A burkini-wearing lifeguard wears the suit as a religious practice. (Photo : Getty Images)
More Chinese customers are unfazed by issues surrounding the burkini, or the swimsuit that covers the entire body except for hands, feet, and the face.
Consumers in China for the past years have already taken a step further with the facekini or a swimsuit that covers the entire body including the face.
Swimmers in Qingdao, a seaside city in China, have been wearing facekini because they claim it's better than using sunscreen. The facekini is worn to cover the entire head, with holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth.
Wang Huimei, 58, a Qingdao local who goes to the beach almost every day in summer, said, "I've been using a facekini for nearly ten years."
She added, "It's way better than sunscreen lotion that wears off whenever I get inside the water. Plus, the water in this area tends to be cold, it's comfortable to wear and it keeps me warm."
Zhang Shifan, the inventor of the facekini, said that she has sold more than 20,000 facekinis this summer alone.
She has a small store in Qingdao and an online store in Taobao.
A new line of facekini was launched that had animal prints and was originally designed to protect the face against jellyfish bites. Now it is popular for protecting the skin against the sun.
As much as Chinese consumers are not bothered with the burkini and facekini, the French think otherwise.
There is much controversy with the burkini especially in France where groups claim that the burkini is an attempt to impose Islam practices in French culture.
Marine Le Pen, National Front leader in France said, "The burkini is actually a symptom, one of the multiple symptoms, of the rise in fundamentalist Islam in France."
