Uncivilized subway passengers get Weibo wrist slap

Photos showing Hangzhou subway passengers holding open umbrellas and doing pull-ups while inside the train cars went viral online this week, touching off discussions over proper behavior while riding public transit.

The two photos, one showing two seated women holding umbrellas and the other a boy hanging from a handlebar doing chin-ups while riding Hangzhou's Subway Line 1, were posted on Sina Weibo July 7 by Xu Ji, a journalist from Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper, while in town to give a lecture on his city's culture.

While some web users speculated that the strong draft coming from the air conditioning above may have excused the umbrellas, comments regarding the chin-ups were almost unanimously critical.

Hangzhou Metro Group responded to the Qianjiang Evening News on July 7, saying that transit authorities plan to launch a campaign this month encouraging passengers to exhibit "civilized behavior" while on the subway and intend to test adjustments to the air conditioner vents in the future.