Often there are products for sale in the hotel rooms including oils and potions for increasing your sexual potency for both men and women, with fairly explicit pictures on the packets and claming near miraculous properties. I was wondering how Chinese traditional medicine market is facing the challenge of drugs like Viagra.
It was reassuring to see packets of condoms among those oils and potions. About a decade ago, while discussing of the danger of AIDS with the mayor of a Chinese city, he had continued to insist that there was no prostitution in China. He had not even believed me when I had told him about midnight calls of giggling girls in the hotel room, who were probably sex workers.
This time the midnight giggling girls left me in peace, probably they thought that with my greying hair I was not worth wasting their time. With all those packets of oils, potions and condoms, I guess the sex worker industry is also booming in China.
Some times, the packets carry the instructions in English also. Probably some of these translations were done automatically by the computer, from Chinese to English and often I had difficulty in making sense out of them.
Like this green packet that I found in the bathroom in a beautiful hotel in Lu Feng city that is a masterpiece of Chinglish writing. The packet was of “China Shenyang Yirenbao biochemical product” and the text behind the packet claimed the following:
“Will have one’s hair wash, raise and take place, have the bath, skin care to make up in best way Come, the personage staying temporarily has offered a easy bathing in order to go out to travel Bath way, there is a bag’s, have no other it to ask. Product this prescription include many kind high-quality to is it itch, get rid of dandruff, not moist to take place, not moist to stop Skin compositions. With after make hair the elegant slip suitably, make skin whiten and lubricate, combine special addition country import perfume spices, long result stay fragrant, make you wash and come from behind the bath The letter, wash out the health.”
