Sun Protection Clothing in China Goes From Laughable to Fashionable
Too busy to get your daily dose of RADII? We got you every Tuesday with a summary of all the freshest takes on China’s youth culture in the last week.
- New look, new features — some great RADII storytelling and insights. Our new mobile-friendly site's infinite-scroll function offers an endless selection of hot content from center of Chinese youth culture — now curated across five fresh categories.
- You heard it here first, folks: Chinese Zoomers who once shunned comical sun protection clothing are embracing more stylish options by local brands.
- More than 200,000 Hong Kongers have formed an online community called Hong Kong Siu Mai Concern Group to rate and share tips about the iconic Chinese dumpling.
- The world of livestreaming is highly performative, and nowhere is this more obvious than in a little village called Jiangbei Xiazhu in Yiwu city, Zhejiang province.
Intrigued? Keep scrolling, my friend.
Sun Protection Clothing in China Goes From Laughable to Fashionable
Global warming, be damned! A drastic heat wave in China, which has caused more than 70 cities to hit record temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius, has also birthed a new fashion trend in the country.
Chinese youth, increasingly concerned about their wellbeing, are ordering sun protection clothing and accessories en masse and sharing their OOTDs (outfit of the day) on social media.
On Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media platform that some liken to Instagram, the hashtag for ‘sun protection clothing’ (#防晒衣#) has 100 million views and produces over 500,000 results.
From tips on pairing sun protection items to comparisons of brands, most content under the hashtag pertains to fashion.
Though comical at first glance, the current hype surrounding sun protection clothing is just a manifestation of China’s centuries-old — and arguably unhealthy — obsession with fair complexions.
While we have nothing against sun protection gear, you have to admit that Chinese consumers often take the category of clothing to the next level. Among the near-grotesque summer accessories to come out of China in recent years is the infamous facekini (a portmanteau for ‘face’ and ‘bikini’). Think of it as the lovechild of a balaclava and a gimp mask.
Conversely, Chinese Zoomers constitute the sun protection clothing market’s largest audience at present, underscores a 2022 industry report.
Specializing in sun protection gear such as hoodies, hats, arm sleeves, and oversized face masks, Ohsunny, Beneunder, and Bananain are some domestic brands favored by Chinese youth.
Hong Kong Siu Mai Lovers Form Online Community for Iconic Dumpling
Digital Existence is a series where we explore how technology, the internet, and social media impact everyday people’s lives in China and beyond. This month we explore the Hong Kong-based online community that has united around a specific food item: siu mai.
Covered in their canary-yellow flour wrappers, half a dozen fish siu mai, a classic Cantonese dim sum dish, sit in a paper bowl topped with sweet soy sauce and chili oil. Fresh out of the stainless steel steamer, with sauce mingling with water vapor, the dumplings are slippery to catch, just like mudfish in water. Any connoisseur of siu mai would tell you that the best way to tackle the dumpling is to spear it with a bamboo skewer before popping it into your mouth.
This particular type of siu mai is unique to the streets of Hong Kong. Served in disposable bowls, fish-paste siu mai is a hassle-free snack that can be eaten while wandering around instead of being formally seated at a table in keeping with yum cha etiquette.
Furthermore, fish-paste siu mai’s affordability appeals to all Hong Kongers, from cash-strapped students to busy workers trying to squeeze in a quick bite between breaks, making it a quintessential element of Hong Kong food culture.
To declare their love for this local comfort food, more than 200,000 Hong Kongers have formed an online community called Hong Kong Siu Mai Concern Group (香港燒賣關注組) to rate and share tips about their beloved comestible.
- Long Live The Soul, a new documentary that shines the spotlight on several ordinary content creators living in Yiwu city in Zhejiang province, East China, premiered at this year’s FIRST International Film Festival on August 2. At the festival’s conclusion on August 4, the film walked away with the prestigious title of best documentary.
- Picture this: A fast-cut montage of an energetic crowd made up of hip hop dancers cuts to a young man stating, “If I do well, do I have a chance of staying in the street dance club?” Thus begins One And Only’s first and only (so far) trailer, which was released on July 26.
- Shaped like Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, and Hedwig the owl, these mooncakes sure don’t look like anything we grew up eating.
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