Tourist claims to have been beaten by a low-priced tour guide at a shopping spot, and relevant departments in Guilin have intervened

Tourist Claims Injury 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 shop, you must pay the 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 responsible person from the travel agency stated that the tour guide Ms. Liu had been suspended from her duties to assist in the investigation, and the other tourists continued their trip with a new tour guide without being affected. In response to the allegation of forced shopping, the responsible person said, “The tourist cannot provide evidence of being forced to shop by the tour 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 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 expertise report.”

A staff member from the Complaint Center of the Enforcement Squad of Guilin Municipal 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.

In November 2024, Mr. Li, recommended by a friend, signed up for a low-priced “6-day tour of Shaoshan, Guilin, and Yangshuo.”

The promotional poster indicated that the tour Mr. Li joined was a “VIP exclusive event” with “government and scenic area 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 received the tour group. “She introduced herself as the local tour guide but did not show her tour guide license or inform us of the travel agency she belonged to.”

That evening, Ms. Liu led the group to visit Elephant Trunk Hill Park and the Sun and Moon Twin Towers, after which the tourists checked into a hotel to rest.

On December 1st, Ms. Liu took the group to a kitchenware store in Wayao Town. Mr. Li said that Ms. Liu informed them that because it was a low-priced tour, there would be about four shopping stops, and she hoped everyone would purchase items as needed. 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, he was told by Ms. Liu not to use it. He then left the exhibition hall and went to the corridor, where he was stopped by Ms. Liu again.

“She said that if we didn’t shop, we had to pay the difference for the low-priced tour,” Mr. Li said. He believed that the tour guide had no right to restrict tourists’ phone use or demand additional payments. He asked Ms. Liu to show her tour guide license and inform them of her travel agency. “After she refused to show it, she started insulting me. After several insults, I couldn’t bear it and pushed her, punched her, and then she retaliated. During the process, I was scratched on the face multiple times, and my right eye was injured by her nail.”

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

Mr. Li went to the Guilin branch of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University for a re-examination in the afternoon. The diagnosis was corneal abrasion, corneal epithelial damage, and facial abrasions on his right eye.

On December 2nd, Mr. Li went to Pingshan Police Station again. He said that the police station suggested both parties reconcile, but he refused due to the severity of his right eye injury and the uncertainty of its long-term impact. The police station then imposed administrative penalties on both parties. Subsequently, Mr. Li applied for judicial expertise, and the police station entrusted the Judicial Expertise Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University to conduct the expertise for Mr. Li.

Offline mediation failed, and the tourist claimed to be surrounded by the tour guide.

On the day of the injury, Mr. Li repeatedly called the complaint hotline of Guilin Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau. He said that the staff informed him that they needed the travel agency’s information to proceed, but “Ms. Liu never provided any relevant information.”

On December 3rd, Mr. Li, carrying the judicial expertise letter, went to the Complaint Center of Guilin Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau to lodge a complaint offline. The staff confirmed that the tour guide belonged to Guilin Shanhai Travel Agency. In the afternoon, the Bureau mediated between Mr. Li and the travel agency. He said that during the mediation, the responsible person from Shanhai Travel Agency promised, “The local travel agency will be responsible for Mr. Li’s current medical expenses. After the judicial expertise results come out in three months, the subsequent medical expenses will have nothing to do with the local travel agency.”

Mr. Li said he would consider it and give a reply the next day.

However, on the way out of the Complaint Center, Mr. Li encountered Ms. Liu 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,” 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. I called the police immediately.”

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 leaves scars. “If the other party was injured during the mutual fight, I am also willing to compensate according to the judicial expertise report.”

On December 4th, The Paper called Shanhai Travel Agency. The relevant responsible person said that they were unaware of the tourist’s current condition and had not contacted him after the mediation. “The travel agency has filed a case with 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,” the responsible person said. “The tourist cannot provide evidence of being forced to shop by the tour guide. It is possible that the facts are unilaterally exaggerated and distorted. I hope everyone will not believe one-sided words.”

The responsible person from the travel agency said that the relevant tour group had been taken over by a new tour guide and continued their 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, which then escalated into a physical altercation. The reporter from The Paper noticed that in the 4th second of the video, Mr. Li pushed Ms. Liu, and by the 8th second, both parties started beating each other. At the 11th second, staff from the shopping store tried to break up the fight, but they continued fighting again. At the 27th second, the two were separated and continued their verbal argument until the police were called.

On the same day, The Paper called the Complaint Center of the Enforcement Squad of Guilin Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, and the staff said that the relevant incident was under investigation and no conclusion had been reached. When contacted, staff from Guilin Pingshan Police Station said that the progress of the incident could not be disclosed over the phone and required a face-to-face consultation.