Some merchants shut down, police maintain order.
The ancient city of Phoenix launched a unified ticket system the day before yesterday, leading to a sharp drop in tourists. The next day, some merchants began closing their businesses. Yesterday at noon, local authorities in Fenghuang County deployed riot police to maintain order. Netizens uploaded footage of the scene, drawing widespread attention. That evening, the Fenghuang County Tourism Bureau stated that order in the scenic area had returned to normal.
Incident
Shutdown sparks clash, riot police deployed
The 10th marked the first day of the unified ticket system in the ancient city of Phoenix, with visitor numbers already showing a sharp decline. That day, hundreds gathered near the county government, demanding adjustments to the ticket system. Du Fei, a guesthouse owner, participated in the rally. “Most of them run guesthouses,” said Du Fei, adding that officials promised a response within 15 working days. Shen Yu, another local guesthouse owner, said that when she went out that morning, she noticed that shops along Beimen City Tower were all closed. “It was quite a commotion.”
At noon, Shen Yu saw at the riverbank near Beimen City Tower that tourists who had bought tickets legitimately were trying to board boats operated by the ancient city company, but were obstructed by operators of private boats, leading to a dispute. Riot police were deployed to maintain order at the scene.
Yesterday at noon, netizens uploaded photos from the scene online, drawing public attention.
Unified ticket system triggers public backlash
After the shutdown and clashes, the Fenghuang County Party Committee, County Government, and Tourism Bureau held an emergency meeting.
According to Long, head of the Fenghuang County Tourism Bureau office, the unified ticket system has indeed triggered some public backlash. “Residents and some tourists don’t fully understand it yet—the concept hasn’t shifted—and there has been some negative impact.” Regarding the notion that “free visits to Phoenix” are now history, she said that charging still has certain justification.
Official notice
Unlicensed guides urge closed shops to protest
At around 9 p.m. last night, a staff member from the Fenghuang County Party Committee Propaganda Department provided this newspaper with an official statement titled “Fenghuang County Lawfully Handles a Public Security Case Disrupting Scenic Area Order.”
The statement said that at 11 a.m. on the 11th, due to the implementation of a new system for standardized management services in the scenic areas of Fenghuang County, some unlicensed guides who profited from soliciting tourists—now suffering losses—invited over 10 closed shop owners to start a protest march from HETANG Street in the ancient city of Phoenix. Along the way, they urged operating shops to close. When the march reached Beimen Wharf, the protesters blockaded the ticket booth for the Tuojiang River boat rides, occupying the tourist passage leading to the boat ride and the Tiaoyan (jumping rock) scenic spots. This prevented tourists from passing through and taking the boat rides, leaving many ticket-holding visitors unable to complete their planned activities.
Upon receiving reports, relevant leaders from the County Party Committee and County Government led cadres from Tuojiang Town, the Law Enforcement Bureau, and the Tourism Bureau in patiently persuading the crowd for two hours without success. As the number of onlookers grew, at 1:35 p.m., the County Law Enforcement Bureau cleared the tourist passage to ensure that visitors could pass normally and have their tickets checked for the boat ride. During this time, some participants refused to cooperate with order maintenance and physically clashed with law enforcement officers. They were taken away from the scene by police in accordance with the law. At present, order in the scenic area has been fully restored.
Investigation
Many opponents are locals
Although Shen Yu and Du Fei did not join the shutdown or the unrest, they also oppose the government’s unified ticket system. According to them, the opposition mainly consists of private boat operators, unlicensed guides who solicit tourists, and guesthouse owners, as well as operators from other industries. Du Fei said many of the opponents are locals.
Du Fei said that after the implementation of the unified ticket system, the number of tourists plummeted, severely affecting the business of private ferries and guesthouses. Many tourists also expressed dissatisfaction. “When I walked past the toll checkpoint, I heard tourists say they’d never come to Phoenix again in their lives.” Du Fei believes that implementing a unified ticket system should have been preceded by research.
According to a relevant official from the Fenghuang County Tourism Bureau office, the government held three hearings and received support from all sides. Du Fei said, “I didn’t attend any, nor did I hear anyone mention the hearings.”
Only one guest in 14 rooms
April is usually peak season for tourism in the ancient city of Phoenix, but this year, the situation is not optimistic. Du Fei told the Beijing Times that his guesthouse has 14 rooms—12 were occupied on April 8, and six remained occupied on the 9th. “At this time last year, there wasn’t a single empty room.” By the day before yesterday and yesterday, only one room was booked—and by the same guest.
Since he is a local, Shen Yu’s guesthouse is in his own home, and he still has room to lower prices to attract guests. “We have 20 rooms in total—180 yuan per day on weekends, 150 yuan on weekdays, and even 120 yuan today if we must.” Even so, by yesterday, only nine rooms were occupied.
“The shops I rent out—restaurants, souvenir stores, and accessory shops—are all closed,” Shen Yu said. Similar situations were very common across the ancient city of Phoenix yesterday.
Suggest unified ticket system exclude individual travelers
Regarding the sharp drop in visitors, Du Fei believes: “Some guests just come to see the river scenery, others are visiting nearby counties or cities and just spend the night in Phoenix. Some people don’t like visiting historical homes or scenic spots—forcing tourism on them isn’t appealing.”
In addition, students are seen as a major part of the individual traveler demographic. “An extra 148 yuan will scare them off, and this effect is even more obvious during summer vacation,” Shen Yu said.
Du Fei hopes the government will make adjustments based on the current situation. “The unified ticket could apply only to tour groups, but not be mandatory for individual travelers. But individual travelers could still pay a small fee, like in Lijiang Ancient City, where they charge around几十元 for waste disposal.” “We’d be happy if the government makes money—we’d make money too,” Du Fei said.