Out on the Ledge

One of the things that struck us almost immediately when we got to China was the sheer amount of clothing hanging from the balconies of every apartment building we passed. Whether it was precariously swinging in the breeze on wire hangers many stories up, strung out on long wire clotheslines tethered to poles across rooftops, or flung out of windows onto inventive pulley contraptions jutting out into the alleyways, people's wash was, and still is, a standard fixture on nearly every balcony in Fuzhou!

We soon came to find out this was not unique to Fuzhou, but a common sight in every Chinese city. Upon further investigation we discovered that clothes dryers are a rarity in Chinese homes, even in upscale apartment buildings such as this one right here in Zhongshan. In many households, a washing machine is not even used, and clothing is washed out by hand and hung up to dry as standard operating procedure. I've been stunned to find that even in homes where there is a machine to do the work, some of my friends still prefer to wash clothes out by hand. To the domestic engineers of America, this is shocking!

So the question arises as to why the Chinese prefer to hang their clothes out to dry, regardless of the weather, rather than invest in a machine to do the work. Part of it is the culture, i.e., old habits die hard and if it ain't broke, why fix it? Part of it is financial, i.e., a washer and dryer cost money perhaps better spent on other daily necessities. But the two main reasons why Chinese launderers prefer to use their washers sparingly and always hang their clothes outside to dry are: 1) Conservation of electricity and 2) they want the fresh clean air scent of laundry hung out on the line.

Now, as Americans we can certainly respect and understand the awareness in China about electricity usage. The country is massively overcrowded, and the government has wisely instilled in the population the understanding that wasting electricity is environmentally unsound, financially frivolous and, therefore, something to be strictly avoided whenever possible. Although we've been frustrated to come home after a short trip to find rancid meat and spoiled milk in the fridge, because the housekeepers, with every good intention, unplugged the kitchen appliances while we were away; and even though it might seem to our "foreign eyes" that they take electricity conservation a bit too far when hotels require a room key to be inserted into a slot beside the door in order for the lights to come on in mostly every hotel room throughout China, the message is clear: every little bit helps. So, while the notion may seem foreign to Americans, the Chinese reluctance to engage an appliance that might be considered a luxury on multiple levels is understandable.

But what we find most confounding is the explanation that people hang their clothes outside to get that "fresh air smell." Do they not see the hundreds of automobiles spewing out exhaust right underneath their freshly laundered undies? Can they not see the dense haze of pollution that lingers above the city, threatening to envelope their clean white shirts even on the sunniest of days? Are they not aware that in order for their socks to have that clean fresh scent they need clean fresh air?

Chris always responds to this explanation with one simple phrase: "In America we put that clean fresh air scent right into our dryers. It's called Bounce." I always laugh to see the reaction; some are intrigued, some are disbelieving, and some are just as content to leave the fresh air scent to American dryers and leave their own laundry out on the ledge!