Quick, buy some stuff before your tour guide yells at you.

During the group tour portion of our trip to China in 2008-09, we were frequently trucked to touristy souvenir shops, where the tour would stop for 30-45 minutes while salespeople tried to fleece us. This was part of the package because the cost of the tour was kept low to encourage more tourism, and these “partnerships” with stores are the only way the travel companies can recoup their money. So we stopped at porcelain factories, traditional pharmacies, tea shops, jade factories, etc. Most of the time, we didn’t have much problem. We were traveling with a group of close to 20 people, and at least a handful of us usually ended up buying something at one of these stops. When we were visiting Wuxi, however, it was just the four of us, and the pressure-sale tactics at the pearl refinery there did get kind of annoying.

However, nothing we experienced in mainland China or Hong Kong can compare to this: A Hong Kong tour guide berated her group of tourists from mainland China on the bus for not buying enough swag at one of these tourist traps. Someone on the bus recorded the tirade, though it was just all shots of the back of the seat. As for what she’s saying, if you don’t speak mandarin, the video doesn’t tell you much except for the tone of her voice, which ricochets between angry and passive-aggressive. I’ve included a translated excerpt from a BBC story.

The female tour guide shouted that there is no free lunch in the world, meaning that the 1,000-plus yuan each visitor paid for the tour doesn’t even cover airline tickets, much less lodging and meals in Hong Kong.

She fussed at the tourists, saying, “I provide food and lodging for you, yet you won’t contribute. If you don’t pay me back in this life, you’ll still have to pay me back in your next life.”

The female guide even made a threat: When they stop for 1.5 hours at the watch shop, if the tourists don’t buy more stuff, they won’t get food or a hotel to stay in.

She also ridiculed the tourists, saying: “It’s fine if you are poor at home, but don’t act like this when you’re out.”

Some other tidbits I picked up from the video:

You’re the ones who owe me! I don’t owe you anything!

Next we’re going to a watch store. Anybody got any objections?! … This stop isn’t just for window-shopping; you need to buy something. Don’t just go in and walk around. Just now, you left the store before the allotted time was up. The other group spent 100,000-some yuan and was still in there. We only spent about 10,000 and yet we came out before time was up.

Wow! Just … wow!