Hugging is in! Chinese people are not so keen on physical contact, but like everything else in the Middle Kingdom, that is changing fast. The Great Wall is no longer great enough to keep out Western influences. Greeting each other is not yet two kisses (France) or three kisses (Belgium), but a hug is a great way to start. Volunteer groups are prowling the streets of the capital, offering hugs to anybody who wants it (or dares to break Confucian conventions).
Some people need a hug more than others. You can't get AIDS by hugging, but most Chinese won't touch an HIV-carrier with a ten foot pole. Migrants also feel particularly lonely, working themselves to death far away from their families. The pretty chicks in the big cities of course don't like the country bumpkins.
The huggers are still scaring away many passers-by, but slowly the trend will catch on. So go for it! One caution though: when you do hug, stay away from Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C. Hugging That One won't do you any good.
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