CROWDS were left in awe when a black, ringed UFO flew in the skies above a packed beach in Dalian, China.

Swimmers and beachgoers can be seen observing the ring as it flies above them.

Beachgoears were puzzled by the sudden UFO-like appearance in the clouds over Dailan beach

In the video, onlooker Jing Qi said: “There is an unidentified flying object appearing in the sky. Its oval shape is expanding and it’s coming towards us closer and closer.”

Before disappearing, the UFO-like ring changed its shape into a parallelogram.

Following the publication of the video, social media users began to speculate on the possible origin of the object on China’s version of Twitter, Weibo.

According to ET Today, some eyewitnesses suggested the ring could have been formed by a group of insects moving together.

However, web users were quick to point out a reasonable explanation for the sudden appearance.

Local residents said the ring had been caused by special visual effects from a performance that had just taken place.

A spokesperson from a local playground confirmed the ring was a flame effect from a show organised for the public.

They explained that the smoke from the special effect manifested as a floating ring.uf