Seven Worst China Tourists News in Recent History

News about misbehaving China tourists have been dominating world headlines in recent weeks. Here’s a quick recap of some of the worst China tourists news in recent history:

1. Defacing 3,500 year-old Egypt artwork by signing name on it

This Chinese teenager wanted to be a legend and became one – by scratching his name into a 3,500-year-old Egyptian artwork. He and his parents had to apologised for his actions after internet users tracked down the boy to name and shame him.

The 15-year-old came from Nanjing and was identified after a photo of his graffiti – which said “Ding Jinhao was here” in Mandarin – at the Temple of Luxor was posted online.

2. Defecating on the aisle of a passenger plane

We all heard horror stories about China parents allowing their kids to poop and pee anywhere in public, ranging from public trains to upmarket shopping malls and restaurants. Nothing top this though – letting a kid defecate on the aisle of a passenger plane when it is in flight, stinking up the entire cabin! I really pity those passengers on the same flight.

3. Abusing flight attendants and hurling hot water at one of them, causing the pilot to fly the plane back to the departure airport

This happened on board an AirAsia flight from Bangkok to Nanjing. Online video images showed a male passenger threatening to blow up the aircraft following a row with the flight crew, reportedly because the group could not be seated together:

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One male passenger later lost his temper when a crew member told him that change for his purchase – a cup of hot water – could be given only in Thai baht. He demanded his change in renminbi as well as a receipt. His lady companion hurled hot water at one of the flight attendant, forcing the pilot to fly the plane back to Bangkok when the tourist refused to apologise.

The only silver lining from this incident was that it shamed the China government so much that they vowed to severely punish the China tourists involved and explore legislative measures to curb such behaviours. 

4. Opening the emergency exit of plane to get a breath of fresh air

This happened on board a domestic Xiamen Airlines flight from Hangzhou to Chengdu. A very smart tourist yanked open the emergency exit of the plane, just to get some fresh air. Well done.

5. Deploying plane’s emergency slide to “get off plane quicker”

A China Eastern flight which arrived at Sanya Phoenix International Airport from Xi’an at around 9.00 p.m. on December 8, had safely landed and was about to complete taxiing to its designated parking bay before a passenger, who is quoted as saying that he was “eager to get out of the plane once it landed,” opened an emergency exit, which then led to the deployment of the inflatable emergency slide.

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The passenger’s thoughtless actions have created costs in the region of 100,000 Chinese yuan (~S$20,000), which is needed to repair the cabin door and replace the slide. Additionally, the return flight MU2332, scheduled to leave at 9.50 p.m. the same evening, was delayed by nearly two hours, not leaving until 11.41 p.m. Well done.

6. Pushing down the barricades at Bangkok’s Grand Palace

A group of China tourists pushed down a line of protective barricades at the Grand Palace in Bangkok and refused to admit their fault to staff. The argument effectively ended when staff members mentioned they have surveillance footages. The barricades are used to protect the palace’s wall painting, the longest of its kind in the world.

7. Fighting in a flying plane because of a crying baby

A mid-air fight broke out over a crying baby when its mum attacked two women complaining about the baby making too much noise. Chan Juan Sung, 27, was flying from south-western China’s Chongqing city to Hong Kong when her baby began crying and woke the two women behind her.

The pair began to tell the baby’s mother to ‘shut her child up’ but she didn’t react too kindly to the comments. She started shouting back at them and all hell broke loose:

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Before we start condemning ALL China tourists for such unruly behaviours, by sheer numbers, mainland Chinese makes up a quarter of the world’s population. The black sheep mentioned here are not representatives of the majority of the tourists from mainland China.

Also, let’s not forget that Deng Xiaoping’s open door policy only started in 1978 and it is only until recent times that China tourists have begun traveling out of mainland China in large numbers. Tourism is still a relatively new concept to mainland Chinese. Give them a couple of years and most of these unruliness will iron themselves out.

After all, I still remember about two decades back, Singaporean tourists were not that welcomed either, often having to be reminded not to steal towels and utensils from the hotels!