Relax yourself: a delicate nibble in beijing

As far as Beijing spas go, options seem unlimited: milk spas, flower spas, natural spring spas, lava rock spas and the one that always gets a raised eyebrow: fish spas. Not for the squeamish, this exfoliating treatment requires the recipient to wallow in 40 C water while tiny fish nibble away her dead skin. Proponents claim that the process is beneficial for the health and epidermis, but whether or not they enjoy any distinct advantage over other treatments has yet to be authoritatively proven.

Shunjing Spa Hotel in Chaoyang District introduced the fishy treatment at the end of last year. Marketing manager Wang Hongcai extolled their alleged benefits, saying it naturally treats skin disease, scars, and ringworm. On top of all that, having fish suck on your skin stimulates epidermal nerves, exfoliates the skin and removes toxins. The fish saliva is also purported to kill bacteria, helping broken skin to recover.

Paging Doctor Fish...

BrianYuan is manager of Shijiwangpai Company, based in Hainan Province, which specializes in all things fish: cultivation, sales and spas. Their little nibblers measure 3 to 6 centimeters and can live in hot water. In China, only Hainan has the right habitat to cultivate them. Yuan told Lifestyle that there are quite a few tiny tropical variants that could be used as "medical" fish, but did not disclose their academic names, which he said are business secrets.

That said, at least one species is probably the Tench, which often gets the nickname "doctor fish." Another type, the "Turkish beauty," is the one used in Beijing according to Liu Yao, executive secretary of the China Spa Association (CSPA).

Raising and keeping these fish is something of a hassle; the Sixth Spa Club, which used to have fish spa services, recently gave them up due to the difficulty of caring for them. Wang explained that they require twice-daily water changes in the morning and evening, a process further complicated by the necessity to avoid disturbing the water too much and harming the dainty fish. The water temperature must be tested every three hours to ensure it doesn't drop below 30 degrees, and an oxygen pump must run for 24 hours to the pond.

Customer responses

Liu Shichun, 26, once tried the fish spa in Tongzhou District during Spring Festival. While he couldn't recall the name of the place, he clearly recollected the experience: "It was quite fun to try, with so many tiny fish, at most 5 centimeters, all over your body. It does feel a little itchy, but I think it helped remove the bad parts as I found my skin got a little whiter."

Chen Ying, 28, who visited a fish spa with her husband in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, seemed to feel the same way, "I should say I felt quite comfortable, as your pores are being lightly sucked, but when the tiny fish surrounded my legs and 'bit' me, it was a little itchy. After a while, I started to feel a little sting, like small sharp edges pricking into your skin."

However, her husband did not really feel that much. "Maybe he has thicker skin," Chen joked, adding that while the fish spa was a small adventure, she thought the potential benefits were "exaggerated."