China's capital, Beijing, was reported to have enjoyed a calm spring day on March 29th, but videos on the blocked social-media site X told a different story.
The videos appeared to show a market in Fangshan, a district in south-west Beijing, mired in chaos as a man rammed a construction vehicle through stalls.
One video showed a body lying motionless on the ground in his wake.
The videos are unverified, but when The Economist visited the site of the market the following day, it was surrounded by dozens of police officers and local volunteers wearing the red armbands typical of Communist Party members.
A vehicle from China's SWAT police was parked nearby.
When asked, a police officer refused to say if anything had happened, but if there had been an attack, he ventured, mental illness would probably be to blame, and the perpetrator would no doubt be in custody.
China is unusual in its tight control of news about violent incidents, which run counter to officials' boasts of the country's 'harmonious society'.
