Tu lihua, 70, from Wuhan, Hubei province looks at the pictures of people who once offered their seat to her on public transportation. [Photo/People's Daily]

Pictures of seating-offering people spark debate

If a person offers you their seat on a bus, what would you do to thank them? Tu lihua, a 70-year-old woman, in Wuhan, central Hubei province recently posted online a series of "smile photos" of people who once offered their seat to her on public transportation, triggering a public debate on offering seats to the elderly, People's Daily reported on Saturday.

Tu said she took the pictures because she was moved by their good acts.

"Offering seats to the elderly is a virtue but not an obligation. Although we call upon the young to respect the old, it's wrong to force to offer seats to the elderly," she told reporters.

The 59 photos, taken by Tu over the past eight months went viral online with many netizens approving of the Samaritans' acts on China's Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblog.

"I would have done the same if I see an old man or woman stand in a bus," one netizen commented.

While there were many supportive comments, there were also unhappy stories about giving way to the eldery. One netizen posted a story about how an they offered their seat to an old man but instead of gratitude, they received silence.

The man in the picture once offered Tu Lihua his seat on a bus. The 70-year-old Tu has been photographing the people who have offered her their seat on public transportation for the last eight months. [Photo/People's Daily]

Next, buckets and buckets of snow.