'Humiliating': Tourists destroy popular selfie spots
The annual blooming of a vibrant pink grass across China has prompted selfie-seeking tourists to flock to some of the more picturesque sites in droves, causing widespread destruction in the process.
Several videos from across the nation have since gone viral on Chinese Twitter-like site Weibo showing hordes of visitors swamping the pink grass locations, with many ignoring instructions to stay out of the grassed areas.
One video uploaded by Chinese news site The Paper shows scores of visitors at a site in Wuhan on Sunday during sunset.
The grass is flattened in large areas as dozens can be seen posing for selfies, while others had picked the grass keep.
A security guard at the site told The Paper he felt helpless after requests to the large group of visitors to vacate the area and remain on paths fell on deaf ears.
One location in Zhengzhou is fenced off while guards and a loudspeaker system warn visitors of the rules, however video shows some still climbing over the barrier for a photo.
A video from a site in Nanning shows a group of women posing with muhly grass they had ripped out of the display, while others were pictured brazenly in the grass.
It’s not the first time the blooming of muhly grass, which occurs for over a month in autumn, has prompted similar damage.
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Last year a park in Hangzhou was forced to cut down its muhly display after it was destroyed just two weeks after it had bloomed, the South China Morning Post reported.
Thousands critical of ‘humiliating’ behaviour
The videos attracted millions of views on Weibo, prompting a wave of angry comments from users.
“When you step on the grass, it’s not a beautiful photo but a stain on yourself,” one person said.
One user said the Wuhan video was “humiliating” for the city’s people.
Others called for those breaching the rules to face fines.
Some users sympathised with visitors, insisting park management should improve pathways to make the fields more accessible to large numbers.
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