Say cheese! Tourists in China pose for CCTV cameras to snap ‘surveillance souvenir photos’
Chinese tourists have been using publicly accessible surveillance feeds to capture their group travel photos at iconic locations.
Xiaohongshu user Wei Xi shared a screengrab of a group photo taken at Wawu Mountain in China's Sichuan province. (Photo: Xiaohongshu/Wei Xi)
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SICHUAN: Towering high above the clouds and offering majestic views of its snowy mountain range and surrounding forests, the Wawu Mountain range in Sichuan, is a major draw for many Chinese tourists.
Determined to get a good panoramic photo was Wei Xi, who travelled to the area with friends in January.
An idea struck her when she noticed several official CCTV cameras in the area, which were mounted on poles and pointed in different directions.
“I had a brainwave. Since we could access the public surveillance feeds of these places, we could (pose in front of cameras) at the location and take screen grabs,” Wei wrote on her Xiaohongshu account.
No selfie sticks or expensive camera equipment was necessary.
Live feeds from the surveillance cameras also proved useful for observing conditions atop the mountain, she said, as the group had been worried “there would be no snow” during their visit.
With an extensive and sophisticated surveillance network of 600 million cameras monitoring its 1.4 billion population, China is one of the most surveilled countries in the world.
And tourists have been making use of CCTV cameras planted at popular scenic areas to take their “surveillance souvenir photos” - screenshots from live video feeds accessible to the public.
On Xiaohongshu, users have been sharing their CCTV travel photos and experiences.
A user by the name Jiang Baibai, had lost his camera when visiting the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing city with a friend and decided to make do.
“The surveillance cameras are proof that I was there,” Jiang said, adding that live feeds monitoring visitors were easily accessible on official sites and Chinese messaging apps like WeChat.
Jiang did not mention if there were guards or a heavy security presence at the site, but said the process of capturing images through live feeds could encounter slight lags.
To overcome this, Jiang and his friend held their poses slightly longer so good images could be captured.
Xiaohongshu user Wei Xi described her experience of posing like “criminal suspects” while travelling as funny.
“It's quite fun to (take a photo like this), even if the resolution isn't clear,” Wei added.
A tourist who visited Mount Emei, another popular mountain range in Sichuan, also realised that official CCTVs could be used to take photos in real time from different angles.
Mount Emei has several live camera feeds which are accessible from their official WeChat account, she said, which visitors can use to observe crowds and monitor weather conditions before visiting.
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High-tech CCTV surveillance cameras are found in almost every corner in all Chinese cities.
Chinese authorities have long maintained that surveillance is necessary in deterring crime and ensuring public safety.
Live video footage connects to official state security networks and allows police to quickly match faces or details like car license plates with database records.
But the issue remains a double-edged sword, with the increasing presence and accessibility of surveillance cameras and recording devices allowing for illicit recordings and voyeurism cases.
Spycam crimes have been reported in China and have led to authorities cracking down on illegal surveillance.
