Tourist claims to have been beaten by a low-priced tour guide at a shopping spot, and 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 travel 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 tour 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 tour guide. It is possible that the facts have been 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 provide compensation according to the judicial appraisal 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.

Tourist Claims to Be Injured in Conflict with Tour Guide at Shopping Location

“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, who enrolled in a low-priced “6-Day Tour of Shaoshan, Guilin, and Yangshuo” in November 2024 upon a friend’s recommendation.

“Since I enrolled through an acquaintance, I didn’t fill out any enrollment form. There was indeed a lack of procedures, 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 subsidies 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, received the tour group. “She said she was the local tour guide in Guilin but did not show her tour guide license or inform the tourists 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 to 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 because it was a low-priced tour, there would be about four shopping locations, and she hoped everyone would purchase what they liked based on their needs. In the subsequent 20 minutes, the tour group received sales pitches from the sales staff in the exhibition hall. During this period, he looked down at his phone to check a message and was told by Ms. Liu that he couldn’t use his phone. When he left the exhibition hall and went to the corridor, he was stopped by Ms. Liu again.

“She said that if I didn’t make any purchases, I would have to pay the difference in price for the low-priced tour.” Mr. Li believed that the tour guide had no right to restrict tourists’ use of their phones or to demand payment of the difference. Therefore, he asked Ms. Liu to show her tour guide license and inform him of the travel agency she belonged to. “After she refused to show it, she started insulting me. She insulted me several times, and I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I shoved her and punched her. Then she retaliated. During the process, I was scratched on my face multiple times, 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 police station to make statements. Mr. Li said that due to an injury to his right eye, his vision decreased, so he went to the hospital for an examination first. The outpatient medical record he provided showed that the hospital diagnosed him with a corneal abrasion of the right eye.

Outpatient Medical Record Issued by Guilin Branch of Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University

That afternoon, Mr. Li went to Guilin Branch of Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University for another examination. The diagnosis was corneal abrasion of the right eye, epithelial damage to the right cornea, 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 couldn’t 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.

Judicial Appraisal Letter of Attorney

Offline Mediation Fails, Tourist Claims to Be Surrounded by Tour Guide

On the day of the injury, Mr. Li called the complaint hotline of Guilin Municipal 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 judicial appraisal letter of attorney 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 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 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. 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. So I called the police.”

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 provide compensation 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 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 tour guide. It is possible that the facts have been unilaterally exaggerated and distorted. I hope everyone won’t believe 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 tour 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 emotional and started a physical altercation. The Paper noted 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, the staff of the shopping store tried to break it up, but they started fighting 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 Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, and the staff stated that the relevant incident was being verified and investigated without a conclusion. When The Paper called Guilin Pingshan Police Station, the staff said that the progress of handling the incident could not be disclosed over the phone