The eyes of the world will be on Beijing for sixteen days in August of 2008, as the drama of the XXIX Summer Olympics unfolds. But there are two Asian pastimes which have not yet been declared Olympic sports, in spite of the fact that hundreds of millions of Chinese learn them at their parents’ knees and practice them daily throughout their lives. They are the sports of nose picking and “air hanky” tossing, and each is part of the Golden Quintet of Asian Xtreme Hygiene Sports: Nose Cleaning, which really encompasses the two skills of Nose Picking and Air Hanky Tossing; Ear Cleaning; Spitting, and Belching.
The Asian sport of nose picking, which some claim is actually more of an art form, is not limited to any one Asian region. With the exception of Singapore, nose picking is a common occupation in many of Asia’s great cities from Beijing to Tokyo. But it may be, thanks to the upcoming Olympics, a dying art in Beijing.
As China makes a leap forward into the 21st century’s first tier of nations, and in anticipation of the Olympiad, its authorities have taken the unusual step of distributing 4.3 million pamphlets to the citizens of Beijing, instructing them in the art of nasal etiquette and the use of tissue. But in a country where toilet paper is considered such an oddity that tourists are cautioned to carry their own, tissues are as foreign to millions of Chinese as foreigners themselves.
The citizens of Beijing, Hanoi, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Tokyo are not at all bashful about their nasal cleaning habits. Those who do not engage in a bit of exploratory excavation while standing in line for the bus or enjoying a restaurant meal may instead hurl the infamous “air hanky.” The air hanky technique entails pinching one nostril shut so that the nostril with the most promising content is subjected to the full force of the nose-blower’s exhalation, and those promising contents are expelled into the air.
There’s also the backward snort technique, which allows the mucus-afflicted to draw the phlegm from their nasal passages down into their throats, and expectorate it onto the nearest convenient surface. It usually lands on the ground, but there is no guarantee that your shoe won’t be an obstacle to its safe landing.
Given the heavily polluted air of China, it’s understandable that someone would want to clean out his or her respiratory tract at frequent intervals. But even in Tokyo, where the citizenry otherwise are fanatical about cleanliness, the male commuters spend a good part of their daily travel mining their nasal passages.
In Bangkok, it’s the tuk tuk drivers who usually introduce tourists to the practice of nose picking. In Hanoi, it can be anyone from the restaurant waiters to the fruit vendors. On the busses of Hong Kong one can be treated to a visual smorgasbord of nose picking and ear cleaning accompanied by a cacophony of belching and yawning.
The moral of the story?
If you’re hankering for a trip to the 2008 Olympics, you may find Beijing congested with nose pickers. Plan your trip carefully during this time or you’ll be in a sticky situation.
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April 6th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Dear E Cho,
Enjoyed reading your insightful and humourous article! Hats off to you for pointing this out! Your “advanced warning” to the tourists is good, so that they’d have less chance be grossed out by seeing this display first hand!
I really hate this disgusting and unsanitary habit. It is unthinkable that the great Chinese people would even treat this disgusting habit as a socially acceptable “etiquette”? I feel embarrassed for them! The great Chinese people have made such progress in minimizing “spitting on the street” lately, and modernized the public toilets (even keeping them clean!), but could not yet fix this little bad behaviour?
I love and respect China and the Chinese people, so I hope, the Chinese gov and the MEDIA would step up their efforts in fixing this, and SOON, otherwise, their carefully cultivated image will definitely be damaged!
peter skis (04.06.08)