LostinChina

I was talking to a friend who goes to China often and I was told none of the locals wear shorts. It's going to be blazing hot I would assume later this month, so we were planning on wearing them. Would this be a problem?

Neil_Oz

LiC, you'll stand out like a sore thumb anyway, so don't worry. I'm not sure about wearing shorts when visiting temples or Mao's mausoleum, say - it was a no-no when we visited Vietnam, but I've since been told that the Chinese aren't fussed. I didn't put it to the test, as I prefer light cargo pants or similar to shorts and my wife wouldn't be seen dead in shorts anywhere.

LeighTravelClub

Just returned from a trip to China and wore shorts everyday, only wearing longs in the evening for dinner. No problem visiting temples or anywhere else. Insect repellant IS required (we didn't bother first couple of days and suffered as a result) and a brolly is handy for a parasol. They are available everywhere for around 10 yuan......less than £1

nagiffag

We wear shorts in Shanghai very often when it's hot and don't feel out of the place. In Beijing we wore shorts to all tourist sites including Mao's mausoleum. Consider that to cool down some men here pull their shirt up to expose their belly. Some wear pjs in public. I know some Chinese who wear shorts but agree that the vast majority don't.

lcuy

I'm not familiar with China but in India and much of SE ASia, the only people you see in shorts are the westerners, and the locals do think them over-exposed.

This reminds me of that "1001 places to see" that is on TV now. The woman was wearing shorts and a tank top in Delhi. (shoulders and legs; two areas that should have been covered). Just as I turned to my husband and told him I couldn't believe her producers let that attire slip in, she realized something was wrong and asked her guide if shorts were okay. The gracious Indian woman said, "oh no you're fine", but minutes later leads her to a shop to buy a Salwar. Meanwhile, the entire time, you could see the locals behind them gawking at her attire.

Lesson: You may not notice you're dressed inappropriately, and no one may tell you that you are, but if none of the locals are wearing them, shorts are inappropriate. I mean, i'ts not like they aren't smart enough to know about shorts.

You can be quite cool in lightweight cotton pants, long capris or a skirt. Just avoid jeans or heavyweight fabrics.

LostinChina

Thanks for everyone's input.

Leigh-what's a brolly?

Kathie

British for umbrella.

LostinChina

That's what I thought, but wasn't sure. THanks!

Travelbug13

You'll be fine wearing shorts in China. Like one poster said you'll already be sticking out like a sore thumb anyway. But you shouldn't have any issues at all.

Enjoy your trip!

Kathie

I agree with Lcuy. The people will no doubt be too polite to say anything, but they will see you as being dressed inappropriately. Remember that it seems to be only westerners who think that uncovering more skin makes them cooler. Those who live in very hot climes typically cover their skin to protect it from the sun. Long, loose, light clothing is cooler than shorts and a tank top.

LostinChina

Seems to be a difference in opinion. Guess we'll wing it.

Leigh-when were the mosquitos a big problem? Just early in the evening? So maybe the way to do it is if we wear shorts, then change to long pants before it gets dark???

LeighTravelClub

I can't really say when we were bitten,but my advice would be just to wipe over the usual vulnerable areas at all times.

Usually we are so very aware of this potential problem, but somehow we became 'brain dead' for our China trip. Don't know why, but we just didn't see it coming. Once we realised our mistake and just took our normal anti-bite precautions it was no longer an issue. We use Jungle Formula wipes and spray. Don't know if this is available in the US, but anything containing deet should do the trick.

LostinChina

Thanks, Leigh. I always am the one who gets bitten. Practical question, do you put sunscreen on before the mosquito spray or wipes? It would seem the wipes would take off the sunscreen.

KimJapan

You should use sunscreen first, then repellent. REcently it's come out that sunscreen may cause increased absorption of DEET, but no clear conclusion about whether that is worse than usual absorption of DEET. You might want to use permethrin based one? Not sure. Also, the mosquito repellent decreases the effect of the sunscreen, so be aware of that too.

We've found that light gauzy shirts and pants/skirts are good at both lessening the effects of sun and keeping mosquitos away, and they are not hot to wear. It's actually cooler to be covered with light airy fabric than to be wearing shorts and a tank top it seems.

wintersp

You can buy OFF Deep Woods insect repellent with sunscreen. Deet 19% and Sunscreen SPF15.
Last time I mentioned this Kathie had a comment - but I can't rememeber what.
Maybe she will chime in with the caveat.

Kathie

For some reason, the cdc does not recommend the combination repellant/sunscreen products... oh yes, sunscreen needs to be re-applied more often than repellant, which means you are putting on a lot of extra repellant.

The permethrin based products that I know of are all sprays for clothing. (Perhaps they have other permethrin based products in Japan?) I've used them when going to malarial risk places, and found them to be fairly effective. You still need a deet repellant for exposed skin.

KimJapan

Autan, which is common in Asia (don't know about availability in China though) is picardin...which I confused with permethrin. That is what I was thinking about....and that is what we will use. Used it in Bali, and it's much less irritating for me than DEET.

LostinChina

Thanks for all the info. Somehow I hate applying that DEET directly to the skin, repeatedly. Don't have the gauzy, long sleeve shirts, might buy some there????? That sounds like the best alternative to help against the mosquitos and the sun!

KimJapan

Don't let gauzy fabric make you complacent about applying repellent. Mosquitos can bit through it. It helps a bit with bites and a bit with sun, mostly it keeps me cool. You can likely buy gauzy shirts anywhere...I've gotten them in the US and in Asia. Not hard to find at all.

LostinChina

KimJapan,
So you just apply the repellant directly onto the gauzy fabric?