We can only assume this principal has visions of grandiosity. The photo above, showing a principal in a car inspecting his students, has gone viral on Chinese social networks. He is emulating what heads of state normally do to actual soldiers on important occasions: inspect the military in a solemn ceremony. In this case, the “military” is comprised of students who had just finished military training, itself beset with controversy this year.

Principal Shi Xiuhe was photographed standing up in an Audi convertible surveying the 6,000 students that took part in the training as it drove around the athletic track of Xinhua Academy on September 19, reports the Chinese News Network. Students hailed the principal in a unison cry as “senior official” while military instructors saluted.

Netizens have criticized such behavior as “being addicted to officialdom”, but the school has rebuked this reaction as a “misunderstanding”.

“Reviewing the troops” is nothing new for the school. Here’s a photo of a ceremony at the school from 2013:

This one is from 2010:

In all three, the car is labeled as a “troop reviewing car” in red Chinese characters.

For comparison, this is what then-President Hu Jintao looked like when reviewing military troops during celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Communist Party held in Tian’anmen Square:

And for another comparison, here’s Deng Xiaoping reviewing his troops by car:

Military training is the annual tradition for freshmen students in China in which they learn how to march and other military skills in addition to their schooling.

As much as the Xinhua Academy seems to be a throwback, other schools are embracing reform to make military training easier for students, such as having it done indoors to escape the rain.

Related:

• High School Student Commits Suicide Following Mandatory Military Training
• Ugly Incident: Hunan Students and Chinese Military In Violent High School Clash
• Internet Addiction Treatment Involves Military-Style Training, Leaves One Dead

Photos: China News Network, SZ News, blog.sina