In an attempt to promote and attract more visitors, the Niushan Amusement Park in Zibo, Shandong Province used donkeys disguised as zebras. Netizens immediately pointed out, “The situation has gone from calling a donkey a horse to calling a donkey a zebra.”
Recently, a video posted by a netizen claimed that the Niushan Amusement Park in Zibo, Shandong Province was using donkeys posing as zebras, sparking a heated discussion.
On January 20, a video was released on a short video platform by an account named “Niushan Amusement Park”, claiming that zebras had arrived at the park. However, the “zebras” in the video appeared more like donkeys, with visible artificial markings on their bodies. After the video was posted, some netizens believed that the creatures looked more like donkeys, with the markings appearing to be tape or dye.
The video ranked sixth on Zibo’s popular list for family outings.
On February 6, a staff member of the park responded to “Da Wan News” that after verifying with the park’s management, it was indeed donkeys painted to look like zebras, and they even labeled them as donkeys on-site, stating that it was something the boss did as a joke.
The staff member mentioned that a local zoo in Zibo had previously gained popularity by dressing a dog as a panda, and they were following this trend for promotional purposes, although it resulted in more online viewers than actual visitors to the park.
However, this incident led to a significant amount of negative comments online.
An article by the author, a Weibo influencer known as “Xingzhangjun,” directly pointed out: “They actually pulled off something like this. It’s like the ancient saying of calling a deer a horse, but now they’re using donkeys as zebras…”
Internet technology blogger and Weibo influencer “Yingwang” commented: “This makes me recall a similar saying from a netizen: ‘The world is truly bizarre, where a donkey can be a zebra.'”
Financial blogger and Weibo influencer “Zhou Si CIO” remarked: “It’s done so convincingly, it’s become a case of calling a donkey a zebra instead of calling a deer a horse.”
Photography blogger and Weibo influencer “Jiangsu Dao Fa Zi Ran” added: “It suddenly reminds me of the expression, ‘mismatched head and mouth,’ in this case with a donkey being mistaken for a zebra.”
Some netizens mocked the situation, saying, “How abstract. The donkey says I don’t know zebras, the zebra says it’s being imitated for its skin, and the amusement park says, it’s okay, just a disguise, the audience won’t notice… a deceptive version of ‘The Days When Donkeys Were Forced to Pretend to be Zebras’.”