Chaos ensued at a mall in China when hordes of shoppers rushed to pluck decorations that resembled presents from a Christmas tree.
Video footage shared over Chinese social media platform Weibo showed people hungrily grabbing at the ornaments.
Source: Weibo
The incident took place on Christmas Eve (24 Dec) at a mall in Taiyuan city of China’s Shanxi province, reported Pioneer News (先锋新闻).
At about 8pm, Wuyue Plaza was conducting a Christmas giveaway at its atrium when one shopper climbed over a barrier to grab a “present” from the Christmas tree.
Source: South China Morning Post on YouTube
While the “presents” on the Christmas tree were merely ornaments, that didn’t stop the crowd from following suit.
At first, security tried to stop them, with guards heard shouting to warn about the risk of electric shock.
Source: Weibo
However, there were too many people picking apart the tree to stop them, they said.
During the chaotic scene, some people even climbed up the tree to reach the “presents”.
Source: Weibo
Even children got in on the act, the clips showed.
Source: Weibo
Their actions caused the tree to list dangerously and some ornaments to fall off.
Source: Weibo
Those who got hold of the ornaments were quickly disappointed to find out that the boxes were empty.
Source: Weibo
They were then unceremoniously dumped on the floor.
Source: Weibo
After the dust settled, the bottom half of the Christmas tree had been picked clean.
Photos on XiaoHongShu showed that even the fabric covering at the base had been torn apart during the fracas.
Source: 华利依晟 on XiaoHongShu
The damaged tree was removed the next day, which was Christmas Day, the mall told Pioneer News.
Also read: S’pore Man Hit On Head By Hanging Christmas Tree In KL Mall, Sustains Minor Injury
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Featured image adapted from Weibo.
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