Beware of massages by those "Chinese physicians" in 金色阳光健康桑拿广场 （Jinse Yangguang Jiankang Sangna Guangchang) at Luohu City in Shenzhen. Not all their Chinese physicians are qualified to do certain massages. My foreign friend have had a bad experience there recently. He let one of the so-called physicians did a massage on his stiff neck but it got worst the next day. He didn't complain immediately as he knew that guy. Instead he went back to his country to seek treatment and was told that his nerves were injured. After coming back to Shenzhen, the pain didn't got better so we suggested that he make an official complaint to the company.

He tried to complain to the supervisors and assistant managers but to no avail. He was made to pay RMB206 for a treatment by a professional physician in the company. Finally he decided to lodge an official complaint to the general manager who was nice initially. He promised to get a qualified Chinese physician to check and treat him free of charge until his pain got better. The first treatment was free and subsequently he has to pay for it. He argued that it is not about the money but more about the company's responsibility. The general manager refused to give the second treatment free and tried to push the responsibility back to my friend. He claimed that it'll be free only for the physician to check which he already did the first time. Any treatment will be chargeable.

We found out that it's pointless to complain in China because one's life may even be in danger more so if you're living there. In the case of my friend, he is living just above the centre and that made him very vulnerable to dangers because he has to walk past the centre most of the time. He threatened to complain to the HK press and was challenged by the general manager who claimed that he also knew a lot of influential individuals and media companies in Hong Kong. I don't think reporting to the police would help either unless it's a big news. There is a lot of undertable business going on in China. They could easily engage a hitman just by paying a few hundred RMB.

So you guys should not patronize this massage centre unless you're looking for trouble. There are many other reputable ones in Luohu City.