A huge crowd was lured by the appearance of a black swan on the Jinjiang River in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Tuesday, Western China Metropolis Daily reported.

The swan was first seen by resident Gong Bangxiu, who has lived by the river for seven years, as she took a morning stroll. She was surprised, as it was the first time she had seen a swan on the waterway.

Soon afterwards, many passers-by saw the bird and many took pictures of it with their phones. Despite the growing crowd, the swan was not disturbed, drifting for nearly three hours on the river.

Fearing somebody might hurt it, staff from the local wildlife rescue center tried to catch it and remove it from the river, but the swan flew off.

About three hours later, it was seen by many other onlookers on another section of the river.

Shen You, president of Chengdu Bird Watching Association, said the swan might have been bred domestically before being freed.