Driving in Forbidden City sparks outrage… and a new game
A seemingly wealthy social media influencer angered the country by driving inside the car-free imperial palace, leading to memes and a 2D side-scroller
The satirical game, titled Driving in the Forbidden City, is meant as more of a social commentary than a game that’s actually fun to play. The gameplay is extremely simple. Think Flappy Bird or that T-Rex running game you can play when Chrome has no internet. It’s basically that, except you’re a car driving through Forbidden City, hopping over stone lions in pursuit of the highest score possible.
The game is a response to the national furore sparked by two young women who posted on Weibo photos of themselves with a luxury Mercedes-Benz SUV inside the walls of the Forbidden City. The area is typically a car-free zone, leading to questions about how they got their vehicle inside.
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The Palace Museum, which now runs the historic site, later acknowledged on Weibo that a vehicle had been allowed to enter the Forbidden City. It then apologized to the public and said this privilege would no longer be granted in the future.