a view on suntans: china vs. america

After my usual (or at least, what is becoming usual) Sunday massage, I decided to take photos on the street for a while. It was a great day for this. The sky is bluer than it has ever been on any day I've been in mainland China, and there are nice, white clouds to go with. It's hotter than Hades, but at least there's a breeze and the conditions don't look so bad.

Now, when it's sunny in China, you can bet there will be almost as many umbrellas out as there would be if there was a torrential downpour. For instance:











You see, the Chinese look at getting a tan in exactly the opposite way Americans do. Most Americans view a tan as a healthy thing. You've been relaxing, you've got a bit of color, maybe you don't even have to work. Some Americans will even pay to get a tan. Chinese people, on the other hand, see tans as a symbol of poverty and ugliness. If you have a tan, you work a crappy, manual labor job and have no pleasures in life to speak of. So, most forms of makeup have sunblock and/or whitening agents in them, and many people--including most females--will go to great lengths to ensure they get no sun. For example:









Now, remember--I said it was extremely hot. That wasn't a joke. The heat index is currently 103F, courtesy of 40% humidity (which is low--it was 80% on Friday). And that breeze I was talking about? It feels like standing in car exhaust. Therefore, people aren't exactly getting comfortable by covering themselves up like this and cruising around with their umbrellas or on scooters. But hey, as long as their skin remains a lovely pasty white, no big deal.

I love this place.