Vice Guide the Right Now

This Chinese City Publicly Shames Residents for Wearing Pyjamas

Residents wearing pyjamas in public were identified using facial recognition technology and were shamed online.
Koh Ewe
SG
man china shanghai wearing pajaamas pyjamas
A man wearing pyjamas carries vegetables in a plastic bag in Shanghai on March 5, 2017.
Johannes EISELE / AFP. 

Choosing comfort over style could get you publicly shamed in this Chinese city, if your attire of choice are some snuggly PJs.

On Monday, January 20, the Suzhou City Management Bureau in Anhui Province published on its official WeChat account a post titled “Exposing Uncivilised Behaviour, Increasing the Quality of Residents.” In the post, 15 people were identified for “uncivilised behaviour,” including seven who were called out for simply wearing pyjamas in public, Chinese news website The Paper reported.

Advertisement

Locals walking around in pyjamas are a common sight across China. Besides keeping them warm during the winter, pyjamas also possess historical significance for Shanghai locals. In the early 20th century, imported pyjamas could only be afforded by the wealthiest Shanghainese people and served as a status symbol. However, authorities have been trying to eradicate pyjama fashion, which they deem uncivilised.

Facial recognition, a prevalent technology in China, was used to identify these pyjama-wearers after photos were snapped by members of the public. The photos posted on the Bureau’s public account identified residents with clear photos, their full names, blurred-out identification numbers, and the location where they were photographed.

Chinese netizens were outraged over the ridiculous standard for public attire.

“When are they going to start restricting people’s farts?” one Weibo user joked.

“They do not care about the things they should be caring about, but blindly care about things that they should not be caring about. Does a rapist have his personal information publicised? They want to expose you just for wearing pyjamas (laugh),” said another.

Another Weibo user lamented the lack of regard for citizens’ privacy. “They have never cared about people’s privacy, stubborn authorities.”

Some explained that the pyjamas are their form of protection against the freezing cold during winter. “As someone who comes from Suzhou, I just want to say that winter in Suzhou is really cold, even thick quilts are not as warm as those pyjamas…”

Advertisement

Following public outrage over the ridiculous ‘dress code,’ the Suzhou City Management Bureau took down its WeChat post and issued an apology.

“The content and method of our post was inappropriate. The Bureau treats this very seriously, and has taken immediate action. Relevant documents have been taken down. We sincerely apologise, and have learnt our lesson. We promise that similar incidents will not happen in the future. Thank you for your concern and supervision of city management in Suzhou.”

The Suzhou City Management Bureau began its crackdown on “uncivilised behaviour” last year.

According to Chinese news website The Paper, in August 2019, the same city bureau urged the public to submit photos of fellow residents engaging in uncivilised behaviour, offering a reward of RMB10 (US$1.45) for every approved photo. In October of the same year, the city bureau published a post titled “Uncivilised Behaviour Exposed,” featuring one resident who was publicly shamed for wearing their pyjamas out.

This is not the first time Chinese authorities have tried to stop people from wearing their pyjamas out in public. In preparation for hosting the World Expo in 2010, the Qiba neighbourhood in Shanghai set up a committee to discourage people from wearing pyjamas in public because it was seen as an embarrassment.

Find Koyu on Instagram.