P is for Pyjamas!

One of the really charming things about Shanghai, is that you can often see people walking around the streets, wearing their pyjamas.  This kind of sighting can happen at almost any time of the day or anywhere. I have seen people at the grocery store, in the park, or just taking a stroll. In the summer, they wear pyjamas with shorter pants, and in the winter there are bold patterned quilted ones that make their appearance.  Both men and women have been spotted, but most often, it is the women who are out on the street in their night apparel.


Story has it that this is a habit that began when affluence returned to the city again after the austerity of the 1980's, or that it predates the Communist revolution. It was intended to show all those on the street that only people with enough money could have separate garments to sleep in.  It is derided in the rest of China as a silly habit, and with Expo about to hit the Shanghai, the city officials have asked the locals to cease and desist. Too bad. I think that it is charming and certainly much less offensive than the spitting that is ever prevalent on the street.

sorry about the sideways photo- don't know why it rotated.