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Ge’s Fairy Village, a resort in Jiangxi province, blends Taoist-inspired culture with forest scenery and martial arts-themed accommodation. Standard adult admission is typically 130 yuan ( US$20).

One of its best-known performers, known online as “Little Yellow Fish”, has gained nearly 400,000 followers on Chinese social media platforms, according to the South China Morning Post.

Wearing traditional Chinese clothing, he greets and interacts with tourists through a window built into a traditional-style structure in widely shared videos.

When visitors ring the bell at the window, the performer appears from behind a curtain and offers them a lollipop while mimicking a kiss, creating an intimate and flirtatious moment as part of the performance.

Male tourists are also given lollipops, occasionally accompanied by a kiss on the cheek, rather than the more direct contact seen with female visitors.

But when interacting with children, he simply hands them the candy, a fact that has led many commenters online to praise him for “knowing boundaries”.

One woman wrote in an online post she wore traditional Chinese attire, styled her make-up accordingly, and waited in the sweltering heat for more than an hour just to meet him.

“He is gentle and polite. The experience made me feel like the heroine of a television drama.”

The performer’s “lollipop kiss” interaction quickly went viral across Chinese short-video platforms, bringing the resort a temporary surge in popularity and visitor traffic. However, it also sparked widespread criticism.

One netizen said: “While he may provide emotional satisfaction for some young women, these suggestive interactions could negatively influence minors, who might think it is acceptable for strangers to touch their faces or kiss them.”

On May 1, Chinese state media outlet Minsheng Weekly criticized Little Yellow Fish and other resort performers for “borderline interactions” involving physical or flirtatious contact with visitors

The report said some tourist attractions rely too much on influencers’ appearance, using excessive physical contact and staged kissing scenes to create sensational, lowbrow content aimed at driving online traffic.

In response, Little Yellow Fish posted an apology video, promising to adopt more appropriate and welcoming ways of interacting with visitors, including replacing the lollipop kiss with hand-delivered flowers.

Ge’s Fairy Village also issued an apology, saying it would strengthen performers’ cultural training and introduce a supervision system to better regulate interactive entertainment.