Man rocking a cherry blossom tree sparks outrage

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As the weather gets warmer, cherry blossoms have come into their own at locations around China.

Screenshot from official Weibo account of Wuhan University

Known for its more than 1,000 blooming cherry trees, Wuhan University in central China’s Hubei Province has attracted hordes of visitors to its annual cherry blooming festival, running from March 20 to April 2.

But things turned sour when a video showing a visitor rocking a blooming cherry tree went viral on Saturday.

It triggered a huge backlash among Chinese social media users as well as students of the university.

Screenshot from official Weibo account of Wuhan University

In the video first released on Yishou Video, a young man was seen crossing the fence and fiercely shaking a cherry tree to make its flowers fall, amid laughter and cheers from his companions.

Taken at the campus’s famed Cherry Blossom Boulevard, the man was on the point of shaking another tree but by that time, an incensed crowd reacted and someone pulled the culprit off the tree.

According to a witness, the man was so infuriated that he was about the hit the person who stopped him but was prevented from doing so.

Screenshot from official Weibo account of Wuhan University

Later that day, the university posted a video on its official Weibo account calling on the public to protect the cherry blossoms, saying "Is the rain of cherry blossoms beautiful? The flowers hurt a lot.”

The post has generated much anguish from netizens as well as students. Some said people should be given a fine for that type of behavior; one student even said they hoped the school would cancel the annual festival.

Screenshot from official Weibo account of Wuhan University

Many visitors rushed to the campus as a result of the incident, causing some inconvenience to daily teaching. On Mar. 22, to shelter from the rain, some visitors even got into a teaching building, forcing the early dismissal of a class.

To tackle the situation and to cap the daily number of visitors, Wuhan University had already set up an online booking system, with the capped number set at 15,000 on weekdays and 30,000 at weekends. Visitors have to swap their ID cards and facial recognition systems before entering the campus.

Screenshot from official Weibo account of Wuhan University

The school also said that visitors who behave in an “uncivilized” manner while visiting would be blacklisted and banned.