Tourist claims to have been injured in conflict with low-priced tour guide at shopping site; 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 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 corneal damage to his right eye. 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 agency stated that the tour guide Ms. Liu had been suspended from duty to assist in the investigation, and the other tourists continued their trip with a new guide without being affected. In response to the allegation of forced shopping, the person in charge said, “The tourist cannot provide evidence of forced shopping by the 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 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.
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 Mr. Li joined was a “VIP exclusive event” with “government 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 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 group to visit Xiangshan Park and the Sun and Moon Twin Towers before the tourists checked into a hotel for the night.
On December 1st, Ms. Liu took the group to a kitchenware store in Wayao Town. Mr. Li said that Ms. Liu informed them 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 group was subjected to sales pitches by the staff in the exhibition hall. During this time, 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 we didn’t make 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 phones or demand additional payments. 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 several insults, so I shoved 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 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.
The outpatient medical record issued by Guilin Hospital of Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University.
That afternoon, 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 returned to Pingshan Police Station. 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. The police station then 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.
Judicial Appraisal Authorization Letter
Offline mediation failed, and the tourist claimed being surrounded by the tour guide
On the day of the injury, Mr. Li repeatedly called the complaint hotline of Guilin Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau. 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 brought the judicial appraisal authorization letter to the Complaint Center of Guilin Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau for an offline complaint. 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 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,” 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.”
The tour guide involved 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 would scar. “If the other party was injured during the mutual assault, I am also willing to compensate according to the judicial appraisal report.”
Administrative Case Filing Notification
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 duty to assist in the investigation,” said the person in charge. “The tourist cannot provide evidence of forced shopping by the 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 said that the relevant tour group had been taken over by a new 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 by the 8th second, both parties started beating each other. At the 11th second, staff from the shopping store intervened to separate them, but they started fighting again. At 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 Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, and the staff said that the relevant incident was under verification and investigation without a conclusion. When contacted, staff from Guilin Pingshan Police Station stated that the progress of handling the incident could not be disclosed over the phone and required a face-to-face consultation.
