A Chinese man has won a “lying-flat” competition by resting on a mattress for 33 hours and 35 minutes in a shopping centre. - Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin
BEIJING: A 23-year-old man in China has won a “lying-flat competition” by resting on a mattress for 33 hours and 35 minutes.
The contest, sponsored by a domestic mattress brand, kicked off at 10.18am on November 15 at a shopping centre in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, northern China, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported.
Its title borrowed the popular slang term “lying flat”, known as tang ping in Chinese.
This refers to a mindset which rejects hard work and chooses doing the bare minimum to get by which has been popular among young people because of heavy social pressure and tough job market.
The top three winners photographed after being presented with their prizes. - Photo: Douyin
In the contest, anyone who can lie on the mattress without sitting up, leaving the mattress or going to the toilet for the longest period wins.
Contestants were allowed to turn over, read books and play with their mobile phones. They were also allowed to order takeaway products and eat the food while lying on their stomachs.
Most people taking part wore diapers to get around the toilet problem.
About 240 people took part, of which 186 quit within a day, the report said.
Only three people had stuck to their guns when 33 hours and 9 minutes passed.
As the competition reached its latter stages, those left were asked to raise their legs and arms, adding a new physical dimension to proceedings. - Photo: Douyin
Organisers increased the difficulty level by telling the remaining three people to lift their arms and legs simultaneously.
The person able to keep doing so the longest was declared the winner.
In the end, the 23-year-old man was the only one left in the competition.
“My girlfriend sent me a link to the competition and suggested I have a go,” he was quoted as saying.
“I did not do much preparation. In the middle of the competition, I thought of giving up. But my girlfriend told me to carry on,” said the unidentified man.
An aerial photograph taken in the shopping centre shows rows of contestants lying on mattresses. - Photo: Douyin
The top three winners received prizes of 3,000 yuan (US$420), 2,000 yuan and 1,000 yuan respectively.
“I will use the money to treat my friends for a hotpot dinner. They came to see me last night, bringing me food and drinks, mid-competition,” said the winner.
The event was live-streamed on social media. It attracted 10 million viewers and around eight million comments.
“Will it be held in other cities? I bet I can stay for 70 hours as long as I have got several portable chargers for my mobile phone at hand,” one online observer said.
But another person asked: “What is the point of this contest?” - South China Morning Post
