2,000-year-old well on display in Chinese park fills up with cash
Visitors apparently see unimpressive terracotta brick circle as a lucky charm and smother it in banknotes
An ancient well that was put on display in a park in northwestern China has been filled with cash by seemingly superstitious visitors, according to a mainland website.
The modest structure – comprising just three circular courses of terracotta bricks – was placed in Qixi Park in Xian, capital of Shaanxi province, as a special attraction for visitors over the “Golden Week” National Day holiday, which started on October 1, Tencent News reported on Friday.
To protect the well, which dates from the Han dynasty (206BC-AD220), it was covered with a clear glass frame.
For reasons known only to themselves, but presumably related to superstition, hundreds of visitors to the well have slid banknotes through the small slits in the glass framework, resulting in it becoming smothered in cash.
The report did not provide any further details about the phenomenon, but the website’s readers were quick to express their thoughts on the matter.
“If they don’t want them [visitors] to throw money, they should seal the glass case properly,” a seemingly upset commenter wrote.
“They condemn this behaviour while letting it carry on, I bet whoever is in charge of collecting the money will be very happy,” the person said.