A TOURIST attraction in Hangzhou that allowed visitors to experience life as a prisoner in ancient China has sparked debate online over whether it was a cultural experience, or entertainment taken too far.
During the recent Labour Day holiday, a cultural theme park known as Song Dynasty Town launched an unusual attraction in which visitors could wear wooden stocks, sit in prisoner carts and be paraded through the streets like criminals in ancient times.
Videos shared online showed tourists queueing up to have their hands and necks locked in wooden stocks, China Press reported.
Other visitors were seen sitting in wooden cages pulled by actors dressed as prison guards.
Many Internet users said the attraction made them uncomfortable and argued that historical punishments should be treated with greater reverence.
Others, however, viewed it as harmless fun and a form of historical re-enactment.
“If they added passers-by throwing eggs and cabbages, the experience would be complete!” one netizen quipped.
Song Dynasty Town is reportedly Hangzhou’s first large-scale theme park and among the first in China to showcase Song Dynasty culture.
Visitors to the park can immerse themselves in settings modelled after 12th-century China, dress in traditional attire and enjoy live performances.
> The same daily reported that a man and a woman, both in their 60s, were sentenced to 80 hours of community service after they were caught engaging in sexual acts at a pier in Hong Kong.
Last October, a video clip went viral online showing the pair performing the acts on a bench at the Cheung Chau Public Pier.
On Oct 31, police arrested 62-year-old cashier Ma Liqing and 63-year-old seaman Wu Taoming to assist in investigations.
Both later pleaded guilty to committing an act of public indecency, claiming they were under the influence of alcohol at the time.
A Hong Kong court sentenced each of them to 80 hours of community service.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
