A bloody brawl between Han restaurant workers and Tibetan street vendors in Beijing has been filmed and uploaded online by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei.

The footage shows a huge crowd fighting down Bejingin's populaer 'Ghost Street'. A police officer tries to intervene as various objects, including a chair, are thrown between the two groups of people. Men, women and children are all seen participating in the clash, that is finally broken up when more officers arrive on the scene. This young girl cries over one injured victim of the fighting, and this man is escorted by police, covered in blood, after suffering a wound to the head.

The artist, who has been highly and openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights, says he was out with his mother when the brawl occurred around 5:30pm local time. Han Chinese witnesses told Reuters that the fight began when security workers refused to let the Tibetan street vendors operate in front of their restaurant.

Around 10,000 Tibetans live in the capital, where ethnic tensions exist between them and the Han, who comprise 92% of the Chinese population. Tibetans have long called for independence from China, where riots and protests have sporadically occurred over the last few years.

Written and presented by Alfred Joyner