Girl dangled by her hair on handle bar in Shanghai metro turned out to be an Uzbekistan trapeze artist, apologized for her "careless act." Photo: screenshot from Sina Weibo.

A video of a girl dangling from a metro handle bar with her hair and calmly browsing her phone in Shanghai has gone viral. Many netizens were bewildered and questioned whether such a risky "show-off" endangers her personal safety. 

The girl, identifying herself as "Darina" on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, turned out to be an Uzbekistan trapeze artist from the Shanghai Circus. She has been practicing the feat for half a year, Beijing Youth Daily reported, and she has been sharing videos of the latest stunt on her Douyin feed. 

Darina said she did not expect the video to attract so much attention and that her original intent was only to make a "neat video." However, it soon drew controversy on the internet as netizens expressed concern for her safety and fearing she would fall down, while others criticized the move to be "throwing caution into the air only to catch eyes."

Darina apologized for her careless behavior and promised not to do it again in public places. She also warned others not to follow suit.

Shanghai Metro also alerted passengers to take rides in a proper manner and not to engage in similar dangerous acts, media reported. 

Global Times