Tourist claims to have been injured in a conflict with a low-priced tour guide at a shopping site; relevant departments in Guilin have intervened

Tourist Claims to Be Injured in Altercation with Tour Guide at Shopping Stop

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 stop, he had a conflict with the tour guide, Ms. Liu, who stated that “if you don’t make any purchases, you must pay the price difference.” This led to a physical altercation where Mr. Li’s face was scratched, and his right cornea was damaged. Afterwards, he was also surrounded and insulted by Ms. Liu and others.

Regarding this dispute, on December 4th, a reporter from The Paper contacted the travel agency involved. The relevant person in charge of the agency stated that Ms. Liu, the tour guide 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 being unilaterally exaggerated and distorted.”

Mr. Li said that when he was insulted by Ms. Liu, he first pushed 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.

The tourist stated that he was injured in a conflict with the tour guide at a shopping stop.

“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,” said Mr. Li. In November 2024, he 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 formalities, but the local travel agency in Guilin had my information,” he explained.

The promotional poster showed that the tour Mr. Li joined was a “VIP exclusive event” with “government and scenic spot subsidies.” The linked introduction 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 guide but did not show her guide license or inform us of the travel agency she belonged to.”

That evening, Ms. Liu led the group to visit Xiangshan Park and the Sun and Moon Twin Towers, after which the tourists checked into a hotel for the night.

On December 1st, Ms. Liu took the group to a kitchenware store in Wayao Town. Mr. Li stated that Ms. Liu informed them that since it was a low-priced tour, there would be about four shopping stops, and she hoped everyone would purchase what they liked based on their needs. For the next 20 minutes, the group was subjected to sales pitches in the exhibition hall. During this time, when Mr. Li checked his phone after receiving a message, Ms. Liu told him not to use it. He then left the hall and went to the corridor, where he was stopped by Ms. Liu again.

“She said that if I didn’t make any purchases, I would have to pay the price difference for the low-priced tour,” said Mr. Li. He believed that the guide had no right to restrict tourists’ use of their phones or demand additional payments. He asked Ms. Liu to show her guide license and inform them of her travel agency. “After she refused to show it, she started insulting me. I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I pushed her and hit her. Then she retaliated. During the process, I was scratched on my face multiple times, and my right eye was injured by her nail.”

On December 1st, officers from Pingshan Police Station in Guilin took Mr. Li and Ms. Liu to the station to make statements. Mr. Li said that due to his injured right eye and decreased vision, he went to the hospital for a check-up first. The medical record he provided showed that the hospital diagnosed him with a corneal abrasion on his right eye.

The medical record issued by the Guilin Branch of Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University.

In the afternoon of the same day, Mr. Li went to the Guilin Branch of Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University for another check-up. The diagnosis was corneal abrasion, corneal epithelial damage on his right eye, facial abrasions, and other injuries.

On December 2nd, Mr. Li went to Pingshan Police Station again. He said that the police suggested both parties reconcile, but he refused as his right eye was severely injured, and he couldn’t determine if there would be more serious consequences later on. The police then issued administrative penalties to both parties. Subsequently, Mr. Li applied for a judicial appraisal, and the police entrusted the Judicial Expertise Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University to conduct the appraisal for him.

The Letter of Authorization for Judicial Appraisal.

Offline mediation failed, and the tourist claimed to be surrounded by the 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 told him they needed the travel agency’s information to proceed, but “Ms. Liu never provided any relevant information.”

On December 3rd, Mr. Li brought the Letter of Authorization 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, the Bureau mediated between Mr. Li and Shanhai Travel Agency. He said that during the mediation, the person in charge of the travel agency promised that “the local travel agency would be responsible for Mr. Li’s current medical expenses. After the judicial appraisal results come out in three months, the subsequent medical expenses would have nothing to do with the local travel agency.”

Mr. Li said he would consider it and give an answer the next day.

However, on the way out of the Complaint Center, Mr. Li encountered Ms. Liu, the tour guide involved, again. “She was standing on the roadside with four other people. I didn’t see them at first because my vision is very poor now,” said Mr. Li. “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. I called the police right away.”

The tour guide involved has been suspended, and relevant departments are 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 scar. “If the other party was injured during the mutual fight, I am also willing to compensate according to the judicial appraisal report.”

The Notice of Administrative Case Filing.

On December 4th, The Paper called Shanhai Travel Agency. The relevant person in charge said 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 being unilaterally exaggerated and distorted. I hope everyone won’t just listen to one side of the story.”

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 their trip without any disruptions.

The video provided by Shanhai Travel Agency showed that Mr. Li and the tour guide, Ms. Liu, first had a verbal conflict, which then escalated into a physical altercation as both parties’ emotions intensified. The Paper noticed that in the 4th second of the video, Mr. Li pushed Ms. Liu, and by the 8th second, both parties started fighting each other. At the 11th second, staff from the shopping store tried to break them apart, but they continued fighting. At the 27th second, the two were separated and continued their verbal argument until the police were called to handle the situation.

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 still being verified and investigated without any conclusions yet. When The Paper called Guilin Pingshan Police Station, the staff said that the progress of the incident could not be disclosed over the phone and required a face-to-face consultation.