A video of a young man in China wearing a mask made of lotus leaves to shield himself from the sun while staying cool has gone viral on social media.

According to Chinese local media outlet Zhangyuan Shixun on June 22 (local time), a man named Xiao In, who runs a guesthouse, made a lotus leaf mask as a way to escape the heatwave. The mask, with holes cut out for the eyes and mouth, had a long stem that resembled "Pinocchio's nose."

A man named Xiao In, who runs a guesthouse, made a lotus leaf mask as a way to escape the heatwave.

Netizens who saw this reacted with comments such as "Looks like a mosquito," "A character that could appear in a Studio Ghibli film," and "A creative method."

The main character in the video has been identified as Xiao In (age 30), who operates a guesthouse in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. He said, "I originally planned to go out with a facial mask pack on, but since there were many lotus leaves near my home, I decided to make one on the spot." He added, "Lotus leaves can be obtained for free every day, they can be reused, and they are very effective."

He continued, "Right now, only my face is pale while the rest of my body is tanned," and explained, "By attaching straps to a wide-brimmed straw hat, it was comfortable to wear and provided excellent sun protection." He also handed out these masks to his guests, who responded positively.

Netizens who saw this reacted with comments such as "Looks like a mosquito," "A character that could appear in a Studio Ghibli film," and "A creative method." Since then, many videos of people making and wearing lotus leaf masks have been posted on local social media. Some netizens commented that it looked "bizarre and scary."

An image created by entering the command "Chinese people struggling with the summer heat" into the generative AI DALL·E3.

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Meanwhile, central and northern China are expected to experience intense heat this year. In March, the daytime high in Beijing reached 30 degrees Celsius earlier than any other year in the past 66 years. Most regions in China, including but not limited to the capital area such as Beijing, are under the influence of warm high pressure, resulting in earlier and prolonged heat compared to previous years in many areas.