I'm back!!! After a long hiatus away in internet-free land at my grandparents, I have rejoined civilization on Facebook, Twitter, and now Blogspot. Huzzah!

Over the last 10 or so days, I've gotten over most of the culture shock- drivers who won't yield for pedestrians, people talking inside with their outdoor voices, toddlers peeing in the street, the crazy amount of people on the subway, the bus, etc...but one thing that still confounds me is the Chinese people's obsession with height- or, more specifically, tallness.

Back in the U.S., height has it's benefits- maybe it could help you get into a trendy club, or maybe it gave you an extra boost in basketball- gratifying, but inconsequential. But in China, height could determine whether or not you land a job, or even whom you settle down with for the rest of your life.

To be an airline stewardess for Air China, women have to be above 160 centimeters. Waitress at a high class restaurant? About the same. Even to get a job as a waitress at this bakery I passed by, women had to be above 155 cm, and men above 160cm. Many jobs hire taller people for appearance's sake, since height almost directly translates to attractiveness. Or, some hypothesize that the height restriction is a way to limit the number of applicants, in the world's largest country by population. But one thing is for certain, it's good to be tall in China.

If you want to see if you made the mark, here is an approximate conversion: 155 cm≈5'1", and 160 cm ≈ 5'3". In China, where the average height for women is 158.6 cm, over half of the people are disqualified before even being judged on their other attributes.

In America, a typical dating site profile might read something like this: "So I’m not the Internet-dater type. But I'm sick of the bar scene, so I thought I'd try this out. I like Italian food, Labradoodles, and long walks on the beach. I'm looking for a man who'll make me laugh; who won't mind taking spontaneous excursions to warm weather. So if you think we might just click and you are up for dinner at any of Mario Batali's restaurants, let's get in touch!" The ad is cute, fun, and attracts potential dates based on personality and common interests. Where as in China, a typical dating ad might look a little something like this: " Female, 27 years old, 165 cm, college educated, pale-skinned and attractive. Looking for a male above 175 cm, Master's Degree or above." I can begin to understand how girls might be looking for a taller guy, but even males, are looking for taller wives, perhaps in the hopes of having tall children. The Chinese hope that when the child grows up and recruits for a job, an extra centimeter or two will be an added advantage.

So height translates to attractiveness, but does height translate to $$$? Chinese hospitals offer limb-extension surgery for anywhere from $3,000 to $12,000 that can extend your legs by up to 9-10 cm. Not only is the surgery extremely painful and intrusive (it works by breaking the leg bones over and over again), but as with any other good, what you pay is what you get, since the market is largely unregulated, botched operations are commonplace. Patients can end up with damaged nerves, uneven growth, brittle bones, and many more negative psychological effects.The market is saturated with various medicines and remedies claiming to help one's child grow taller. Chinese parents fork over handfuls of cash for these medicines all claiming to have discovered "the secret to miracle growth."

Will heightism fade with time as China become increasingly globalized? Or is it entrenched in Chinese culture along with the preference for pale skin?