It’s our #AtoZChallenge in China again! Today’s entry is something worn by toddlers, and that’s amusing but somehow delightful. They’re open crotch pants a.k.a. split pants (kāidāngkù 开裆裤).
The first time I saw this kind of pants was in spring 2016, and I was like, “Are you kidding me?” That time, I remember, old local grandmas looked after the kids who squatted down to play on the ground.
I thought, “What if a caterpillar or a grasshopper or an ant goes inside the butt of that kid?” Yikes!
O is for Open Crotch Pants
Every time I see a toddler wearing this I can’t help but to think if he/she feels cold or itchy down there. LOL. Prior to writing this blog, I thought of taking photos of toddlers wearing split pants while playing at parks in our community… but I did not see one.
So for outsiders and first-timers, seeing kids walk around with their pants split wide open is a sight too amusing. Back home, toddlers wear either diapers or baby cloth (occasionally nothing when near their homes) but never this kind of clothing. Apparently, it’s a Chinese thing, with one writer saying it’s a “sign of China as Chairman Mao’s portrait looming over Tiananmen Square.” In 2003, a New York Times article mentioned that split pants “are still the norm in rural China … [b]ut the diaper is fast becoming a litmus test of cultural and social change, separating the haves from the have-nots, the city from the countryside.”
Fourteen years later, is that still true? It’s hard to tell, actually. I’ve never seen any tot wearing split pants during my recent travels in Shandong and Hebei provinces. Maybe because I was only there for a short time and I never had the chance to visit some rural places? Or maybe I went there during the tail-end of winter?
But one thing’s interesting: split pants are sold on Taobao…
See that “281” part? It means the number of people who have bought the item. And this is just one of the vendors who is selling split pants on the platform.
And another thing is that…
There have been debates about the use of split pants, other than being a cultural norm in China. Some say they’re for potty training; others say they make children (who used to wear one) comfortable peeing in urban areas; others believe they’re unhygienic and put kids at risk of getting diarrhea.
Whatever the discussion is about split pants, for sure they’ll be a common sight in Beijing this spring and summer!
Thanks for reading! Tomorrow, let’s talk about friendship in China — or in Beijing. Are Chinese really snub? We find that one out in my next #AtoZChallenge in China entry.
Featured photo from Thats Mags. First photo from Sofia Sweetman.
See more of my #AtoZChallenge: Chinese Adventure
I’m more wondering how messy they get. Carrying around the kids on the shoulders like that when he decides to let go with the #2?
Granmas have tissues haha! But the thing is that kids just squat down anywhere.
Interesting. I had no idea this was a fad in China. My first guess would have been that it was for potty training purposes. I was a little surprised to see the diaper on the kid with the split pants. What do you think? Are you for or against children wearing split pants?
With Love,
Mandy
Yes, and many sources (and locals too) say it’s better and easier than just wearing diapers. But the combination of split pants and diapers is interesting, I guess millennial parents do it.
Hmm good question. I think split pants are ok if used at home, then if a baby needs to go out, diapers are fine.
Okay … well I definitely learnt something new today! I’d never heard of these.
Just wait till you see a toddler wearing that! Haha
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