“布基尼”法国被禁 “脸基尼”中国正红

A French ban on the burkini -- a swimsuit that covers the whole body except for the face, hands and feet -- has prompted fierce debate, but women in one part of China are wondering what all the fuss is about.
上月，法国海滩禁止女性穿“布基尼”的消息引发了激烈争论。所谓“布基尼”，就是只露出脸和手脚的全身包裹式泳衣。而中国某地的女性却对此禁令全然不解。

The "facekini" has been popular attire on beaches in eastern China for several years, especially in the city of Qingdao, a seaside city of 9 million.
海滩服饰“脸基尼”已盛行中国东部地区多年，尤其是在拥有900万人口的海滨城市青岛。

The skin-tight elasticated fabric masks cover a swimmer's entire head and neck. Holes are cut for eyes, nostrils, mouth and, in some cases, pony tails. Most facekinis cover up the rest of the torso as well.
这种面罩能包住游泳者整个头部和脖颈，布料紧贴肌肤且有弹力。可以露出眼睛、鼻孔和嘴巴，有时甚至为马尾辫预留了开口。连体“脸基尼”也会裹住身体其他部分。

"I've been using a facekini for nearly ten years," says Wang Huimei, 58, a Qingdao local who goes to the beach almost everyday in summer.
58岁的青岛居民王慧梅（音）说：“我穿‘脸基尼’有近十年了。”夏天时，她几乎每天都去海滩。

"It's way better than sunscreen lotion that wears off whenever I get inside the water. Plus, the water in this area tends to be cold, it's comfortable to wear and it keeps me warm."
“比起遇水就会化开的防晒霜，‘脸基尼’防晒效果好多了。我们这儿的水也挺凉，穿着它舒服又保暖。”

Zhang Shifan says she's the inventor of the facekini and has sold them on Taobao since 2007. She also has a brick-and-mortar store.
张式范女士称自己是“脸基尼”的发明者。自2007年起，她就在淘宝网销售“脸基尼”。她还拥有一家实体店。

The garment was originally designed to protect people from jelly fish bites.
起初，这种泳衣是为了防止海蜇的蛰伤。

"Suntan protection was a secondary feature but now it's the major appeal to my customers," she adds.
张式范补充道：“防晒本是它的第二个特性，但现在成了顾客购买的主因。”

New designs
新款设计

Zhang says she's sold more than 20,000 facekinis this summer. She released an arresting series of new designs in July that draw inspiration from traditional Peking opera and wild animals.
张女士表示，今年夏天她已售出20000多件“脸基尼”。7月，她发布了一系列夺人眼球的新款设计，其灵感来自传统京剧和野生动物。

But while burkini makers have seen a spike in sales as a result of the attempt by some French politicians to prohibit religious attire on public beaches, Zhang says she hasn't had much success selling outside China.
由于一些法国政治家试图禁止人们在公共海滩穿宗教服装，“布基尼”销量猛涨。但张女士说，“脸基尼”在本土以外的销售并不怎么成功。

"We've tried promoting our products overseas after the pictures of our products went viral, but it didn't turn out well. We've only had small orders from Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan in the past few years."
“产品的图片走红以后，我们试着对外推广，但效果不佳。过去几年，只有来自澳大利亚、中国香港和台湾的少量订单。”

Buyers tend to be middle aged women like Wang, who adhere to traditional standards of beauty that value paler skin.
购买者往往是王女士那样的中年女性，她们推崇“以白为美”的传统审美标准。

The garments have sparked some debate in China, with the pictures of the latest designs widely shared on social media this week. Some Internet users found the designs amusing and creative; others found them shocking.
本周，“脸基尼”最新款式的图片在社交媒体广泛传播，也在中国引发了一些争论。有网民表示这些设计很有趣，创意十足；也有人觉得天雷滚滚。

"Ask French police to arrest them!" one user of Weibo commented on the photos.
一位用户在微博上发表对图片的评论：“快叫法国警察把穿的人带走！”

Wang hadn't heard about France's efforts to ban Muslim women from covering up their bodies on beaches.
王女士此前并未听说法国禁止穆斯林女性在海滩穿全身包裹式泳衣。

"I can't really make sense of it," she said. "I thought it's the bikinis that could be banned."
她说：“我真是不能理解这种禁令。我以为比基尼才可能被禁呢。”