‘Chicken men’ haunt city subway trains

By Yang Lifei  |   2008-10-31  |     ONLINE EDITION

SHANGHAI’S subway commuters were given a surprise yesterday when two men, including one foreigner, dressed as chickens boarded a train and clucked about one day before Halloween.

The men were wearing a yellow costume with a red head and tail when they got off a train on Metro Line 4, according to Eastday.com.

The chicken men acted proud, puffed out their chests like roosters, smiled and posed with their thumbs up for a photographer, the report said. It was not clear if they were dressed up for a Halloween event.

Passengers didn’t seem bothered with the prank as some buried their heads in newspapers or books while others simply ignored the men, the Website said.

It’s not the first time people have been spotted dressed in costumes on the city’s subway system. On previous occasions, amused passengers would take pictures with mobile phone cameras.

Shanghai Metro authorities discourage these "performance artists" from appearing on trains and stations and disrupting public order, the report said.

On October 17, a man wrapped up like a mummy in white bandages boarded a train at Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Station on Line 2. He greeted passengers, took a seat and tried to shake hands with a few people.

In July, a man wearing a giraffe head and white coat appeared on a subway train, as well as in shopping malls and supermarkets.

In May, a man wearing a Superman costume appeared on Line 2 and caused a minor disruption, the report said.

The incidents were widely discussed on numerous blogs. Some Shanghai residents thought it was a novel and entertaining idea although no one seems to know why these people are dressing up, the report said.