Chinese tourists pictured dipping their feet into the fountain water in front of one of Paris' iconic landmarks, The Louvre, have spurred hotly contested debates among Net users on how travelers should behave.

It's not the first time for Chinese visitors to be criticized for putting their feet into the water at famous scenic spots - just days ago, Chinese tourists were seen ankle-deep in Hangzhou's West Lake.

But many Net users are saying that it's unfair to condemn just the Chinese visitors for their actions, when foreigners, too, are commonly seen putting their feet in the water at popular attractions. The sentiment was backed by about 47 percent of some 30,000 respondents who participated in an online survey by news portal sohu.com.

Net user Fushuinanshou in Hangzhou said that a friend who went to Paris more than 20 years ago in 1991 saw many Westerners putting their feet into the fountain at The Louvre, saying that he could not understand "why Chinese people putting their feet into the fountain now has prompted so much criticism."

Another Net user in Shenzhen added that Chinese people also should also not be so quick to judge the actions of their own people.

Meanwhile, 35 percent of the respondents blamed the Chinese tourists for acting in an uncivilized manner while a minority 12 percent felt that the visitors were simply trying to enjoy the moment and did not mean to do anything wrong, like wash their feet in the fountain as some people have accused them of.

Net user Guangualanshu in Nanjing retorted, "Why can't we criticize their uncivilized behavior? They should be more self-disciplined."

Global Times