A stunt of trying to jump over the Great Wall on a push bike, which earlier this month lead to the death of the rider, has been given the thumbs down by Beijing residents.
According to a survey conducted in the capital, the support rate for so-called "over-fly activities" has decreased greatly since the accident.
Wang Jiaxiong, a cycling fan from Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, fatally injured himself while trying to clear the wall in Tianjin's Huangya Pass.
Compared with others who have attempted the jump, Wang's antics were heard of by half of the people in the Shaohai Market Research Company survey, Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.
In comparison, 94 percent of the people surveyed knew about Kor Shouliang, a popular Taiwan movie star and singer who successfully jumped the Great Wall on a motor bicycle in 1992.
Only 6.6 percent of the 213 Beijingers in the survey supported Wang's attempt. However, nearly 16 percent thoroughly backed Kor's jump.
In contrast with the many who went before Wang, his failed attempt was regarded as a blind adventure by 34 percent of the respondents.
The lack of general preparation and first-aid equipment are the main reasons people now show less interest in the flying stunts.
People from all walks of life, ranging from professional stunt men to farmers, have attempted jumps.
In the past 10 years, there have been 14 jumps in China, mainly focusing on famous rivers, mountains, or other places of interest, such as the Great Wall. Of those attempts, six have been made in a car, another six on a motor bike and the remainder on bicycles.
The majority of people surveyed believed the increasing number of jump attempts were being done for a commercial purpose and not worth risking life and limb.
(China Daily October 18, 2002)
