Respect your elders and… your car? One man in China took his appreciation for his car to another level by performing a ceremony that showed his deep gratitude to the eight-year-old vehicle.
In a video clip which went viral, the man from Shandong province could be seen kneeling in front of a white Chery sedan and bowing to it three times. The ritual also involved what appeared to be paper offerings which he burned in front of the car.
According to media reports, the man’s wife, surnamed Wang, shared the reason behind the elaborate ceremony to honour the vehicle.
“When we first bought the car, we didn’t have money,” said Wang of the first car they had ever owned.
Expressing her gratitude to the car for accompanying them through eight years of their lives, she added, “It has worked hard”.
The couple also consider the car a member of their family, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
“We love it very much… Thank you, car,” Wang reportedly said.
But with the couple intending to get a new vehicle for their family of three, they found out that breaking up is hard to do.
“To be honest we can’t really bear to let it go,” she said, explaining that she took the video for memories’ sake, “so we can look back on it in the future”.
According to SCMP, comments on the video have been largely positive, with one commenter exclaiming that “it’s very meaningful”.
Another commenter on Weibo wrote: “The car doesn’t look that old, they must have taken good care of it.”
“The car has accompanied them everywhere, ensuring their safety. It deserves to be kowtowed to,” said another.
Another man kowtows to car for saving his life
It seems kowtowing to one’s car though, might not be that bizarre of an act after all.
In February, another Shandong man made headlines for doing the same, with a video clip showing the man kneeling in front of a damaged white car before it was towed away.
According to Sohu News, the 10-year-old vehicle had been totalled in an accident, but the owner had managed to come out of it unscathed, which explained his show of gratitude.
In a social media post, the man’s wife shared how the car’s last act had saved her husband’s life — “You deserve this bow of respect”.