China parade inspires military-themed haircuts for children

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Hair salon owner Wang Xueru gives a child a haircut in a design of a tank to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING - A hair salon in Beijing has been offering patriotic and military-themed haircuts and styles to children in the weeks leading up to Chinas largest military parade to date to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

At the start of August, hairdresser Wang Xueru found children visiting her shop began requesting designs of the national flag or tanks in their undercuts, a close shave around the head on which barbers can carve out specific designs.

As more of such requests came, the 34-year-old decided she could turn the special requests into a complimentary service in conjunction with the

military parade to be staged in the heart of the capital

She still charges for the haircuts, however.

I thought, well how about offering these hair carving activities free of charge? As long as the little one is willing, we can carve it for free, she said.

Ms Wang, who has been looking forward to watching the military parade for months, now has also freshly carved undercuts to look out for on television or on live streams of the massive event taking place on Sept 3.

Ill see if I can find a child with a small flag design on their head. They may have been my