Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

Video Credit: AsiaWire

Residents living near an abandoned office block have likened it to a ‘cemetery’ after the owners decided to cover its windows with dozens of these eerie smiling portraits.

Images from the multi-storey building inside Shenzhen 1956 Creative Park show its empty windows and air-conditioning openings having been covered with stock photos.

The park in Shenzhen’s Nanshan District in China’s southern Guangdong Province still hosts a number of restaurants and shops.

But the pictures showing men and women and boys and girls of different nationalities and varying ethnicities have left visitors feeling uncomfortable.

Portraits are traditionally displayed above tombstones and in homes as a mark of respect for the deceased.

One unnamed resident said: “Chinese people are superstitious. Why would you put up so many portraits? It’s like we’re visiting in a cemetery.

“It’s very eerie. It doesn’t feel right, especially at night when the artificial lights illuminate the face of the building. It scares you.”

A staff member at Shenzhen 1956 Creative Park revealed that the building had been abandoned for some time, and its owners decided to cover its windows and air-con openings with a ‘smiling wall’.

This was done for safety and aesthetic reasons, the staff member said.

In response to public concern, employees at the park have been ordered to take the portraits down, reports said.

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