ZHANG:
Falling asleep during an important meeting can be embarrassing, but here’s the story of two Chinese Communist Party officials who dozed off—but still managed to save face.

We'll show you two versions of a photo that's been making its rounds online.

This image, which first appeared on official propaganda posters in the city of Kunming on Dec. 29, shows two Yunnan Province officials apparently asleep.

They were listening to a communist party conference on commercial scams, such as pyramid schemes.

But a day after being put on the propaganda noticeboard, the image was replaced with this photo. The two images are identical, except for the eyes of the two officials on the left—which were altered so the officials appear to be awake and paying attention.

Some bloggers are saying this is linked to a communist policy of doing whatever it takes to "save face"—even a face with new eyes.

But falling asleep during a communist party meeting can have serious consequences. Last month, six Hunan Province officials were fired after a photo of them sleeping through a meeting appeared online.