Beidaihe is a popular beach town in Hebei province in north-east China overlooking the Bohai Sea. Since Mao's time, this resort has always been the Communist Party of China's summer retreat, where deals, promotions and bollockings are meted out in equal measure. This year, it was cancelled as part of President Xi's anti-corruption campaign. As a result, the private beach area designated for diplomats was noticeably quiet. Chinese beach culture looks remarkably like late 19th-century Britain's, with parents and children standing around gaily; looking bemusedly at the sea and occasionally deigning to dip a toe in. This detachment has all the appearances of Victorian prudishness accompanied by the contemporary trend for long dresses, bloomers and straw boaters. In fact, the weird rise of beachwear like the 'facekini' (a balaclava-like mask) and bright yellow sunscreening anoraks complete with hoodies show that this behaviour has very little to do with modesty, but rather a fear of a tan. Adults walk about with parasols, fully clothed, wearing huge inflated rubber rings.
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