Social media records rare public appearance of former president Hu Jintao

When former President Hu Jintao inspected an ancestral family home this week, state media failed to cover a rare appearance of the man who led China for the last decade. But his visit was reported by social media.

The lack of reporting by official media outlets is unusual as visits by his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, and other former state leaders receive regular media attention. The local Huangshan Daily, the provincial Anhui Daily and Xin’an Evening News have so far not reported the visit.

Despite the lack of media coverage, Hu's visit was anything but low key. Roads were blocked for his convoy, photos point to a heavy security presence and a sustantial entourage. 

A jovial Hu, 70, is seen leaving a bus in a car convoy in photos shared by a photographer from the Anhui Daily on his private microblog. The retired leader was walking through an historic street in the city centre of Huangshan, accompanied by bodyguards and a woman, who appeared to be a tour guide.

The city is about an hour’s drive south of Hu family’s ancestral home in Jinxi in Anhui province.