Chinese tourist in ‘kimono’ who wanted to see Wuhan University cherry blossoms gets in scuffle with guards
- Visitors are said to be banned from wearing Japanese dress on campus, where first trees were planted by military occupation force during the 1930s
- University said man was turned away because he hadn’t made an appointment while he insisted his outfit was ancient Chinese dress
A Chinese tourist dressed in a kimono-style outfit became involved in a scuffle with security guards outside Wuhan University’s famed cherry blossom trees.
The university in central China said on Monday that the man had been stopped from entering because he had not made an appointment to visit the campus, which attracts thousands of visitors each spring. However, the university is also reported to have a policy of banning visitors wearing the traditional Japanese costume.
There are more than 1,000 cherry blossom trees in Wuhan University, the first batch of which were planted by occupying Japanese soldiers in the late 1930s.
At that time, Japan’s Central China Commanding Office was located on the site of the modern university.
Although the university’s statement did not make it clear whether the man had been stopped by security guards because of his outfit, a video of the incident showed him arguing with security guards saying that it was an outfit from the time of the Tang dynasty, which ruled China between the seventh and early 10th centuries.