- Title: CHINA: A Chinese Olympic fan gets tattooed in style for the Beijing Games
- Date: 12th July 2008
- Summary: BEIJING 2008 OLYMPIC TATTOOS ON LIU'S FACE
- Embargoed: 27th July 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky,Sports
- Reuters ID: LVABKHV4EPICUSGTSO0YOD4ZJOLB
- Story Text: With 200 tattoos already on his body, there is not much room for Liu Ming to have any more -- but the Olympics fan says there is always space left for the Beijing Games.
The 44-year-old Beijinger is celebrating the Games the 2008 Olympics by tattooing as many Olympic related images onto his body as he can.
Liu has already had the five Olympic rings and the Beijing 2008 logo tattooed onto his forehead next to the array of dragons and other traditional Chinese imagery already tattooed on his face.
He hopes his new Olympic designs might improve tattooing's status in China, where the art is generally frowned upon and associated with gang culture.
"The reason I got tattooed with the Olympic images was simple. You know, Chinese people are usually quite conservative, and I just thought if I put these Olympic tattoos on my body it might change people's minds. Tattoo artists and people with tattoos aren't bad people, and they are patriotic too," he said.
Liu wasn't concerned about having such a permanent dedication to the Olympic Games, including the Beijing 2008 logo.
"I have taken that into consideration. It's not easy for China to host the Olympic Games, and maybe I will only get to see the Olympics in China this time, so this is just my way of expressing my enthusiasm for the Games," he said.
The tattoo parlour owner, Yu Minglei, who will draw Liu's next tattoo, said that although there are a lot of Olympic fans in China, tattooing wasn't recommended for everyone.
"It's hard to remove it once it's on, that's for sure. That's why I always tell my customers they have to think it through carefully. I won't usually do tattoos for them the first time they come to my shop. I let them think it through carefully," Yu said.
More than 90 percent of Liu's body is now covered in tattoos, but he insisted on squeezing in just one more -- an Olympic torch, which will fit snugly under his arm.
Liu is just one of many Olympic fans across China who are using weird and wacky ways, including an acupuncturist who will stick 2008 Olympic flag needles into his body.
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