Showing that there is no level of micromanagement too infinitesimal for the Olympics, the Beijing city government has issued detailed (and I mean detailed) instructions on personal grooming and behavior to millions of households. From the Times (UK):

“Men’s hair should not cover their eyebrows, ears or touch their collar,” the guide says. “Women should comb their hair appropriately for age, occupation and situation.” Men should shave daily, women should wear light make-up and both sexes should keep their mouths clean.

Rules are already in place ordering taxi drivers to go easy on their garlic consumption so that visitors will not be assailed by the bad breath of a cabbie who had pork and chive dumplings – a cheap favourite – for lunch, and even breakfast.

There should be no public displays of affection, feet should be kept slightly apart or in the shape of a V when standing and a handshake should not last more than three seconds.

***

As for dress, the booklet advises against more than three colour groups in clothing and exhorts women to avoid clashing colours. Shudders of horror will greet anyone who has rolled up his trouser legs – a popular sight among men trying to ease the summer heat on trains and planes or in official meetings.

Naked chests in public places will also attract a scolding – although the booklet gives no specific instructions on a particularly popular summer vogue among Chinese men: rolling up one’s vest so that it rests just below the nipples and exposes the belly to the summer breezes.

***

Leather skirts and transparent garments are not advised. “Clothes should not be too small, otherwise this makes people feel you are unreliable.” And fat people should avoid horizontal stripes.

Timeless cross cultural wisdom, really.

Perhaps they should spend a little more time on the taxi drivers. Personal experience and anectodal evidence suggest something of a decline in courtesy standards. I've certainly noticed an uptick in rudeness recently, from the driver in a hurry who told me to "get your money ready" so he could make the quickest possible exit to the guy this morning who flipped off the meter as he was getting close to my office lobby, but then wanted an extra 2RMB to get all the way there (an extra 30 meters). Another wanted 50RMB to take my friend from The Place to Dawang Rd, a 10RMB ride. An enraged outburst and a conspicuous show of noting down the taxi number rapidly got the price back down to 10RMB.

I'll take rolled-up shirts, and even horizontal stripes on fat people, as long as I can get courteous service.

Update:

Thinking back on it, Imagethief recalls hearing from a friend four years ago that one of the local papers -- Beijing Youth Daily perhaps? -- had run a campaign to stamp out rolled-up shirts. They published photos of ungainly looking gentlemen with exposed bellied accompanied by witty captions. Doesn't seem to have had much effect.