Thousands of Chinese are traveling to get a high five from a cat (7 photos + 1 video)
It's time for some good news: a cat in a Chinese temple gives high fives to anyone who wants them. 
He looks really cool in this chain
In China, thanks to the nation's involvement in social networks, any thing, place, or sign becomes popular with just a click. This time, the tourist routes were filled with a cat who sits at a temple and gives you a high five in return. Thousands of Chinese people flocked to him, thinking that getting a high five from him means getting good luck for the whole year. Why? Because the Chinese love omens that promise wealth, luck, and good fortune.
A friendly cat at the Xiyuan Temple in Suzhou has been dubbed the “high-five cat” because of the way it raises its paw to greet visitors.
How soon will the high-five fights begin?
The Xiyuan Temple itself was already a cultural landmark known for its gardens and traditional Han Buddhist architecture, dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368). However, this is not able to get thousands of Chinese to their feet, what have they not seen - Buddhist temples?
But there are many stray cats roaming the territory, and visitors call the temple "paradise for cat petting". The entrance fee is only five yuan per person.
Some are allowed to pet
The cat would not have gained such popularity if they had not put a gold chain on him! And he himself is sociable, he likes to sit on a stone pillar in a passable place and greet all visitors.
Tourists flock to the temple just to interact with the cat, hoping for luck in getting a paw. In Chinese folklore, cats are considered symbols of good luck, so they are often depicted with their paws raised to attract wealth. This immediately brings to mind the Japanese Manneki Neko, which is popular throughout Asia.
"Sometimes you have to wait half an hour to give her a high five, but it's worth it because it's so healing," said one tourist who visited the cat three times a day.
Staff at the Xiyuan Temple said the cat was not a stray, but a pet brought in by a visitor.
A cat with a raised paw is a symbol of wealth
This is not our cat, so we cannot manage her attendance and other matters, as the temple staff say. The cat's owner is named Liu, and her real name is not High Five, but Jellybean.
Liu just often takes Jellybean to sunbathe in the square outside the temple on weekends, where a group of pet lovers gather to socialize.
"At first, I took the cat out because he had ear mites. And when I put drops in his ears, they would get wet, so the vet recommended drying them in the sun. So I started bringing the cat here,” Liu said.
This is what Xi'an Temple itself looks like
After the cat became famous, Liu began livestreaming on social media in response to the love and attention from tourists.
On March 1, some online viewers noticed that the cat had become less willing to high-five visitors, joking that Jellybean might be “on strike.”
Critics have suggested that Liu may be overworking the animal for internet traffic. But Liu defended himself, saying the stream was meant to document Jellybean’s growth, not for commercial gain.
The Chinese don't need foreign tourists to create a traffic jam on the Great Wall, they can do it themselves, they can make anything a crowded place
Concerned about the crazy crowds that have poured in, Liu plans to stop taking Jellybean to the temple for a while. He is logically afraid that too much attention could harm the cat.
The staff at Xiyuan Temple also advised tourists not to buy cat treats from nearby stores, as many of them are unbranded and of poor quality.
Frames from social networks of enthusiastic admirers
Last summer, several homeless cats in the temple fell ill and died after they were fed such low-quality "treats".
Would you like to give the cat a high five?
