Santa suited celebrators overtake the city

Subway commuters had a pleasant surprise on Saturday as a group of more than 60 people dressed in Santa Claus suits piled onto trains singing Christmas carols.

The Santas, a group of Chinese and expatriates, ran amok in Beijing as part of the annual SantaCon, a non-profit, non-political, non-religious Santa Claus pub crawl held in cities worldwide around Christmas time.

One participant, who would only refer to himself as Santa (following rules that say Santas must not talk to reporters), said social networking in Santa costumes is part of the attraction.