You open a travel guidebook full of stunning photos, tantalizing descriptions and glowing reviews. What could be more perfect? You happily pick up your luggage, board a plane or train and head off to your dream holiday destination ...

But not everything is always as it seems. Unlike the fawning guidebook recommendations, some destinations end up being rather tatty, impossibly crowded, overly commercialized or disappointingly expensive.

A recent online data report in China highlights tourist frustrations.

Developed by DT Finance, an Internet data collector and analyzer, the report collates public comments from Chinese mainstream social media websites and online forums, extracting keywords to find the 20 cities and scenic spots in China drawing the most complaints.

鈥淢ost of our data was collected from Zhihu and Hupu, where more than 2,000 comments are available on topics such as 鈥榃hich is the most disappointing sightseeing destination in the country?鈥� or 鈥楢re there any scenic spots that you wish you鈥檇 never visited?鈥欌�� DT Finance said in the report.

Top of the list is Gulangyu, an island in the city of Xiamen in southeast China鈥檚 Fujian Province. It was followed by various 鈥渁ncient towns鈥� and 鈥渙ld streets鈥� around the country. Other popular destinations, such as the Terracotta Warriors in Xi鈥檃n and West Lake in Hangzhou, also made the list.

In guidebooks, Gulangyu is often described as a 鈥済arden by the sea.鈥� The island鈥檚 official website boasts a 鈥渘ice climate that feels like spring in all seasons鈥� and an absence of traffic. It extols the fragrance of flowers and the sounds of birdsong. And, finally, it notes that this island of cultural diversity dating back more than a century is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Some people who have visited the island say it is overrated and underwhelming. One of them is Shanghai white-collar worker Li Shuiqing, who went to Xiamen with her family last year, before the COVID-19 epidemic hit.

鈥淭o be honest, Gulangyu didn鈥檛 meet my expectations, maybe just because of its extreme popularity,鈥� Li said. 鈥淭he ferry terminal was like a railway station right before the Chinese New Year. And when you get off the boat, you just arrive in another wave of crowds. People everywhere. That made it hard to enjoy the island at a slow pace.鈥�

Extreme popularity can breed excessive exploitation.

鈥淢ost of the stores and snack bars sell more or less the same souvenirs or food, which reminds you repeatedly that it is a commercial scenic spot,鈥� Li said. 鈥淔urthermore, the food there was more expensive than elsewhere in Xiamen, but it doesn鈥檛 taste any better.鈥�

Even Xiamen local Jane Yeh admitted that Gulangyu isn鈥檛 what it used to be.

鈥淚 remember a Gulangyu that was romantic and relaxing, with street musicians playing guitars and singing,鈥� she said. 鈥淲alking around the town while munching on a corncob used to be my favorite thing. Nowadays, I am still willing to spend an afternoon there with family and friends, but I have to admit that it feels different now.鈥�

The same complaints about tourist traps are aired when it comes to 鈥渁ncient towns鈥� and 鈥渙ld streets.鈥�

The DT Finance report listed the most 鈥渓iked鈥� comments on the issues. They included: 鈥淎lmost all the 鈥榓ncient towns鈥� are disappointing,鈥� and 鈥渢he 鈥榟istorical cultural streets鈥� should actually be called 鈥榮nack streets鈥� because there is neither 鈥榟istory鈥� nor 鈥榗ulture鈥� there.鈥�

But, in fact, popular snack streets also draw plenty of traveler complaints.

The Fuzimiao (Confucius Temple) area in Nanjing, Huimin Street in Xi鈥檃n, Kuanzhaixiangzi (Wide and Narrow Alley) in Chengdu and Hubu Alley in Wuhan all come with glowing recommendations in guidebooks, but they, too, made the list of the 20 most disappointing venues on the list.

鈥淚f the old towns were just crowded, I鈥檇 be okay with that, but the buildings in some of the ancient towns are not ancient at all,鈥� Li said. 鈥淎t first sight, it鈥檚 easy to see they are replicas built recently. There might once have been authentic towns in these locations, but if they鈥檙e gone, they鈥檙e gone. Building a new one and telling visitors it鈥檚 an 鈥榓ncient town鈥� is kind of trolling.鈥�

Meanwhile, the Terracotta Warriors in Xi鈥檃n made it to the list for entirely other reasons. Netizens said they think the famous warriors are boring because they look the same as they do on TV. A common refrain is: 鈥淵ou can have only a glimpse of them from above, and it鈥檚 impossible to see them up close.鈥�

People also complained about a 鈥渢erracotta warrior trap鈥� in Xi鈥檃n. A netizen with the screenname Cuiyong shared his experience visiting the city during the recent National Day holiday.

鈥淭he Terracotta Warriors museum is in Lintong District of Xi鈥檃n, and we decided to take a bus there,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淭he bus stop was crowded with tourists, and a man came up to us and said: 鈥業t takes two hours to get to the museum on the bus, and I can drive you there in half the time.鈥欌��

So Cuiyong agreed. Forty minutes later, he ended up at a shabby place called 鈥淲orld鈥檚 Eight Wonders Museum.鈥� The museum, which had a 40 yuan (US$5.60) entry free, exhibited nothing but shoddy replicas of terracotta warriors, Egyptian mummies, ancient Greek temples and plastic fish.

Cuiyong was not the only one who fell into the trap. Such complaints started three years ago, when a netizen with the screenname Vigor Mianmianxiong shared how she managed to dodge three traps when sightseeing in Xi鈥檃n. Her post received more than 4,000 comments and nearly 10,000 reposts on Weibo, in which people posted pictures of fake terracotta warriors they were taken to see.

While the complaints list struck a chord with most people, some begged to differ.

Liang Zizi, a landscape architect, agreed with other criticism on ancient towns and old streets, but she said some destinations were wrongly maligned.

鈥淭ake West Lake for example,鈥� she said. 鈥淎s a landscape architect, I once spent months at West Lake. It鈥檚 true, there are often many visitors, but if you go when there aren鈥檛, the views are splendid. If you really want to appreciate it, you need to learn to pick the right time, such as early morning or after dark. Then you鈥檒l see a very different West Lake from that seen during crowded national holidays.鈥�

Liu Zaoqi, a programmer and data analyst, said that a more detailed analysis of tourist data shows that tourists who complain about unpleasant experiences are usually referring to services, food, long lines or admission fees at venues, but they tend to give a more positive evaluation of the scenic spots themselves.

鈥淭ake Gulangyu for example,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 looked at data from hundreds of thousands of reviews posted on online travel services, and I found that the most mentioned keywords are: 鈥榥ot bad鈥� and 鈥榞ood scenery.鈥� The most mentioned negative word is 鈥榚xpensive.鈥� It is the same with West Lake and the Terracotta Warriors.鈥�