Yoshikazu Kato, a Japanese columnist who specializes in China-related issues, corroborates those views. "Some foreigners in China have told me that they had a ... strong urge to rush to salvage slim and pretty Chinese women from their bad-looking and ill-behaved male partners," Kato said.

But do Chinese men deserve such criticisms?

Chinese men have been the same for millenniums. They are still devoted to the country, society, the women they marry and their whole families. It is a long-established Chinese tradition for men to shoulder more social and family responsibilities.

In Chinese culture, a man is praised more for his inner qualities than his appearance, which is considered superficial.

Parents have been telling children for centuries that they should not judge a person by his/her appearance. A hefty figure does not make a man - it is the sense of responsibility and the courage to face difficulties that make a man.

Fine feathers make fine birds.

It is true that China's rapid economic development and deepening reform have made women more financially independent and prompted them to dress like their Western counterparts. But we should not forget that without the support of men - be they fathers, brothers, fiancés or husbands - this would not be always possible.

Compared with Chinese women, men are under more financial pressure, the pressure to buy a house, the pressure to pay for children's education and the pressure to give their wives and fiancees a decent life. And they are coping with the pressure. But of all these traits, what has caught the attention of critics is Chinese men's appearance.

Chinese men pay less attention to their looks because they tend to believe in the traditional virtues of diligence, responsibility, devotion to and providing for the family.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily. wuyixue@chinadaily.com.cn