What do you get when you mix 4 obese Chinese women, outlandish costumes and some microphones? Well, first you get a singing group called Qian Jin Zu He, a gimmick group composed of a 375-pound chick and three others weighing over a deuce and a half. And second, you get a Washington Post feature story exploring the trend of obesity in modern mainland China. I know what your thinking. Obesity in China has been written about a million times. True, but this is an especially interesting effect of the obesity trend in China, that you now get entertainers in China who are fatter than fat can be. The lead singer of the group (the 375-pound one) told the Washington Post that her discovery by a talent agent was “like a tree branch saving me in the water.” If I’m a 375-pound Chinese woman in a leotard, the last thing I would compare myself to is a tree branch. Maybe a tree trunk. On a redwood or something. According to Maureen Fan of the Post, the group enjoys modest success, touring nightclubs, malls and factories all over China. In today’s China, where obesity is more common and less accepted, the four girls of Qian Jin Zu He are attempting to change attitudes about what is beautiful. Their biggest hit is a rap song called, “So What If I’m Fat.” Their Chinese name is a play on words meaning both “1000 pieces of gold” and “Just Over 1000 pounds.” The second meaning is quite accurate actually.

•Washington Post: They’re Big But Not Yet Stars

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