Eyeball shaving in China

There is an old saying in Sichuan that cleaning the eyes renders the beauty in life visible. And some people in Chengdu like to clean their eyes - quite literally.

Eye cleaning is an ancient craft in China, but it is dying out. Liu Deyuan has operated an eye-cleaning stand in a small park in Chengdu city for the past 7 years. He offers a head and face shave plus an eye cleaning for RMB5.

After shaving his customer he then gives his knife a quick rinse with water before using it to clean their eyes. To do this he holds open their eyelids before scraping the blade back and forth over the eyelid and then the eyeball. He then uses a small rod, which he slides back and forth under the upper and lower eyelids like a windshield wiper.

Sweet dreams.

Images: Rex