Photo: Screenshot of video by Pear Video

Sanitation workers in Central China's Henan Province use water cannons to clear leaves on trees ahead of government officials' inspection, triggering debate on the Chinese internet.

A minute long video posted on Pearl Video on Tuesday by a Zhengzhou resident showed sanitation workers in Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan Province, blowing away yellow leaves on ginkgo trees with water cannons.

In the video, a sanitation worker said it was the demand of an officials' inspection in Zhengdong New District, which insisted "fallen leaves, cigarettes ends, trashes, small ads, shared bicycles and dirty vehicles should all be invisible."

"But it's impossible to not see any fallen leaf," a sanitation worker said. "It's hard for us. So we have to use the water canon, so that the leaves fall faster from the trees and we could clean them at one time."

The worker added that the yellow leaves are beautiful in autumn and he would prefer to let them fall naturally, though it wasn't his choice. 

An environment and sanitation department employee in Zhengzhou said "it is not allowed to shoot leaves with water cannons," the video showed.

The video prompted great discussion online. On Sina Weibo, the incident's hashtag has garnered more than 60 million views and 4,600 comments. Many netizens criticized the behavior.

"It's like people are not allowed on beds and trashes are not allowed in trash bins," a netizen said.

"Strange officials… they only know how to make improper rules, but do not know people's life," another said.

A similar incident also happened in Weifang, East China's Shandong Province in November 2016. Sanitation workers used water cannons to flush trees, and the fallen leaves froze on the cars beneath. 

The Weifang sanitation department stopped using water cannons after citizens reported the situation, Shandong-based Qilu Night Newspaper reported in 2016.

Global Times