XINJIANG, CHINA — The mysterious death of Wukong, a once-stray cat adopted by cycling travel blogger Zhao Shuo, has sparked widespread grief and anger across Chinese social media, prompting millions to launch a grassroots investigation.
Wukong was adopted on October 26, 2024, and quickly gained fame online as Zhao documented their journey through Xinjiang province. The pair’s bond and scenic travels attracted thousands of followers. But on April 15, 2025, Wukong was found dead on a road near Miran, a town about two kilometers from where Zhao had temporarily settled.
Initial reports from Juipainews, a subsidiary of the state-funded Changjiang News, stated that the cat was run over by a car and left in the road. The source of the information was reportedly the local police. The outlet also claimed Zhao had resolved the matter with the driver involved.
On May 4, Zhao publicly denied those claims in a video, calling the reports false and misleading. He stated he had no knowledge of how Wukong died and had not reached any agreement with a driver. Zhao said he found his cat’s body around 7 p.m. on April 15, and has since been searching for surveillance footage, but none has surfaced.
Zhao raised several troubling questions: Why was Wukong, who typically stayed within 200 meters of his mobile cat house, found 2 kilometers away? Why did the cat’s GPS tracker show a 20-minute data gap between 4:10 and 4:30 p.m.? And why did the GPS location jump from the visitor center to a roadside location after that gap?
Zhao consulted three veterinarians, who each conducted X-ray and CT scans. They concluded that Wukong’s body showed no signs of fractures or visible trauma consistent with a car accident. Instead, they suspected poisoning, noting the presence of dark-colored blood from the cat’s mouth and nose after death.
The absence of surveillance footage has deepened public skepticism. Many find it hard to believe that CCTV cameras around a tourist site like Miran — located in a heavily monitored region with a strong military presence — failed to capture any footage of the incident.
One Weibo user voiced the sentiment widely shared online: “Just two kilometers from a visitor center, a cat was poisoned, and there’s no footage? Who dares visit such a place?”
In response, nearly 3 million social media users have joined efforts to uncover the truth. Volunteers have begun collecting driving logs, traffic camera footage, and even satellite images of the area between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. Some netizens are offering cash rewards for valuable evidence.
With public distrust growing and many questions still unanswered, Wukong’s death has become more than the loss of a beloved pet — it has turned into a symbol of deeper concerns over truth, transparency, and accountability.
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