A group of five women and two men in traditional Chinese clothing were chased away from a park in China by a staff member who mistook them for wearing Japanese clothes.

Staff mistook traditional Chinese clothing for Japanese

The incident was said to have taken place on Sep. 6 in the Panlong City National Archaeological Site Park in Wuhan, China.

In a viral video uploaded on Chinese social media Weibo that garnered over 10 million views in a day, the Chinese staff told the group, "Don't bring your Japanese clothes here."

The video caption stated that the group wore clothing derived from the early Tang Dynasty style for a photoshoot.

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty that ruled ancient China from 618 to 907.

One of the women replied to the staff, "You are Chinese yourself, and you don't recognise your own country's clothing? These are not from Japan."

A man could be heard in the video asking the staff to find an expert to check the historical origin of their clothes.

In response to the video, commenters lamented that the staff was "ignorant". Some also questioned whether it was wrong even if they wore Japanese clothing.

China considering banning clothes that hurt feelings of Chinese people

China recently revealed draft revisions of its Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security, which included a clause punishing people wearing clothes that "hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation".

According to China's state-run media Global Times, the controversial clause, which had sparked concerns of "excessive enforcement" from China's legal experts, social observers and the general public, states that a person is subject to five to 10 days of detention and a fine of 1,000 to 3,000 yuan (S$186 to S$567) if the person "wears, or forces others to wear clothes or signs" that "jeopardize Chinese national spirit or hurt national feelings".

If the situation is serious, the person can be detained for up to 15 days and fined up to 5,000 yuan (S$930).

It also said that "those who make, distribute or spread such objects or remarks" face the same punishment.

Global Times noted that one social observer wrote on Weibo that as the clause did not make any "specification", the "ambiguity" could cause "confusion in practice" and "stir up more divisions" in the public.

Japanese clothing incidents in China

Incidents over Japanese clothing or culture are not uncommon in China.

According to CNN, a Chinese woman dressed in a kimono was detained by the police in Suzhou in August 2022 for "picking quarrels" and "provoking trouble".

Lianhe Zaobao reported that a woman was detained for five days in Hainan in March 2023 for "kicking up a ruckus" while wearing a replica Japanese military uniform.

Top image from Weibo.