This Day, That Year

Item from Nov 26, 1993, in China Daily: The girls may draw looks but they do little to encourage Beijingers to reach for their wallets and part with their hard-earned cash. ...

Despite the freezing wind from Siberia, bikini-clad girls beam to people on Beijing's streets. It is the strange yet common scene of the annual calendar season. ... The Economic Daily newspaper said about 30 million calendars of 2,000 kinds were available on the market in Beijing - that's three for every Beijinger and the figure ignores those printed to advertise enterprises.

Printed calendars were among the most popular New Year gifts just a decade ago.