This is the moment an astonished passerby thought he had caught on camera images of a man apparently waking on water across one of China’s most powerful rivers.

Footage from the video – shot by Mr Wang -shows an elderly-looking man simply striding across the Qiantang River running through Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province on 22nd November.

Wang said he was walking along the vast Qiantang River when he saw a small black dot moving in the middle of it pulling a bag behind him.

He took out his phone to zoom in and get a better look at the peculiar sight and realised that what he was seeing was actually a person walking.

Qiantang River is one of China’s the most fast-flowing tidal rivers with the world’s largest tidal bore.

Then – after thinking he really had captured a miracle on his phone – he realised that part of the river has a huge tidal flat.

To be sure, Wang walked out to the same spot and found the river there was only ten inches deep.

City officials also reposted the video and issued a reminder that although the old man in the video seems very familiar with the area, they advise against walking there due to unpredictable currents.