China’s obsession with The Fast and The Furious movies may have helped the automobile industry, however it is the fast pace and cool tricks of the drivers that has the Chinese racing. Drifting, to be precise.
At Nanjing’s Zhongshan Scenic Park a number of people were, in the afternoon of 27 January, filmed drifting on the snowed over lawn; earlier reports claim that at one point there were several off-road vehicles drifting on the snow.
Park security spoke with reporters to confirm that the SUV drifters were told to leave by police, only to return some time later to continue drifting, at which point the police were called again.
The story attracted heated debate all over Chinese socail media. On Weib, user comments included, “these people should not be allowed to drive!”, “[they] should be given heavy penalties”, “arrogant”, “shameful” and “a rich city will play…”.
Park security has spoken of the damage to the lawn at Nanjing’s iconic park, stating the actions of these people has resulted in 500 square meters of damaged lawn.
Those who were involved, and those whom the police have in question, face legal proceedings for the damage of public and private property. Two of the cars in question carry Nanjing license plates; 苏A99LF2 and 苏A12WG2, while another is the Anhui registered 皖G47369.
This is not the first time Nanjing public property has been damaged as a result of flashy escapades with automobiles. In 2012, Ferrari ran a promotional campaign whereby one of their cars was placed on the Nanjing city wall… to be filmed and photographed being driven up and down.
The stunt caused quite the sensation amongst citizens and government alike when it was revealed the Ferrari had damaged a part of the wall. The event was cancelled after a “burn-out” left tire marks on the wall.
The incident even caught the attention of international media such as the BBC.
