Pingshan Police Station of Guilin Public Security Bureau took Mr. Li and Ms. Liu to the station to make statements. Mr. Li said that due to the injury to his right eye, his vision decreased, so he went to the hospital for examination first. The outpatient medical record he provided showed that the hospital diagnosed him with a corneal abrasion on his right eye.
Outpatient Medical Record Issued by Guilin Branch of Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University
In the afternoon of the same day, Mr. Li went to Guilin Branch of Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University for another examination. The diagnosis was corneal abrasion, corneal epithelial damage on his right eye, facial scratches, etc.
On December 2nd, Mr. Li went to Pingshan Police Station again. He said that the police station suggested both parties reach a settlement, but he refused because his right eye was severely injured, and he could not determine if there would be more serious consequences later. Therefore, the police station imposed public security penalties on both parties. Subsequently, Mr. Li applied for a judicial appraisal, and the police station entrusted the Judicial Expertise Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University to conduct the appraisal for Mr. Li.
Power of Attorney for Judicial Appraisal
Offline Mediation Failed, Tourist Claims Being Surrounded by Tour Guide
On the day of the injury, Mr. Li called the complaint hotline of Guilin Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau multiple times. He said that the staff stated that they must provide the travel agency’s information to proceed, but “Ms. Liu never provided any relevant information.”
On December 3rd, Mr. Li brought the power of attorney for judicial appraisal to the Complaint Center of Guilin Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau to file a complaint offline. The staff confirmed that the tour guide involved belonged to Guilin Shanhai Travel Agency. In the afternoon of the same day, Guilin Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau mediated between Mr. Li and Shanhai Travel Agency. He said that during the mediation, the person in charge of Shanhai Travel Agency promised, “The local travel agency will be responsible for Mr. Li’s current medical expenses. After the judicial appraisal results come out in three months, the subsequent medical expenses will have nothing to do with the local travel agency.”
In response, Mr. Li said he would consider it first and give a reply the next day.
However, on the way out of the Complaint Center, Mr. Li encountered the tour guide Ms. Liu again. “She was standing on the roadside with four other people. Since my vision is very poor now, I didn’t see them at first,” Mr. Li said. “When she saw me, she started shouting, ‘It’s him, it’s him,’ and then the five of them surrounded me, blocked my way, insulted me, and prepared to attack. Then I called the police.”
Tour Guide Involved Suspended, Relevant Departments Investigating
Regarding the compensation for this incident, Mr. Li said he hoped it would be determined based on the recovery of his eye and whether his face would leave scars. “If the other party was injured during the mutual fight, I am also willing to compensate according to the judicial appraisal report.”
Notice of Administrative Case Filing
On December 4th, The Paper called Shanhai Travel Agency. The relevant person in charge of the agency stated that the current situation of the tourist was unknown, and they had not been in contact since the mediation. “The travel agency has reported the case to the public security department, and the culture, radio, television, and tourism bureau is also coordinating. Ms. Liu has been suspended from her duties to assist in the investigation,” said the person in charge. “The tourist cannot provide evidence of being forced to shop by the guide. It is possible that the facts are unilaterally exaggerated and distorted. I hope everyone will not listen to one-sided words.”
The person in charge of the travel agency mentioned above said that the relevant tour group had been taken over by a new guide and continued the trip without any impact on the itinerary.
The video provided by Shanhai Travel Agency showed that Mr. Li and the tour guide Ms. Liu first had a verbal conflict, and then both parties became emotionally agitated and started a physical altercation. The Paper noticed that in the 4th second of the video, Mr. Li shoved Ms. Liu, and in the 8th second, both parties started fighting each other. In the 11th second, staff from the shopping store tried to break them apart, but they fought again. In the 27th second, the two were separated and continued their verbal argument until the police were called later.
On the same day, The Paper called the Complaint Center of the Enforcement Squad of Guilin Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, and the staff said that the relevant incident was being verified and investigated without a conclusion. Meanwhile, the staff of Guilin Pingshan Police Station said that the progress of handling the relevant incident could not be disclosed over the phone and required a face-to-face consultation.
