Tourist claims to have been injured after clash with low-priced tour guide at shopping spot; relevant authorities in Guilin have intervened

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

Recently, Mr. Li from Pingdingshan, Henan province, reported to The Paper’s public interaction platform “Service Pai” (https://tousu.thepaper.cn) that on December 1, while following a low-priced tour group organized by Guilin Shanhai Travel Agency to a shopping site, 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.” As a result, he and Ms. Liu got into a physical altercation, during which his 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 4, 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 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 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 Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau responded to The Paper that the incident was under investigation.

Mr. Li joined a low-priced “6-day Tour of Shaoshan, Guilin, and Yangshuo” in November 2024 upon a friend’s recommendation. The promotional poster indicated that the tour he joined was a “VIP Exclusive Event” with “government subsidies and scenic spot 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 make purchases voluntarily during the group visits, and please cooperate with the tour guide’s shopping schedule.”

Mr. Li said that on November 30, the local tour guide Ms. Liu received the tour group. “She said she was the local tour guide but did not show her tour guide license or inform the tourists of the travel agency she belonged to.”

On the evening of December 1, 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 stops, and she hoped everyone would purchase what they liked based on their needs. For the next 20 minutes, the tour group was subjected to sales pitches by the sales staff in the exhibition hall. During this time, he looked down at his phone to check a message, and 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 I didn’t make any purchases, I would have to pay the price difference 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 price difference. He then 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. I couldn’t bear it after several insults, so I pushed her first, punched her, and 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 1, 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 examination first. The outpatient medical record he provided showed that the hospital diagnosed him with a corneal abrasion on his right eye.

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

On December 2, Mr. Li went to Pingshan Police Station again. He said that the police station suggested both parties reach a settlement, but he refused as he believed his right eye injury was severe and he was uncertain about potential long-term effects. As a result, the police station imposed administrative 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 him.

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 Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau multiple times. He said that the staff stated that they needed the information of the travel agency to proceed, but “Ms. Liu never provided any relevant information.”

On December 3, Mr. Li went to the Complaint Center of Guilin Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau with the judicial appraisal letter. 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 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 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,” 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 from her duties, and relevant departments have介入 to investigate. 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.”

On December 4, 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 cultural tourism bureau is also coordinating. Ms. Liu has been suspended from her duties to assist in the investigation,” 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. I hope everyone will not believe one-sided words.”

The person in charge of the travel agency mentioned above stated 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, which then escalated into a physical altercation as both parties’ emotions intensified. The Paper noted that in the 4th second of the video, Mr. Li pushed 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 up the fight, but they continued fighting again. In 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 Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, and the staff stated that the relevant incident was being verified and investigated without a conclusion. A staff member from Guilin Pingshan Police Station said that the progress of the incident handling could not be disclosed over the phone and required a face-to-face consultation.