A bizarre tourist attraction in Jiangxi, China, has gone viral after visitors discovered what appeared to be a wooden pole packed with 84 surveillance cameras.
The unusual installation was spotted in Caoxia Village in Wanlongshan Township, Pingxiang, Jiangxi province. Videos posted online showed rows of cameras attached to a single pole, pointing in different directions and creating the impression of an extreme surveillance setup.
But the striking display is not what it first appears to be.
A village official said only one of the 84 cameras is actually functioning. Most of the others are reportedly broken, unused surveillance devices that were repurposed as decorations for a photo spot created by a nearby camping base.
The camping base’s manager said the installation was created around two or three years ago after he saw a collection of old surveillance cameras that were no longer being used. He decided to turn them into an unusual piece of artwork.
The number 84 was reportedly counted by a visitor who encountered the installation while travelling through the village. After the video spread online, social media users reacted with jokes about the cameras appearing to outnumber birds in nearby trees, while others questioned whether displaying so many old devices could cause confusion.
The village has reportedly decided to put up a sign explaining the installation so tourists do not mistakenly believe that all 84 cameras are actively monitoring the area.
What looks at first like a massive surveillance network is therefore largely a quirky piece of recycled-art decoration — with just one camera reportedly still doing the job it was originally designed to do.
