Selfie behaviour: Chinese tourist ignores ‘do not touch’ sign for photos on 600-year-old statue

A Chinese tourist has been criticised for her “uncivilised” behaviour after she took selfies sitting on top of a 600-year-old statue outside a Ming dynasty (1368-1644) tomb, mainland media reports.

The woman apparently failed to see a warning sign next to the artefacts, outside the Xiaoling tomb in Nanjing, telling visitors "Do Not Touch", as she spent five minutes taking selfies, the Yangtze Evening News reported.

She constantly changed her pose while sitting on the stone animal in the city – once the capital of a number of Chinese dynasties and republican governments – in Jiangsu province, a passer-by told the newspaper.

The woman also took her time to update her selfies on WeChat, a popular mainland social media platform, as she sat on the statue.

The artefact is one of 24 statues of animals, including lions, elephants and mythical beings, which line the 1,800 metre-long road leading to the tomb.

The mausoleum was built between 1381 and 1405 for the first emperor of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, known as the Hongwu Emperor, who died in 1398.