Chinese people on social media are less than impressed about a flamboyant golden smartphone created in partnership with Beijing's Forbidden City museum.
The Smartphone called the "Titanium Palace Edition" is set to get to shelves next month and is going for 19,999 yuan ($2,880; £2,326, N904,323).
The phone has no actual titanium, but comes with an 18-carat gold dragon decoration and a screen made from sapphire glass, People's Daily reports on its Weibo social media account.
According to Beijing Youth Daily, the gem-laden device comes in a limited run of 999 devices, and was designed in partnership with the Palace Museum, inspired by the imperial collections it houses.
The look of the phone and its perceived links to China's Forbidden City (which they do not mess with) has set many Chinese people against the phone.
According to Global Times, one user even went as far as calling it "a stain on the sacredness of the Imperial City". Another Weibo user turned to sarcasm with this mental image: "I always picture the Ancient Emperor strolling through the Forbidden City holding a smartphone."
The backlash has given the museum some pause for thought as they released a statement stylishly backing away from the project, in it they said; "We don't sell mobile phones".
The Forbidden city is the most-visited museum in the world, and before that was the imperial palace of China's rulers until the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912. Over 14m people visit the museum every year, and - according to Beijing Youth Daily - it earns 1bn yuan annually through souvenir sales.
What do you think of the phone? You think the Chinese are overreacting?
No comments:
Post a Comment