báguàr
Ever see people walking around with huge reddish-purple circles on their backs? No, they’re not welts or oozing sores. It’s cupping! Cupping is a traditional Chinese practice that uses cup suction for a deep-tissue massage. Instead of pressing down and in, the cup suction brings your tissue up and out. The therapist will first add a drop of oil to the area for smoothness and initial push-pull massage. Then come the cups. The glass cups (玻璃罐儿
bōlí guàr) get their suction-i-ness from a touch of heat, so the therapist will take a small match to heat the inside of the cup then stick it to you. You won’t feel the heat but it s the temperature that vacuums the air out of the cup and allows it to suction to your skin. There are also plastic cups (塑料罐儿