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 Assault and Injury by 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 and Ms. Liu got into a physical altercation, during which he was scratched on the face and suffered damage to his right cornea. 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 Ms. Liu, the tour guide 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 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 Reports Assault by Tour Guide During 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, 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 formalities, but the local travel agency in Guilin had my information,” he explained.

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 30, 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 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 they 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, when Mr. Li checked his phone after receiving a message, he was told by Ms. Liu not to use it. He then left the exhibition hall and went to the corridor, where 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 additional payments. 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 said several insulting things, and I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I shoved her and punched her. Then she retaliated. During the process, I was scratched on the 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 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 medical record he provided showed that the hospital diagnosed him with a corneal abrasion on his right eye.

The 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 a re-examination, and 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 because his right eye was seriously injured, and he couldn’t determine if there would be more severe consequences later. As a result, 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 him.

Power of Attorney for Judicial Appraisal

Offline Mediation Fails, Tourist Claims Being 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 informed him that they could not 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 Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau with the power of attorney for judicial appraisal 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 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 first and give a reply 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, blocked my way, insulted me, and prepared to attack. I called the police immediately afterwards.”

Tour Guide Suspended, Relevant Departments 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 leave scars. “If the other party was injured during the mutual fight, I am also willing to compensate according to the judicial appraisal 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 contacted him after 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 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, 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 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 up the fight, but they continued fighting again. In the 27th second, the two were separated and continued their verbal argument until the police arrived.

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 said that the relevant incident was under investigation and no conclusion had been reached. When contacted, staff from Guilin Pingshan Police Station said that the progress of the incident could not be disclosed over the phone and required a face-to-