Photo: Wechat account of Shanghai's Changning district civilian air defense office

Recent civil evacuation drills and air defense posters in Beijing and Shanghai, stirred online rumors  that China and the US may be heading to war, which local authorities immediately said were untrue.

"Our billboards promoting [civilian air defense knowledge] are normal and in accordance with the annual schedule. Every year we do this, but people didn't pay much attention in the past," an employee at Haidian district civilian air defense office told the Global Times on Monday.

"It has nothing to do with the current international situation," he said. "It's our job to promote civilian air defense with the general public."

A photo of a poster hung by the  air defense office in Haidian titled "How to quickly enter civil air defense emergency shelters after a siren sounds," quickly spread online on Sunday. 

A photo showing war-time evacuation and settlement drills in Songjiang and Changning districts of Shanghai on July 22 also triggered discussions online on Monday morning.

Many netizens wondered if the drills and poster were prompted by the worsening China and US relationships. "Is a war on the way?" a Sina Weibo user asked.

The "Rumor Buster" channel of the Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily on Monday confirmed with the Songjia government that the war-time drills are an annual event. 

"Netizens shouldn't read too much into the drills," the government said.

Songjiang and Changning districts have held such drills for the past three years, the Songjiang government's website showed.