In a viral video filmed by one of the tourists, some of her fellow travellers are sitting on the beds and others are lying on them. Salespeople appear to be standing guard to prevent them from leaving the shop.
“This is the shop that sells latex mattresses in Xishuangbanna. We arrived at noon and we’re still here,” the tourist who filmed the clip said.
“The group of 37 tourists is not allowed to leave,” she added.
It is not clear precisely how long the group was detained in the shop, but it is thought to have been several hours before they were eventually released.
The tourist explained that they each spent 3,979 yuan (US$550) to join the group tour to Yunnan that was managed by Liaoning Youde International Travel Service.
“I hadn’t expected that all of our activities in Xishuangbanna would be about shopping,” she said.
Once the clip was shared online, it went viral and triggered an official probe.
Details of how the group was finally allowed to leave the shop are not known.
The next day, the local market supervision and administration bureau made an announcement on its WeChat account.
They said the shop is owned by the Taisi Dika Sleep Technology Company and that a local travel agency, Faxian Zhilv, was responsible for conducting the group tour on behalf of Youde travel service.
As a result, Taisi Dika was ordered to cease trading, and the local tourist guide was fined 10,000 yuan (US$1,400). An investigation into the travel agencies continues.
The story has caused an outpouring of anger on mainland social media.
“It sounds so horrible,” one online observer said.
“Is this an illegal detention?” another asked.
Incidents involving tourists travelling to Yunnan and being forced to shop by tour guides are common.
In February, a family of five was told to leave a tour bus by the guide after they refused to buy a gold bracelet for 50,000 yuan (US$7,000).
In August last year, a tour guide in southwestern China was investigated after a video emerged of him “threatening” sightseers and bullying them into shopping while on an eco-tour.
