Popularity of Tattoos Growing in Beijing
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
Picture courtesy of the NY Times
Over the last few weeks, many Beijing residents, tourists and athletes have been flocking to tattoo parlors across the city to get reminders of the Olympics imprinted onto their skin.
The growing popularity of tattoos is a recent phenomenon in Beijing. As recently as 10 years ago, it was very rare to come across a parlor and since there is almost no regulation by the government, most tattoo artists in China are self-taught.
In Chinese history, tattoos were considered improper and avoided at all costs. Criminal’s faces were tattooed before they were thrown in jail and even into the 1940s, tattoos were usually only seen marking members of crime rings.
There are now hundreds of parlors scattered across the city and the China Association of Tattoo Artists is pushing for increased regulation through a yearly convention. It’s only a matter of time now before the stigmas held by older generations evaporate and tattoos become the norm in China.
