Beauty concept evolves with sun-kissed shades

Chinese beauty ideals, with the pursuit of fair skin being front and center, have been worshipped since ancient times. Cracks, however, are starting to emerge in these longstanding standards as a niche tanning community is gradually rising to challenge the status quo.

A growing number of people, made up of more women than men, in first-tier cities are joining the tanning trend and showing their bronzed skin on social media platforms as the Chinese society has embraced more inclusive and diversified beauty standards over the past few years.

On Xiaohongshu, a Chinese lifestyle-sharing platform, there are more than 90,000 posts with the hashtag "SkinTanning", where both male and female bloggers display their glowing tans, offer practical tips and recommend trustworthy salons.