For the Western visitor, the gleaming cosmetic counters of Beijing's big stores, staffed by immaculately made-up women, are nothing new. But a closer look provides a surprise: while many foreigners covet bronzing powders and tanning creams, here lighteners and whiteners command the majority of advertising and shelf space.

For years, the Chinese have seen fair skin as a sign of beauty and in the past those who could afford it even tried swallowing powdered pearls to cultivate a paler hue. Times and methods may have changed, but the fair-skinned ideal still largely remains.

To be beautiful in China is to be fair skinned, and for cosmetics companies that's an opportunity to tap the world's largest emerging market for whitening creams. Chinese are obsessed with light skin, and from casting soap stars to choosing a marriage partner, the preference is clear: the lighter the better. The obsession with porcelain-like skin has evolved beyond cosmetic reasons, becoming more related to social classes and feminism.

And, according to medical experts and fashionable celebrities who took part in a forum to explore the classic topic, the obsession shows no sign of abating.

"Chinese women prefer the white skin because that is the standard for beauty," said actress Zhou Xun (Perhaps Love, The Banquet). "Every Chinese woman wants to have fair skin and so do I. A girl with fair skin looks prettier."

The star attended the recent Olay Forum for women of Asian countries, promoting the company's latest range of whitening products. According to Olay, its initial whitening cosmetics were the first to enter the local market.

The pursuit of pale is nothing new. For centuries, white has symbolized sophistication, innocence, femininity and status. Chinese women used to prepare skin whiteners, by grinding pearl from seashells into powder that was then swallowed.

"Whitening creams are important to the Chinese cosmetics market because Chinese people regard white skin as the most important criterion for beauty," said Zhu Wenyuan, one of the founders of China Herb Whitening Research.

Today, the shelves of every large store and pharmacy are crammed with cosmetics that claim to be a safe means to the same result.

"Now with the development of technology, we have more choices and scientific conception for white skin which is not simply pale but healthy," said Wu Yan, Doctor of Peking Medical University.

(China Daily 09/27/2007 page17)