On the evening of December 24th, in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, to celebrate Christmas, Wuyue Plaza decorated a large Christmas tree in the center of the mall. The tree was adorned with decorative boxes and plush toys to enhance the festive atmosphere.

While mall staff were distributing small Christmas gifts, a customer assumed that the decorative boxes on the Christmas tree contained gifts. This individual climbed over the barricade and started removing decorations from the tree. Other customers quickly followed suit, leading to a chaotic scene as they began looting the decorative boxes and plush toys from the tree.

According to video footage and eyewitness accounts, the situation became very chaotic. Some customers even risked climbing the tree to grab ornaments hanging higher up. Staff members attempted to stop the looting, but their efforts were unsuccessful due to the large crowd.

Staff repeatedly shouted, "Don't touch it; there's electricity inside," in an attempt to dissuade the looters, but their warnings were ignored.

In the end, the Christmas tree was destroyed and had to be removed. Mall staff revealed that the decorative boxes on the tree were empty and purely for decoration, meaning the looters were actually taking a bunch of empty boxes.

Despite the incident, mall representatives stated that the day's events and gift distribution were not affected. They also urged customers to remain rational and civil when participating in mall activities.