Tourist claims to have been injured in a conflict with a low-priced tour guide at a shopping spot; relevant departments in Guilin have intervened

Tourist Claims to Be Injured in Altercation with Tour Guide at Shopping Spot

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.” 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 involved travel agency. The relevant person in charge of the agency stated that the involved tour guide, Ms. Liu, had been suspended from her duties to assist in the investigation. The other tourists continued their trip with a new tour guide and were not 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 assault, 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 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 spot.

In November 2024, Mr. Li enrolled in a low-priced “6-day tour of Shaoshan, Guilin, and Yangshuo” upon a friend’s recommendation.

The promotional poster indicated 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 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, 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 affiliated travel agency.”

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 the Samo Kitchenware Store in Wayao Town. Mr. Li stated that Ms. Liu informed the tourists that due to it being a low-priced tour, there would be approximately four shopping stops, and she hoped everyone would purchase items according to their needs. For the next 20 minutes, the tour group received sales pitches from the staff in the exhibition hall. During this time, when Mr. Li looked down to check a message on his phone, he was told by Ms. Liu that he could not 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 we didn’t make any purchases, we would have to pay the 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 difference. He then asked Ms. Liu to show her tour guide license and inform them of the affiliated travel agency. “After she refused to show it, she started insulting me. After several insults, I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I pushed 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 the 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 an 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 was 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 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 reach a settlement, but he refused as he believed his right eye injury was severe, and he was uncertain about potential long-term effects. Therefore, 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 Mr. Li.

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 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 did not provide any relevant information throughout the process.”

On December 3rd, Mr. Li went to the Complaint Center of Guilin Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau with the judicial appraisal authorization letter to lodge a complaint offline. The staff confirmed that the involved tour guide 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 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 provide a response the next day.

However, on the way out of the Complaint Center, Mr. Li encountered the involved 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 afterwards.”

The involved tour guide has been suspended, and relevant departments have intervened 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 leaves any scars. “If the other party was injured during the mutual assault, 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 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,” 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 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 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 reporter from The Paper noticed that in the 4th second of the video, Mr. Li pushed Ms. Liu, and in the 8th second, both parties started beating each other. In the 11th second, staff from the shopping store tried to break up the fight, but they continued fighting again afterwards. In the 27th second of the video, 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 any conclusion yet. Meanwhile, the staff member from Guilin Pingshan Police Station said that the progress of handling the incident could not be disclosed over the phone and required a face-to-face consultation.