Written by By Staff Writer
CNN
(CNN) — People in the industrial city of Yangzhou in east China’s Jiangsu Province have gone on a run this summer, scratching the sun from the sky and creating what they’re calling the “coaxymoon.”
But a novelty summer spectacle has spawned a new problem: fierce controversy over a weather phenomenon that’s caused eight pedestrians to be killed over the past four weeks.
In its current form, the phenomenon is known as a specular eclipse.
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“Eclipses are dangerous, all around the world, but never in Yangzhou before,” said Xie Younian, spokesman for the Yangzhou New Electric Company.
Each day, people block out the sun in front of their homes to make the sun silhouettes and their own, hours-long applause, says an editorial by the Yangzhou Daily newspaper in Saturday’s edition.
In the past, residents of the city, famed for its winding waterways and modern buildings, considered sun preservation a religious duty, says the newspaper.
‘Sculpture of the devil’
“Sculpting suns have always been a popular pastime, though pretty local traditions make them associated with a kind of worship,” it said.
But on Tuesday, the phenomenon became very popular, sparking a fiery debate.
In addition to the latest spate of cases of fatal accidents, eight pedestrians had been hit by cars while adjusting the phenomenon.
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Tianwanghuiao China Daily reported that its cover story, “Sun worshippers strike back” had lost a lot of readers, but received a good response in the form of strong comments.
“It looks like they are practicing what they don’t believe in,” one wrote.
The article was also criticized for its art piece of a watermelon upside down and its above-the-ground end upside down, alongside the solar eclipse.
Another added: “They shouldn’t kill people because they wanted to do something like this. It is a sculpture of the devil.”
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The editorial urged residents not to make over their beliefs but to “learn about their religion from the book.”
But some residents have become fed up.
In the past four weeks, nearly 20 pedestrians have been injured when tourists lost control of their cars when trying to stop the sun shadow’s reflection.
Since the city closed the high-speed rail station to prevent the vehicles from being thrown up, many pedestrians have been running through the closed station.
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“People are killed and more are injured every day. We don’t know what’s causing this,” says another editorial by the Yangzhou Daily newspaper.
The newspaper says that the dust on the runway between the two terminals at the station caused dangerous scuffs on cars.
Local regulators have had no effect on lowering the levels of dust, according to a government statement released earlier this week.
The editorial also said that no clear explanation had been provided for the accidents.
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The daily added that the city government asked the national geological institute to take samples to see if the balls could be responsible for the sun shadows.
The investors have been banned from advertising the phenomenon or making money from its sales as their advertising has been “reverting to abnormal levels,” the statement said.
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Further photos of damaged vehicles have also been submitted.
“Sun worshipers just weren’t cautious enough,” writes another editorial by the Yangzhou Daily newspaper.