Quan Yi Fong has reflected on her trip to Southern Xinjiang, one which she “wouldn’t recommend” to anyone.
The 52-year-old local host wrote in a social media post on Nov 1: “I finally had a chance to visit Xinjiang, but since it’s winter, most routes in Northern Xinjiang are closed due to unstable weather conditions.
“Sudden blizzards can cause many attractions and roads to close temporarily, so I had no choice but to opt for Southern Xinjiang.”
She shared that because the region was too vast for independent travel, she did her research and booked a local tour group, which promised in their contract that travellers wouldn’t be forced to go on shopping trips and make purchases.
However, Yi Fong still got “ripped off” despite initially thinking she was an experienced traveller.
She recounted: “For two consecutive days, they took us out early in the morning to buy Xinjiang long-staple cotton and visit two shops selling Hetian jade… Each item costs at least 2,000 yuan (S$380).
“If you didn’t buy anything, the tour guide would mock you on the bus and even scold you.”
This is the first time she experienced this and bought a piece of Hetian jade, while witnessing other travellers’ in the group being “ridiculed” by the tour guide during their 10-day trip.
“I was dumbfounded. It was even more spectacular than the scenery outside!”
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