A man confronted an elderly jogger who shouted loudly during his early morning exercise and his grievance has struck a chord with many on mainland social media.
The unidentified man, from Jiangsu province in eastern China, was woken at dawn every morning for more than a year by the runner’s yelling.
Early on September 10, he went out to find the elderly jogger and ask him to keep the noise down, Houlang Video reported.
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He filmed himself waiting at dawn on a tree-lined track and he soon hears the shouting coming his way: “Haha, yiyi”.
In the video, he politely asks the elderly jogger to stop and talk for a moment.
“Hello, I would like to talk to you on a matter.”
The elderly man stopped and listened while the man explained he lives nearby and he has been woken early nearly every morning by the elderly jogger’s yelling when he runs past.
“My sleep is interrupted every day,” he said, raising his voice.
He explained he had waited for the elderly man for a few days to try and discuss the matter and explain the problem. And he had a solution.
“Can you shout after running past our neighbourhood? I am thankful,” the man added.
The answer of the elderly jogger was unclear, but he waved goodbye to the man and then continued running.
“I couldn’t stand it anymore, then I found him,” the man told Houlang Video.
The news post has attracted at least 1.42 million views on Weibo, with many online observers sympathising and relating their own difficulties with noisy dawn risers.
Many Chinese people believe shouting and yelling improves lung function and they see it as a form of exercise.
“The disturbing noises are annoying, and those dragging us out of bed are more bothersome,” one posted.
Another wrote: “I can feel that pain. I’m sick of the noises caused by an elderly man practising a steel spinning top near my place.”
Stories of dawn neighbourhood disturbance are not uncommon in China.
In May this year, a woman in eastern China who rose almost every morning for a 6am bike ride around her community while shouting loudly to try and boost her lung capacity, was dubbed the “human alarm clock” by neighbours.
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