In a video clip circulating online, the hair of all the pedestrians who walked through this area in Yulin, Southwest China's Guangxi Autonomous Region, were seen standing on end, resembling hedgehogs. Photo: Sina Weibo

A video of pedestrians walking through a mall square with their hair flying in the air caught widespread attention from netizens on Sunday.

In a video clip circulating online, the hair of all the pedestrians who walked through this area in Yulin, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, were seen standing on end, resembling hedgehogs. 

Many netizens on China's Twitter-like platform Sina Weibo found the video fascinating, while wondering what kind of force led to such a situation.

A staff member at the mall explained that the phenomenon was due to the static electricity in the air which was blown out by the exhaust system installed underneath. 

"It's just a tiny amount of static electricity, which is harmless to the human body," the staff said, "Everyone is welcome to take a walk here."

"It is very insulting to people who might lose their hair," a netizen joked, while other netizens voiced concerns over safety. "Obviously there is an electric leakage here. If [the mall] doesn't pay attention to it, an accident may happen," another netizen commented.

Global Times