Just when you thought you’d seen everything, women in Shaanxi, China are sprawling out on hot rocks to cure illnesses. Apparently, people were quite surprised when they walked passed a park in Xi’an, in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, and found middle-age women lying on big black rocks with towels draped across their faces.
According to the Hong Kong Economic Times, the women are not engaging in any kind of artistic stunt or participating in a super underground flash mob. They’re actually sunning themselves for the health benefits. The women believe that lying on the rocks, which have absorbed heat from the sun, particularly between 3 and 4 p.m., can keep them in good health.
Mashable spoke to one woman who told reporters that she lays on rocks because she suffers from synovitis and stiff muscles. She also explained that a relative with similar ailments was cured after trying rock sunning for an extended period of time.
In spite of the obvious concerns associated with laying on hot rocks, many women say they don’t feel hot at all. While that may or may not be true, a 70-year-old woman lifted her top to expose her stomach to the rock and got fourth degree burns, so maybe stick to the sauna for now.
(Via Mashable)
