Beach Fashion in China: the Facekini

Why do you think people would wear a face mask to a beach?

What do you think of the facemark in this picture?

Facekinis are odd-looking sun protectors. They have been worn for many years on Chinese beaches. But now they are very popular. Facekinis are masks worn over the head. They are designed to protect swimmers from the sun. They are very popular in China, but look terrifying to visitors. To visitors they resemble a thief’s disguise.

These days the facekinis have become far more glamorous. And this has made a boost in popularity. The Western fashion world has noticed them and included them into their fashion.

Facekinis were invented by Zhang Shifan in Qingdao, Shandong Province in 2004. They also have another important use. White looking skin in China is highly-prized. Women there want to stay looking white.

Another reason is people want to be protected from the sun. People who want a tan are now a faking it. For example, they can go to a sun tanning room.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

 

odd-looking	A	1	Very scary, horror, very afraid
terrifying	B	2	A way to to hide, to not be seen or recognized
resemble	C	3	unusual, strange
disguise	D	4	To do something to increase something quickly, to add power to something to help it increase quickly
glamorous	E	5	To pretend
boost	F	6	High value
highly-prized	G	7	To look like, look similar to
faking it	H	8	High fashion, very stylish

A=3, B=1, C=7, D=2, E=8, F=4, G=6, H=5

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1. He was an odd-looking man. He wore a yellow suit and had long hair.

2. The children were terrified by the big storm outside.

3. She resembled her mother.

4. The killer wore a disguise so no camera would see him.

5. Hollywood has many glamorous people.

6. Please drink this, it will boost your health.

7. These dogs are highly-prized in Korea. People will pay a lot of money for them.

8. He said he loved her. But she knew he was faking it.

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1. Do you agree that the facekinis are odd-looking? Why or why not?

2. What fashion do you think could be terrifying?

3. Who do you most resemble in your family?

4. If you were famous, would you wear a disguise in public areas?

5. Would you like to go to a glamorous place? What does a glamorous place look like to you?

6. If you wanted to boost your appearance, what would you do?

7. Is white skin highly-prized in your country? Why or why not?

8. Can you feel if someone is faking it? For example; pretending to be kind or helpful.