Beautiful Asian Games Hostesses Undergo “Devil-ish Training”
Women pay a price for beauty – but what is the price for poise? From this post on the popular Mop bulletin board we see a series of photos depicting beautiful young Chinese women preparing to act as hostesses for this year’s Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China by lining up to balance books on their heads, rehearsing dance routines, and practicing serving water – all the while maintaining a constant polite smile.
The original poster describes their preparations as severely arduous and emphasizes the oath these hostesses take in representing the face of the host country, evoking themes of national pride and the sacrifices required for such; as well, this post also raises other themes such as exploitation of the hostesses “volunteering” which is off-set by the concept of guanxi (social and business connections), as well as the standard of female beauty in China as these selected women acting as the very “face” of China all share many similar physical traits.
The “Devil-ish Training” of the Guangzhou Asian Games Ceremonial Xiao Jies
This is how the Asian Games ceremonial hostesses are trained, through “devil-ish training” and dripping sweet sweat! On August 12, 2010, in preparation for the the convening of the 16th Asian Games, a graduation ceremony was held for the specialized volunteers who hand out awards at ceremonies at their own training base, located at the Southern University of Medicine in Shunde district of Guangdong province.
Attending this “award ceremony for ceremonial awarders” was the standing Deputy General Secretary of the Guangzhou Asian Games organizational committee and Deputy Mayor of Guangzhou, Xu Ruisheng, as well as Dean of the Southern University of Medicine, Zheng Muming; it is in front of them that these 550 specialized volunteers took a solemn oath.
