On the night of November 14, 1995, 19-year-old Zhang rushed to catch Bus 375, the last bus leaving a quiet district on the outskirts of Beijing. Having finished work late, missing the bus would have left him stranded.
At the bus stop, only an elderly woman was waiting. Moments later, Bus 375 arrived. Inside were only the driver, a ticket seller, the old woman, and Zhang.
As the bus entered a dark, isolated stretch of road surrounded by forest, it unexpectedly stopped in the middle of nowhere. The driver got off and returned with three mysterious men dressed in traditional silk robes. Two wore blue robes and supported a third man in red, who appeared injured or barely able to stand. Without saying a word, the three men sat at the back of the bus.
The atmosphere immediately became unsettling. Zhang felt as though the men were silently staring at him throughout the journey. Several minutes later, the elderly woman suddenly turned toward the back of the bus. Her expression changed to terror. She began screaming and repeatedly struck Zhang with her purse while accusing him of being a thief.
The driver stopped the bus and ordered Zhang to get off. Relieved to leave, Zhang exited without arguing. Surprisingly, the elderly woman soon followed him.
Away from the bus, Zhang demanded to know why she had falsely accused him. The woman replied that she had seen something horrifying. She believed the two men in blue were evil spirits and feared they intended to harm Zhang. Pretending he was a thief was the only way she could think of to force the driver to remove him from the bus.
Three days later, Bus 375 was reportedly found submerged in a reservoir about 60 miles (100 km) from where Zhang had left it. Authorities recovered three bodies: the driver, the ticket seller, and the man in red. All had broken necks, but investigators reportedly noted that the bodies were decomposed far beyond what would be expected after only three days.
Zhang later informed police about the two men in blue who had boarded the bus. However, authorities never found them, and no official explanation accounted for their disappearance.
The incident became known as the Beijing Bus 375 legend, one of China’s most famous urban legends. While there is no verified evidence that the events occurred as described, the story continues to be shared as a chilling tale about the mysterious final journey of Bus 375.