Social Mood in China: Tourists Rampage After Failed Lightning Bug Display

Not only has there been real estate rage in Hangzhou this year, now there is tourist rage.

Chinese tourists smash up resort office after bugs fail to appear in fireflies display

What was promised as a romantic evening display under the glittering lights of 30,000 fireflies by a scenic Zhejiang lake resort turned into hours of staring at the blank night sky followed by a riot.

The no-show by the insects prompted a mob of angry tourists to march on the resort's management office and smash the doors and windows when they couldn’t get a refund.

The nearly 10,000 tourists had paid 30 yuan (HK$38) to see the fireflies show – some paid up to 180 yuan for scalped tickets – for opening night at the Xiang Lake plaza in Hangzhou city.

There are two trends at work. One is social mood, which is negative and leads to greater confrontation and expressions of anger.

The other is that Chinese consumers increasingly demand higher standards and better business practices. There are more and more stories of customers protesting or demanding refunds from all sorts of companies, sometimes with justification and sometimes not. This is where several foreign companies have stumbled in China: Chinese consumers expect an American company to adhere to American business standards, a French company to French standards, etc. They do not expect "when in Rome" from foreign companies, but many foreign companies go native and end up with huge brand damage because their Chinese division behaves like a Chinese company. This is especially true when it comes to food and safety. Either adhere to the highest global standards or prepare to face the wrath of Chinese consumers.