Man in Shenzhen Strips, Threatens to Jump Off Fake Eiffel Tower

Natalie Wang , May 21, 2014 9:15am

Tourists who came to Shenzhen’s Windows of the World, a theme park filled with replicas of famous world landmarks, on May 18 were shocked to find another spectacular view—a naked man perched on top of a replica of the Eiffel Tower, threatening to jump.

The man climbed all the way to the top of the tower and stripped down to his underwear, causing quite a commotion and scaring off some female visitors.  According to a report by Huaxi Metropolis Daily, the man was attempting to get attention after his house in Sichuan Province was demolished by local authorities in a land dispute.

Online images uploaded by witnesses show the man’s body was covered with words like “help”, “Nanchong” (his home city), and “ordinary people”. 

According to flyers distributed at the scene, the 46 year-old man had engaged in a physical confrontation with people working for the local authority over a land dispute. Out of despair, he came to Shenzhen and chose a public way to petition for his alleged grievance. No word on what ultimately happened to the guy.

Earlier in April, Guangzhou complained that residents from other provinces and cities came to the city and tarnished its image with an increasing number of petition-seeking bridge jumpers. We figure we will see a similar report from Shenzhen soon.

 

Natalie Wang

Journalist based in Hong Kong.