Chinese Pillow Fight: Hundreds In Shanghai Organize Stress-Beating Holiday Party

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A whirlwind of pillows bearing the names of bosses and teachers filled the air as hundreds of Chinese gathered to blow off stress in Shanghai, staging a massive pillow battle.

The annual event marked its fifth year with such a surge in interest from stressed young office workers and students that organizers held two nights of pillow fighting before Christmas Day and plan another for Dec 30.

"Nowadays there are many white collar workers and students that are facing huge pressures at work and at school, so we hope to give them an outlet to release their stress before the end of the year," said Eleven Wang, the founder and mastermind behind the epic pillow fights.

"Sometimes we have pressure on us by our bosses, teachers and exams, so today we can go crazy. Everyone will get to write onto the pillows the names of their bosses, teachers and exam subjects, and enjoy and vent to the maximum," he added.

"After releasing the stress, we can once again face our daily life with joy."

Pillows were handed out at the door as participants entered, then emotion stoked by a rock concert, with many on the floor of the huge event space rocking and waving their pillows in time to the music.

Then came the fighting.

Pillows filled the air, with many combatants opting for throwing rather than using them to whack opponents. A few hapless participants shielded their heads with as many pillows as they could hold, but most ventured eagerly in to the fray.

"I really enjoyed the fight, but my friend was useless. He joined in for two ticks and could not go on, he was afraid of getting beaten by other people," said 24-year-old Chen Yi.

"I thought it was pretty meaningful. I've just been working so much (at the office) and never get to break out in a sweat, so it felt really good."

Others gamely said they enjoyed the experience even though they ended up as attackees rather than attackers.

"I don't know who pushed me, but all of a sudden I was in the pile of pillows, where I became the target of many people, and was beaten by all sorts of people," said university student Zhu Shishan. "Very meaningful."


(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Elaine Lies)

Comments

[Sheila Richardson]

06:39 PM on 01/01/2012

Glad to see they're catching up with the rest of the world: http://www.pillowfightday.com/

[firstamendment3]

07:39 AM on 01/01/2012

Yup, bedbugs for everyone!

[Hlynn]

12:23 AM on 12/31/2011

Great idea! Those look like the right kind of pillows--very soft with a lot of "give" so they won't hurt anyone. Would have loved to join them.

[jep121212]

09:59 PM on 12/30/2011

In a related story; thousands of young geese were found defeathered in a field just outside of town!

[ginocat55]

07:31 PM on 12/30/2011

Occupy the pillows !!!!

[Kev Bat]

03:06 PM on 12/30/2011

F U N !

[acarioti]

08:08 AM on 12/30/2011

This is how International wars should be fought!

[evilchihuahua]

10:28 AM on 12/30/2011

I like it.
Spill feathers, not blood.

[jep121212]

09:58 PM on 12/30/2011

tickle baby tickle!

[Still kickin]

11:00 AM on 12/30/2011

....by the leaders :D

[mipenniesworth]

12:54 AM on 12/30/2011

i think this is a great idea! it is a safe way to get out your frustration . sounds like fun too! the U.S. should try to do things like this and maybe there would be less violence and hating. i would be there to name my pillow! lol

[oberlinkay91]

11:55 PM on 12/29/2011

As long as nobody gets trampled then they might as well have fun! If we had huge pillow fights, I would join in. There's a lot of stress in life and I would think even having one with your family would help eliminate some. We only live once, so we might as well enjoy it.

[Mark Helfgott]

11:18 PM on 12/29/2011

i bet those pillows are filled with United States Treasury Bonds.

[rubadub]

11:04 PM on 12/29/2011

Eff all the ethnocentric, parochial _idiots_ who label this 'weird' - the way 'those people' have 'weird' names, and eat 'weird' food, and have 'weird' customs.

[oberlinkay91]

11:50 PM on 12/29/2011

Anything outside of one considers normal is weird. I'm taking a guess and saying we seem weird to them too. Either way, as long as no one is trampled, this seems like a good and fun way to eliminate stress.

[evilchihuahua]

10:30 AM on 12/30/2011

We must seem a lot weirder to them with all of the latex battery operated devices and inflatable bed mates that they churn out over there for our consumption. ;)

[The road less traveled]

07:41 PM on 12/29/2011

Other than the thought of someone being stepped on or accidentally hit with someone's fist this sounds like great stress relief to me. Kids do this all the time and laugh because it is fun to them..we as the grumpy adults make them stop because we are worried "someone could get hurt". Think of how many jobs people would still have, how many marriages could be saved...etc., if at the end of everyday we had the chance to take a pillow and whack eachother on the head for everything we were upset about during that day. Poof!!!! No more frustration. We'd all sleep better and probably laugh more and get along better and a pillow wouldn't hurt...no talking, no name calling, but pillows.

[Epilef2000]

10:18 PM on 12/29/2011

Lol..i like your thinking

[jep121212]

10:00 PM on 12/30/2011

Even worse, a jerk nearby using batteries or soda cans in their pillows.

[oberlinkay91]

11:45 PM on 12/29/2011

I like that idea... I will have to try it and see how it goes! lol Anythings worth trying once!

[carnivaluv]

07:08 PM on 12/29/2011

Sounds like fun.

[jmcoughlin8]

02:52 PM on 12/29/2011

Dear China:
If we ever face each other at war, please bring the pillows and we'll bring the blankets and we'll all have a party!

[Sam025 tang]

07:57 PM on 12/30/2011

lol, Party is definitely than war

[Awesome Jr]

02:02 PM on 12/29/2011

Hundreds were killed as officials discovered that the materials within the pillows contained large amounts of asbestos and lead.