While tattoos have been around for almost 1000 years in China, it is only in the last few years that their popularity has taken really taken off. Tim Johnson covers this trend, interviewing tattoo artists who are so busy that new customers have to make an appointment a month in advance. The growing popularity of tattoos in China is juxtaposed with Americans, especially basketball stars, who get tattoos of Chinese characters.
In both cultures, there is an attraction to a foreign exotic aesthetic. One of the interviewed Chinese tattoo artists explains the preferences of different demographics when choosing between Chinese versus Western aesthetics : Young people like designs from Europe and America…People over 30 prefer oriental images like dragons, tigers and legendary figures. It’s also influenced by education. If you are better educated, you might get a Western design.
