

A photo of four or five foreigners feasting on the Shanghai Metro has gone viral on Chinese social media, stirring up some righteous indignation.

The image was taken by a Weibo user on Line 11 on Friday. It shows a group of laowai having quite the meal in the middle of the metro carriage complete with a table, plates and cups; in what is either Shanghai’s newest dining club or a protest stunt against eating on the subway.

A reporter for Shanghai’s Eastday.com talked to a subway official who confirmed that the incident had taken place, but added that there would be no punishment meted out to the diners. The official explained that while the Shanghai Metro’s passenger code does ask passengers not to eat or talk loudly on trains, it is not actually legally binding and there are no specific penalties for rule-breakers.

Still, the expats have been judged and condemned in the court of public opinion by many Chinese netizens who complain that foreigners are held to a different standard than locals. “If this were Chinese passengers pigging out on the subway, then they would be shamed to death,” writes one indignant Weibo user.

Last year, a woman spotted snacking on chicken feet and spitting out the bones onto the floor of a Shanghai subway carriage became China’s public enemy No. 1. She returned a month later to slurp some smelly soup.

[Images via Weibo]

Follow Shanghaiist on WeChat Share this: Pocket

Telegram

Print

