This is the bizarre moment a tricycle parked on the street suddenly starts and drives itself into a river, narrowly missing a man who picks up litter near the bank.
The peculiar incident – which took place in Zhoushan, in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province – spooked many locals as it occurred during the celebration of the Ghost Festival.
The Ghost Festival is a traditional Chinese event dedicated to honouring deceased ancestors and appeasing wandering spirits every year during the seventh lunar month.
CCTV footage – captured at around 9:40am on 30th August – shows the unmanned trike suddenly ‘coming to life’ and travelling down towards the river.
The vehicle narrowly misses colliding with the man, who was cleaning nearby, leaving him in a state of shock.
He is then seen looking around the empty street in confusion, trying to grasp what happened.
Luckily, there were no injuries and the trike was later retrieved from the water, local media reported.
The video – shared later on Douyin, the Chinese version of Tiktok – sparked various discussions, with many netizens claiming it was the work of a ghost roaming the earth during the festival.
Others, however, suggested it was likely due to a short-circuit triggered by the rainy weather.
One user titled ‘porridge’ said in a comment: “Am I wrong? I could swear I saw a woman behind the tricycle.”
And ‘Tea Packaging Empty Gift Box Wholesale Custom’ wrote: “Look carefully, not only is there a figure sitting in the front of the tricycle, but several people are sitting in the back.”
