On June 12th, a large amount of banknotes were found in a river near the Xin’an Street in Baoan District, Shenzhen, and eventually picked up by a man. The amount of money was rumored to be in the millions, sparking heated discussions. Local police confirmed that they are currently investigating the incident.
A video circulated online showed that on June 12th, under a bridge near Xin’an Street in Baoan District, Shenzhen, several stacks of one hundred yuan notes were scattered on the riverbank and in the water, with a man picking them up with a bag. He quickly filled the bag, climbed up the riverbank railing, put the banknotes into a car, and many onlookers were present.
The person who posted the video said that the money was scattered near Xin’an in Baoan District, Shenzhen, and they were too scared to pick it up. Only one man went down to pick it up and did so twice. “It’s in Baoan Xin’an, it’s too high, 4-5 meters high. After shooting the video, I left, but now I regret it.” “I saw it alone, an uncle threw it and ran away.” “Exit A, on the left.”
Some netizens revealed: “Someone threw a million yuan into the river” “One person picked it up, picked up about 300,000 yuan the first time, put it on the foot of an electric bike, then went down again with a SF Express bag to pick up the rest, it’s on that small river in Xin’an, Baoan District.”
On the morning of the 13th, reporters contacted the Xinle Police Station of Baoan Branch of Shenzhen Public Security Bureau. The staff stated that they have received the report, and the police are looking for the man who picked up the money and investigating the source and authenticity of the banknotes.
Incidents of large amounts of money being discarded or scattered have occurred multiple times on the mainland of China. On January 11th this year, in Huangshi City, Hubei Province, a man in his 40s suddenly threw a large amount of money into the river on the Huan River Bridge in Daye.
On November 7th, 2024, a netizen posted a video claiming that someone in Yinjiang County, Tongren City, Guizhou Province, was walking and throwing money carrying Renminbi. It was estimated that “it was spread for two kilometers, probably tens of thousands of yuan.”
During the three-year period of COVID-19 lockdown in China, multiple incidents of people throwing money due to the lockdown causing financial distress have occurred.
In the early stages of the Wuhan epidemic in February 2020, there was a viral video of people throwing money from a high building, creating a bizarre scene of money flying everywhere, as if money had become useless at that moment.
In January 2022, a man from Tianjin, venting his frustration due to being locked down in Hangzhou, Zhejiang because of the epidemic, got drunk and started throwing money on the street.
In March 2022, a resident in Shanghai threw money from the rooftop while under home quarantine. Some netizens believe that the individual had lost control of their emotions after a long period of isolation, indicating they had gone “crazy from being locked down and started throwing money from a height.” It was reported that tens of thousands of yuan were thrown. Later, rumors emerged that the person committed suicide by jumping off the building after throwing the money. However, the community management responded that while an owner did throw money from the rooftop, there was no suicide.