Red from embarrassment rather than the sun in my bikini

On a clear and sunny Sunday in Beijing, I had the urge to go sunbathing. It was the kind of day where you'd see lots of sunbathers laying out en masse in places like New York City's Central Park. In the United States, a healthy summer glow, or tan, is highly coveted.

So, when I ventured to Chaoyang Park to get that tan, I was a little surprised to find it empty of sunbathers. None. Not a single body in sight. Not even foreigners wanted to try it out.

Oh sure, there were plenty of people, but they all seemed to be huddled under the shade of any tree they could find.

Of course, I should have expected this. I've lived in China for nearly two years, long enough to notice the overabundance of skin whitening products in supermarkets and parasols (or "sunbrellas" as I like to call them) on the streets. On more than one occasion, I've had Chinese women throw their sunbrellas over me to protect me from the rays. God forbid I get even the slightest of a tan.

But that doesn't fully explain why the park was lacking in sunbathers. While porcelain-white skin may be popular here, it isn't everyone's preference. I've met younger generation Chinese who want a summer glow, but are too afraid to go out in public and sunbathe.

I was discussing this one day with a Chinese girl who moved to the Netherlands with her family eight years ago. She returns to visit the mother country at least once a year.

"I love subathing," she told me. In Europe, she gladly sits in her front yard with a bikini on, not caring about passersby.

"Would you ever do that in China?" I asked.

"Absolutely not," she replied. She said she'd never be comfortable sunbathing here because she feared Chinese men would gawk at her. In Europe - and in my experience, the US - sunbathing is so common the gawking isn't really an issue.

A few weeks later, I visited a crowded No 6 Beach in Qingdao on a weekend vacation, bikini strings visible on the back of my neck from underneath my dress. Suddenly, I understood what she meant.

Heads turned as I tried to find a place to set my towel. I hadn't even stripped down to my bikini.

I finally settled on a small patch of sand to place my things. I was nearly ready to take off my dress before I noticed a man standing a few feet away from me, taking in my every move. He stood there for at least two minutes staring at me while puffing on his cigarette. I was thoroughly creeped out, so I resettled some distance away from him.

I couldn't let the staring stop me, but it took me about 15 minutes to finally get over it and take the dress off. While I lay there tanning, I turned up the music on my mp3 player all the way and kept my eyes shut the entire time. That way I couldn't tell if people were staring or not.

But I knew they were. I lay there for about half an hour before I got too uncomfortable to keep sunbathing. I put my clothes back on and spent the rest of the time sitting on the beach.

Looking around, I saw dozens of Chinese women wearing modest street clothes, while their boyfriends sported skintight trunks. The women that were wearing bathing suits had on these hideous numbers with frilly skirts that covered their entire torsos. If anything, it looked more like they were wearing mini dresses.

I didn't go back to that beach.

Perhaps China just isn't quite ready for bikini-wearing sunbathers. Which is a shame, because I really want a summer tan.