sprout hair clips 头上长草.doc

In China, grassy fashion trend sprouts on peoples headsByShen Lu, CNNUpdated 0259 GMT (0959 HKT) September 15, 2015Beijing (CNN) sprouts, grass, and flowers are blossoming from Chinese peoples heads - and nobody quite knows why.Were referring, of course, to sprout hair clips - a brand new Chinese fashion fad that seems to have grown organically out of the countrys tourist spots, where men and women of all ages can be seen rocking the fake plastic plants.In Nanluoguxiang, an ancient stone lane in Beijing, vendors selling the clips are swarmed by excited tourists, who cant wait to take selfies with their new accessories.Yet nobody seems to know where the trend is originated from, according to an informal CNN street survey.Zhou Delai, a vendor holding a tray full of clips, told CNN the trend started in Beijing about two weeks ago. He says he sells 200 clips every three to four hours.I have no idea who initiated the trend, he said. I stocked clips because so many people had wore them.Zhang sells two clips for less than $1. He said it was a cheap price to pay for joy.You only need to spend 5 yuan ($0.79) for fun!Zhang Ao, a young man visiting Beijing from central Chinas Hubei province, told CNN he just thought it was funny to wear the sprout clip, and didnt care to know the meaning behind it.The phenomenon has attracted international participants as well - four Japanese college students happily posed with their newly purchased hair clips, telling CNN they had learned about the fashion trend in Japanese media.Excited tourists try on hair clips in Nanluoguxiang, a popular tourist spot in Beijing.They are so cute, exclaimed Ayane Maki.Asked whether she would buy some for her friends back home, she said, No, laughing.It will be silly to wear them in Japan, because nobody does it there.But the trend may actually have origins from that country: Some Chinese Internet users have speculated the idea for the sprouts came from a Japanese emoticon of a sprout coming out of a cute creatures head.Another piece of trivia: In Chinese folklore, putting grass into someones hair could signify a wish to sell oneself or ones children due to poverty.But those who wear the clips dont seem to be aware of these things.Meanwhile, millions of the clips are being sold online at even cheaper bulk prices. One bestselling store on Taobao, Chinas most popular online shopping platform, has sold more than 1 million clips.Fast fashionGao Xuanyang, a sociologist with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, told CNN its not surprising that sprout clips and their alternatives have become fast fashion in China.People need something fresh to enrich their mundane life, he said. Be it a hairclip, a purse or a T-shirt.The sprout clips have clearly struck a chord - they are quirky and fun, and might help ease the pressures of modern life, according to Gao.The ones who follow the trend dont really want to