A joke doing the rounds on the Internet says that if Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) poet Li Bai were living today, he could have composed only half of the poems about the beautiful scenery across China because of skyrocketing prices of tickets to tourist sites.

Besides, tourism services are really poor in many places and travel costs in sharp contrast to the quality of service delivered.

Just a few days ago, a man in his 70s from Anhui province, surnamed Yao, wrote to Hainan province governor Jiang Dingzhi, complaining about being insulted by his tourist guide on Hainan island for refusing to pay the extra cost to visit the scenic spots he was scheduled to. Later, the tourist guide "dumped" Yao to fend for himself in an unknown place.