Teacher’s video advice to wear long johns goes viral in wintry China, where some young people shun the underwear as old-fashioned
- Seeing two of her pupils without long johns – which youngsters in China consider lack taste – teacher in central province of Henan posts some advice
- Viewers praised her instructions on how to wear long johns to ward off colds, but it was the teacher’s concern for her students that made her a sensation
A Chinese schoolteacher has become an overnight internet sensation after a video urging her students to wear “tasteless” long johns to keep warm went viral.
The video was shared by parents everywhere, who hailed the teacher, surnamed Cheng – from the Yuhua Experimental School in Kaifeng, in the central Chinese province of Henan – for being warmhearted.
Commonly worn in China’s colder climates, long johns – known as qiuku in the country’s northern provinces and mianmaoku in the south – are elasticated, stretchy tights generally made of cotton and fine wool that cling to the skin, trapping body heat to insulate against cold air. They are generally worn with a long-sleeved clingy top of the same material.
Sub-zero temperatures in central China last week prompted the caring teacher to make the video after an inspection of her students revealed that two students were without the protective garments underneath their trousers.
Although only a girl and a boy were chastised for failing to wear their long johns, Cheng took the matter seriously enough to go the extra mile and make an instructional video for them.