Tourist claims to have been injured after clash with low-priced tour guide at shopping spot; 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 1, 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 purchases, you must pay the difference in price.” As a result, he got into a physical altercation with Ms. Liu, sustaining facial scratches and corneal damage to his right eye. Afterwards, he was also surrounded and insulted by Ms. Liu and others.

Regarding this dispute, on December 4, a reporter from The Paper contacted 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 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 compensate according to the judicial expertise 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 procedure, but the local travel agency in Guilin had my information,” he said.

The promotional poster showed that the tour package 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 make purchases voluntarily and are kindly requested to 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 introduced herself as the local tour guide in Guilin but did not show her tour guide license or inform the tourists of the affiliated travel agency.”

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 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 items according to their needs. In the subsequent 20 minutes, the tour group was subjected to sales pitches by the sales staff in the exhibition hall. During this period, when he received a message on his phone and looked down to check it, Ms. Liu told him not to play with 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 affiliated travel agency. “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 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 of Guilin Public Security Bureau took Mr. Li and Ms. Liu to the police 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 The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University

That afternoon, Mr. Li went to Guilin Branch of The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University for a re-examination, and the diagnosis was corneal abrasion, corneal epithelial damage, facial abrasions, and other injuries 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 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 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.

Power of Attorney for Judicial Expertise

Offline Mediation Fails, 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 told him that they couldn’t accept the complaint without the information of the travel agency, but “Ms. Liu never provided any relevant information.”

On December 3, Mr. Li went to the Complaint Center of Guilin Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau with the power of attorney for judicial expertise 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 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 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. Then I called the police.”

Tour Guide Suspended, Relevant Departments Investigate

Regarding the compensation for the 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 expertise report.”

Notice of Administrative Case Filing

On December 4, The Paper called Shanhai Travel Agency. The relevant person in charge of the travel agency 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 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 disruption to 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 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 continued 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 Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, and the staff said 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