On their worst behavior

(ECNS) -- In what has been dubbed a "loss of face" for all Chinese people, a teenager has vandalized a stone sculpture in an ancient temple in Egypt.

The boy inscribed the Chinese characters for "Ding Jinhao was here" on a cameo at the Luxor Temple, one of Egypt's most renowned archaeological sites. A photo of the defacement on a Sina microblog has made him the subject of a vicious online manhunt.

It is but the latest in a spate of bad PR for Chinese tourists, whose bad manners at home and abroad have become a prominent issue in the media.

Along with its rapid economic growth, China's tourism industry is growing fast, but the country's international image is being undermined by the vulgar, impolite and undisciplined behavior of its citizens.

No manners

By writing on cultural relics, as well as many other public fixtures, ill-behaved Chinese tourists are posing a challenge to the protection and maintenance of popular tourist sites all over the world.

In March 2009, a retired man from Changzhou, Jiangsu province, carved his name and hometown on a rock in Taiwan's Yehliu Geopark, triggering intense criticism.

Last February, a photo showing the words "Liang Qiqi was here" carved by a tourist into a ceremonial brass receptacle at Beijing's Palace Museum also quickly went viral.

The same problem has occurred at the Summer Palace. Phrases and names have been found on relics all over the garden, including the Seventeenth Arch Bridge and a famous brass bull beside Kunming Lake.

"Vandalism is common and has existed for a long time," said an employee at Beijing's State Administration of Cultural Heritage. Some of it can cause permanent damage to cultural relics.

"The Summer Palace has few means of catching vandals, however, other than beefing up its camera surveillance, sending guards to watch relics and giving warnings," he said.

The bad manners go much further than primitive graffiti. In Hong Kong, newspapers have photographed multiple examples of uncouth behavior by visitors from the mainland, including cutting in lines, smoking in non-smoking areas, spitting, walking barefoot and squatting in the middle of the sidewalk.

Harming the nation's image

Despite a civilization reaching back thousands of years, the immature behavior of Chinese tourists is spoiling the country's reputation abroad.

The problem has raised the ire of Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, who earlier this month criticized his fellow countrymen for "talking loudly in public places, jay-walking, spitting and willfully carving characters on items in scenic zones."

Fueled by a growing economy at home, Chinese tourists made 83 million foreign trips in 2012, compared to 10 million in 2000, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

In little more than a decade, Chinese tourists have gone from being relatively rare outside of Asia to the most important market for global tourism.

Social psychologists say it has been a steep learning curve for Chinese tourists, as they slowly grow accustomed to their affluence.

But in order for change to come, authorities must encourage and instill order, provide lifelong moral education, and penalize bad behavior in public, experts say.

Vice Premier Wang Yang has urged authorities to help Chinese tourists "conscientiously abide by public order and social ethics, respect local religious beliefs and customs, and mind their speech and behavior."

A new tourism law that takes effect on October 1 should also help, by "promoting a healthy and civilized way to travel, and improving the level of civilization of tourists." It also stresses that establishing a good reputation for Chinese tourists is the common responsibility of the government.

Invasion of privacy

For his crime in Egypt, outraged netizens have hunted down 15-year-old Ding Jinhao and exposed some of his personal information, including his birthdate and primary school.

That school's website has reportedly been hacked, forcing users to click on a sign parodying Ding's graffiti before entering.

The online furore has prompted his parents, who say Ding "cried all night" after learning of the cyber attacks, to issue an apology in a local newspaper.

The incident highlights citizens' eagerness to protect the country's reputation, but also the urgency of protecting people's privacy, experts say.

Qiu Baochang, a lawyer at a Beijing-based law firm, says posting private information online is a human rights violation: "If it causes the victim to commit suicide, those involved will bear criminal responsibility."