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 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 contacted the travel agency involved. The relevant person in charge of the travel 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 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 assault, 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 claimed 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 them,” 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 said.

The promotional poster showed that the tour Mr. Li 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 and are kindly requested to 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 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 tour group to visit Xiangshan Park and the Sun and Moon Twin Towers, after which the tourists checked into a hotel for 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 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 tour group received sales pitches from the staff in the exhibition hall. During this period, he looked down to check a message on his phone and was told by Ms. Liu not to use it. When he left the exhibition hall and went to the corridor, he was stopped by Ms. Liu again.

“She said that if we didn’t make any purchases, we would have to pay the difference for the low-priced tour,” said Mr. Li. He 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 them of her travel agency. “After she refused to show it, she started insulting me. I couldn’t bear it after a few insults, so I shoved her and punched her. Then she retaliated. During the process, I got multiple scratches on my face, 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 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.

The outpatient medical record issued by Guilin Hospital of Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University

In the afternoon of the same day, Mr. Li went to Guilin Hospital of Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University for a re-examination. The diagnosis was corneal abrasion, corneal epithelial injury on his right eye, 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 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 judicial expertise, and the police station entrusted the Judicial Expertise Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University to conduct the expertise for him.

Power of Attorney for Judicial Expertise

Offline mediation failed, tourist claims to be 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 informed him that they could not accept the complaint without the travel agency’s information, but “Ms. Liu never provided any relevant information.”

On December 3rd, 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 the 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.”

In response, 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, blocking my way, insulting me, and preparing to attack. I called the police right away.”

The tour guide involved has been suspended from duties, and relevant departments have intervened to 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 leave scars. “If the other party was injured during the mutual assault, I am also willing to compensate according to the judicial expertise report.”

Notice of Administrative Case Filing

On December 4th, The Paper called Shanhai Travel Agency. The relevant person in charge of the travel agency stated that the current situation of the tourist was unknown, and they had not contacted him since the mediation. “The travel agency has filed a case with 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 take his words at face value.”

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 their 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 by the 8th second, both parties started beating 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 member said that the relevant incident was being verified and investigated without a conclusion. When contacted, staff from Guilin Pingshan Police Station stated that the progress