‘Facekini’ newest beachgoing craze at Chinese beach

People are covering up with something that looks like a ski mask to stay pale

The sun can be a pretty harmful thing on your skin so if you are thinking, 'somebody should do something about that sun,' we have good news. Somebody has, and it's called the facekini.

It's essentially a cover for your face that prevents the sun from hitting your skin and makes it look like there are a gang of bank robbers on the beach. Or perhaps a scene from the movies Nachos Libre or Kick-Ass.

This is the newest way people on the beach in Qingdao, China are preventing themselves from getting a tan while sitting on the beach.

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NBC News reports online stores are selling the multi-coloured balaclavas at a pretty quick rate.

"It definitely has to do with the history of China, which is largely an agricultural society," said Alina Zhoa, a college student in the U.S. who grew up in China to NBC News. "Getting tanned means you work outside in the fields a lot, so skin color is like an indicator of your social status. The fairer you are, the wealthier or more respected you seem."

Some Asian people can also be seen on Canadian streets carrying umbrellas on sunny days to keep the sun off their faces.

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The masks have been turning heads on the beaches in Qingdao. According to The New York Times, a trio of heavily tattooed young men stopped splashing and a small boy ran toward his mother as one woman rose from the waves wrapped in a neon-orange mask.

The masks are made of a stretchy fabric that is commonly used in bathing suits and can be accompanied by apparel that covers other parts of the body, such as the arms.

According to the Daily Mail, the mask was invented by a local about seven years ago and is now being mass produced.

The facekini sells for between two and four dollars, but many residents are making their own out of old clothes.

(Reuters photos)