The old Chinese tradition of doctoring photographs for propaganda purposes is not dead. But whereas in the days of Chairman Mao the Chinese people were barely aware of the trickery, today they get an apology.

A Chinese newspaper has had to grovel to readers following the discovery that an award-winning photograph of a herd of Tibetan antelope, frolicking under the controversial Qinghai-Tibet railway as a high-speed train passes overhead, is a fake.

The fabricated photo was released in 2006 by the state-run Xinhua news agency to rebuff criticism of the railway line's impact on endangered Tibetan wildlife. It was lauded as the "most memorable news photo of the year" by China Central Television (CCTV).