Social media users in China are using toilet seats in 'pretending to fly' challenge

All you need is a plastic bottle or a toilet seat

If you don’t have a holiday coming up, there’s a novel way to pretend that you’re flying off somewhere exotic.

Social media users in China have been taking part in the “pretending to fly” challenge, which involves them creating the illusion of being 30,000 feet in the air without leaving the ground.

While it appears users are gazing out of an aircraft window, perhaps while the the plane takes off, or flying over a volcano, the videos then pull back to show the “window” is actually a household item.

Participants are holding ordinary items such as a detergent bottle, plastic stool or even a toilet seat over travel brochures or video clips instead, so it looks like they’re onboard.

The videos are captioned with “First time on a plane, I’m so excited!” and “Look at the nice view from up here!”, according to the Daily Mail.

The challenge went viral during the Lunar New Year holiday, with 27 million views on Chinese social media network Weibo.

Even when actually on a plane, some social media users like to use props to enhance the experience – in September, The Independent reported that a travel “influencer” was mocked on Twitter for posing on a Cathay Pacific business class flight with fairy lights.