A Chinese museum has touched the nerves of Africans online after a video was posted online showing a seemingly racist exhibition where Africans were displayed alongside wild animals.

The video, originally uploaded on Instagram by a Nigerian Edward E. Duke, showed Chinese art lovers admiring the exhibits at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan ahead of the national Golden Week holiday.

The exhibits include a photograph of a roaring lion next to an African man with the same expression; a pensive monkey next to another man; elephants and giraffes next to African children among others.


According to a local destination blog Shangaiist, the ‘This is Africa’ exhibition which started September 28 belongs to Chinese photographer Yu Huiping to “give visitors a sense of ‘primitive life’ in Africa through the interplay of humans, animals and nature.”

The photographer, who is the the vice-president of Hubei Photographers Association, is reported to be a lover of Africa and its wildlife. He titled the exhibits in question with the Chinese idiom: outward appearance follows inner reality.

The original video which was deleted after it was posted by one of the supposed visitors to the museum had the caption: “首都博物馆 the capital museum in Wuhan, China put pictures of a particular race next to wild animals why? Are they the only race to have impoverished looking.”

This follows a week of backlash of a Facebook advert by Dove showing a black model turning white after using their body wash. A screenshot of the ad went viral and several people took to twitter to criticise the beauty brand.

Dove apologised for the ad saying the image “missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully”.

The black model in the ad said it was taken out of context because the campaign was “supposed to be about all skin types deserving gentleness”.

As far as i'm concerned africa can never be respected and things like this won't stop.. All i hear in africa is bad news, corruption, kidnapping, rape, fighting in the national assembly, violent struggle for power, etc.. It's so saddening that we have only ourselves but we hate each other so much that this pulls Africa backward.