Photo: Screenshot from Sina Weibo

The education authority of Yiyang city, central China’s Hunan province, has launched a citywide inspection into a dangerous “choking game” among schoolchildren after a report that a student fainted and screamed while I played at school. As of Monday, no similar cases had been reported, according to China Central Television (CCTV), citing staff from local education authorities, who added that follow-up work has been organized to strengthen life education.

According to a parent of a local school student, a game known as “dream back to the Tang Dynasty” or “three seconds of death” has been popular on campus these days and the parents’ child fainted, screamed and I broke out in a cold sweat while playing and the next day I still felt dizzy and had a headache. The father said that by playing this game, it is almost lucky that the child is alive, CCTV reported.

According to players’ descriptions, the game involves crouching on the floor against a wall, breathing deeply, then holding your breath, and then having another person press on your chest. The goal is to rapidly induce asphyxiation and hypoxia.

Other netizens claimed online that several children were hospitalized due to shock after playing the game.

The game is called “dream back to the Tang Dynasty” because when players experience suffocation and lack of oxygen, they briefly lose consciousness and may have unusual sensations. Even hallucinations may occur depending on individual physical conditions.

Some netizens also shared their “visions and sensations” online after playing the game, which are usually strange and vary greatly. Some described seeing childhood scenes, others recounted “dreamlike landscapes,” and some even felt like they accessed “memories of a past life.”

Liu Shaobo, a doctor at the neurosurgery department of Hunan Province No.2 People’s Hospital, told CCTV that the choking game requires chest pressure and breathing restriction, which reduces blood flow back to the heart. , resulting in reduced blood and oxygen flow to the brain. . In severe cases, players may suffer loss of consciousness and failure of vital organ functions, which directly threatens the players’ lives.

According to public records, this game originated among teenagers in some regions of Southeast Asia. It was introduced to mainland China in the late 1990s and spread to some primary schools, secondary schools and universities.

In 2004, China’s Ministry of Education took decisive action to prevent the spread of harmful games that pose physical and mental risks to young students after learning of the spread of choking game among students.

Global times