If taken to designated shopping stores not specified in your group tour contract, demand a full refund through the travel agency within 30 days of trip completion, with the agency advancing the refund

Organizing low-cost tour groups to trap travelers into shopping, or taking travelers to commercial shopping stores not agreed upon in advance, violates tourism laws. Within 30 days after the tour ends, you have the legal right to require the travel agency to process returns and advance the refund money upfront. However, if you voluntarily signed a "voluntary shopping" supplementary agreement beforehand, that constitutes consent, making refunds much harder to obtain.

Cost

Zero financial cost. During the trip, retain your signed travel contract, itinerary, sales invoices, and card payment receipts; keep purchased merchandise unboxed and unused. Upon return, contact the travel agency to arrange return shipping. If disputes arise, filing an official complaint and mediation may take 1 to 2 months.

Benefit

Under Article 35 of the Tourism Law of the People's Republic of China, three key protections apply: (1) Travel agencies may not organize tours at unreasonably low prices to induce tourists and solicit kickbacks through scheduled shopping. (2) Travel agencies may not arrange specific shopping destinations unless mutually agreed upon through negotiation or explicitly requested by tourists without impacting other tour participants (signing a supplementary agreement generally constitutes mutual consent). (3) Where a travel agency violates either provision, the tourist has the statutory right within 30 days after the tour concludes to demand that the travel agency handle merchandise returns and advance the refunded money upfront; tourists may also demand full refunds for separate paid activities. This right does not require proving that the merchandise is defective or substandard. Article 9 further guarantees tourists the right to refuse compulsory transactions. In 2025, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism highlighted an enforcement case: a Chengdu travel agency organized a 15-tourist trip to Jiuzhaigou collecting only 6,015 RMB total in tour fees, paid 8,220 RMB to an intermediary to "buy the tour group," and extracted 13,706 RMB in shopping kickbacks; the agency was fined 80,000 RMB and suspended for 30 days. In 2024, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism published a mediation case where two tourists on an 800 RMB Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai package tour purchased over 20,000 RMB of jewelry and latex bedding in duty-free stores; following a complaint to cultural tourism authorities, the travel agency mediated an agreement, coordinated return shipping, and advanced the full refund of all purchase funds.

Notes

Direct your refund claim to the domestic organizing travel agency, not the overseas or third-party merchant store. If the agency refuses, dial the 12345 government service hotline to lodge a formal complaint (the historical 12301 hotline has been consolidated into 12345). Complaints must be lodged within 90 days after contract performance completes, with mediation generally completed within 60 days of acceptance. If administrative mediation fails, civil litigation or arbitration is required; small-claims court procedures are covered in Chapter 8, Rule 22. If you signed a supplementary shopping consent form, refund arguments must rely on pricing discrepancies or misrepresentation. For overseas purchases, independent cross-border recovery is virtually impossible, making recourse against the licensed domestic agency essential. Senior citizens are frequently targeted with "zero-dollar tour" scams; elder financial fraud protections are detailed in Chapter 17, Rule 5. Primary beneficiaries are yourself and traveling family members.

Sources · 5

1. Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (2018 Amendment). Tourism Law of the People's Republic of China (Articles 9, 35, 92, 93). flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8080816f135f46016f…
2. Ministry of Culture and Tourism (2026). Measures for the Handling of Tourism Complaints (Ministry Order No. 14, Articles 11, 14, 23). zwgk.mct.gov.cn/zfxxgkml/zcfg/bmgz/202602/t20…
3. General Office of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (2021). Circular on Optimizing Government Service Hotlines. gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-11/19/content_5…
4. Ministry of Culture and Tourism (2025). Typical Cases of Compulsory Consumption in the Tourism Market (Batch 3, Case 15). mct.gov.cn/whzx/whyw/202509/t20250908_962084.htm
5. Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism (2024). Typical Tourism Complaint Cases of 2024 (Case 1). whly.gd.gov.cn/service_newscgldt/content/post…