The couple were fulfilling a lifelong dream by travelling to the United states for a holiday. Although charges were not pressed against them, the experience of having to spend a night locked up with drug dealers and prostitutes turned their dream very much into a nightmare.

After the couple couldn’t agree over where to stand while posing for a photograph, the wife hit her husband over the head with her handbag. He retaliated with his bag and they got into a loud argument in a language the locals couldn’t understand. Around 10 policemen were called over to subdue them.

According to their tour guide, surnamed Du, the couple were kept in separate cells and wept after being released the next day.

This is the latest in a long line of incidents that has given tourists from the Chinese mainland a bad name. In May this year, former Guangdong Party Secretary Wang Yang said:

“They speak loudly in public, carve characters on tourist attractions, cross the road when the traffic lights are still red, spit anywhere and [carry out] some other uncivilised behaviour. It damages the image of the Chinese people and has a very bad impact.”

A proposal was issued by the China International Travel Service on behalf of the industry on Aug 1, calling for good manners for tourists and tour guides, according to China Daily.