Biking in the shade

A biker shades himself from the sun, a common practice in China.

If you think it is unusual to see a Chinese cyclist riding down the street with an umbrella attached to the handlebar post, you’d be wrong.

In much of southern China, where the sun can be brutal, attaching a parasol to the bicycle is common. It shades the rider. People ride slowly. Wind isn’t much of a factor, so there’s no danger of wind upending and breaking the umbrella.

The above photo was taken in Nanping, a small city along the Min River in Fujian province, where I spent the weekend. While it shows a man riding with the umbrella, usually it is women who do so. What is more, women often wear removable arm covers and gloves to keep the sun from tanning their skin. White skin is valued. That’s why drug stores carry a lot of skin whitening products for women here.

There’s more. I don’t have a picture to show it but women also sometimes wear these Darth Vader-style sun visors. I’ll try to snap a picture of it. Imagine a monster sun visor that extends nearly a foot out. The brim is darkened plastic that you can see through. The brim then pulls down in front of the face. This ensures the face doesn’t get tan while riding outdoors.
 

Comments

[Xiao Zhu]

Dear Tim,

Why did you go to Nanping? I am planning to go there but I can't find much information about it.