The cover up

If there is only one coat for you to deal with Beijing's freezing winter, what will it be? A thick green People's Liberation Army (PLA) coat is the first choice of many Beijingers. The symbolic green coats, with their wide sleeves, high fur collars and gold star buttons, have been iconic since the 1960s when privileged members of an elite wore them. With the rise of the Red Guards during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) people envied the wearers for the allegiance a green coat affirmed, the mark of a true People's Republic of China soldier.

Amazingly, in the early 1980s it became the chosen garment of artists to show off their individuality. At the late 1980s, it even turned into the coolest thing to own - no self-respecting avant-garde rebel was without one.

But nowadays because of the surging tide of fashionable attire available to suit every pocket, the great coat has become (for the majority of urbanites) the symbol of a past era - practical, but bulky and heavy, and signifying lower income brackets. They can be seen in Beijing, on migrant workers, manual laborers and food cart vendors.