‘Face-kinis’ in China (PHOTOS)
This picture taken on August 16, 2012 shows Chinese beachgoers wearing body suits and protective masks, dubbed ‘face-kinis,’ on a crowded public beach in Qingdao.
Underneath these bright-colored ski masks, dubbed 'face-kinis,' are middle-aged Chinese woman braving public ridicule in order to protect their pallid skin from damaging rays at the beach.
While many people in the West want to get a tan when they go to the beach, this is not the objective of Chinese women.
In China, pale skin represents beauty and wealth. Tanned skin, on the other hand, is a sign of manual labor and poverty.
Such is the terror of getting tanned, many people pair their beach mask with a long-sleeved shirt to ensure maximum protection in the water.
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