• Qianwufu, a snack company in China, said it was giving out fried chicken during the Thursday morning rush.
• Videos have emerged of the subsequent free-for-all at a subway station in the city of Guiyang.
• The event was criticized on China’s social media after people were seen shoving each other on the train.

A spicy chicken giveaway at a subway station in China descended into chaos on Thursday after it triggered a mad rush for the snack packs.

It started as a promotional event by Qianwufu, a snack company in Guizhou province.

The local firm decked out one of the trains on Guiyang city’s third metro line with its company colors, encouraging people to attend the launch of the “Qianwufu Fresh Fried Guizhou Spicy Chicken Special Train.”

Gift bags containing nine-ounce packs of firecracker chicken, a famed dish of stir-fried chicken with chili and peppers, would be available, it said in a promotional statement on Wednesday.

“This is a carefully crafted happiness express journey,” the company said, adding that the event celebrates World Consumer Rights Day.

Chicken-receiving hopefuls needed to show up at the Huaguoyuan station at 8:55 a.m. for their gift packs, Qianwufu said.

“Limited quantity. While supplies last,” the statement added.

Social media shows the mess that ensued

Videos on Chinese social media soon showed people thronging Huaguoyuan for their chance at free fried chicken.

One video on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, showed staff speaking to the crowd through loudhailers before the train arrived.

“There are only 108 portions of firecracker chicken,” a staff member announced.

If that was meant to disperse the crowd, it didn’t work. When the Qianwufu Fresh Fried Guizhou Spicy Chicken Special Train arrived, the crowds could be seen cramming into the subway cars.

One Douyin post captured the exact moment the train arrived. Empty subway cars slide into view, red gift packs spaced neatly on their seats.

Then the doors open, and within seconds, the cars are filled with people grabbing bags and tussling while station staff try to call out over the commotion and maintain order.

Seeing the crowd’s size, several people gave up and didn’t try to enter the train.

In the attendees’ defense, Qianwufu’s gift bag had more than just packs of spicy chicken. They also contained an apron, preserved pear snacks, a box of breakfast millet, a membership card, and 10 coupons for 50{b35c98fb0b5373898aeb6e2d0db4f287402c3d8e7e09edb32fb78fc4e77f672b} off firecracker chicken, per the company.

China’s internet wasn’t impressed.

“This kind of event should be banned,” one person listed by Douyin as based in Guizhou commented on a viral post. “If a stampede occurs, the consequences will be disastrous. Many of these people are old.”

Others based in the province criticized the timing of the event.

“In the future, please don’t hold these events on a working day,” one commenter said.

Chinese media outlets have since published interviews with staff working in the Guiyang subway operations team, who said feedback for the chicken giveaway was reported to their managers.

“We will refer this to the relevant departments, and in the future we’ll have on-site security controls,” one staff member said, per political and business news network Western Decisions.

About 6.2 million people live in Guiyang, the commercial hub of one of China’s least affluent provinces. Huaguoyuan is part of the city’s newest subway line, which started operating in December 2023.

There’ve been other instances where mass giveaways have gone horribly wrong.

In August, a PlayStation giveaway in Manhattan by internet streamer Kai Cenat went awry, devolving into what New York City police said was a riot that left several people injured.

Giveaway chaos isn’t new to China, either. One infamous event in 2015 involved a department store in Yan’an city that gave out pillows and blankets to people who promoted its business on their social media accounts. Hundreds of people flooded the store, and the police were eventually called in to disperse the crowd, state media outlet China Daily reported.

Qianwufu did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.