At first glance

At first glance, the picture looks nothing in particular but an ordinary outdoor meeting. But take a closer look, something in this picture is not at all ordinary: While apparently rows of people are seen standing under the sun, there are another row of people sitting on the far right side of the photo,in the shade.

This is a picture taken during an outdoor meeting held by the Nanchang city’s Appearance and Environment Sanitation Administrative Bureau in southeastern China’s Jiangxi Province recently. It was meant to be a bonding meeting between the team of street cleaners and their leaders, so that the leaders had an opportunity to learn more about the jobs of the street cleaners.

But the photo has gone viral online since August 11, with netizens criticizing how on earth the leaders could let their workers stand under the scorching sun while they sat comfortably in the shade.

A spokesperson surnamed Lu of the local government later explained that the meeting merely took five minutes, and the intention was meant to be good and positive. He added that "leaders even personally distributed green beans and rock candies to the street cleaners one by one so to show their goodwill". And they also explain to the street cleaners how to take preliminary measures to avoid heatstroke. “Please don’t make a fuss over one picture,”Lu said.