Commuting in a big Chinese metropolis has never been fun. As much as we appreciate the impressive speed of subway expansion in China, going underground is sometimes akin to plunging into public transport hell, with packed carriages where women are groped, 194-minute-long commutes and even the occasional zombie attack.
But things took a turn for the biblical-cum-cinematic in Shanghai last week when a bucket of eels was overturned on a rush-hour subway carriage.
The eels made a bid for freedom on Line 1 – one of the city’s busiest – while the train was near Shanghai Indoor Stadium at around 6.30pm on Friday evening, but were corralled quickly enough by their unidentified handler that the no-doubt terrifying incident did not affect subway operation.
As a photo of the escaped eels writhing around the busy train made the rounds on WeChat and Weibo, people questioned how the creatures found their way on board one of the world’s most-used urban transit systems.
“Do they only screen backpacks at the security check?” one commenter wondered.
Local media report that eels are not currently on the list of items prohibited on the Shanghai Metro but we expect it’s only a matter of time before anguilliformes join the list of subway contraband.
We can't imagine this could have happened in the capital, where metro officials are a lot less lenient. In March, Beijing banned "bizarre dress" and "horror makeup" on the subway, in January they detained a gentleman who was wearing a watermelon on his head and last year, they kicked a group of foreigners out of a station for bringing their bikes on board.
SEE ALSO: Shanghai's 20 years of insane subway expansion, in one GIF
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