Maybe because body odor is considered to be rather offensive, or even maybe in the tropics you do sweat a lot with the high humidity too.  Besides, it is refreshing and relaxing, a good way to relieve stress after a day's work.

When my body is dirty, I want to clean it.  I clean my house everyday.  I wash dishes every day.  I clean my face and mouth each day.  I also change my clothes every day.   Because clean is good.  Dirty is bad. Maybe this is too obvious for us westerners but I guess for many Chinese, dirty is relative. I have experienced this up close and personal a few times.

Yep, & then you stink.  When I take a bus or line up in the supermarket I smell unwashed bodies around me. 

 I've got questions too: Why do Chinese people not bother to wash themselves more often?  Why do you not use deodorant? Why do you not shave you armpits? Why do Chinese men grow long untidy thumb nails. (I wonder what do they pick with it?)

 Why do many people have bad breath?

i give my students the same question the beginning of each year.

your in the living room , the shower is on, the baby is crying, someone is at the door , your parents are calling you on the phone., what order do you take care of these.

most of them , shower first , cost money save water, talk to parents , family more important than self, then the baby, and then the door.

most westerners would take care of the shower last. maybe the water shortage has some effect on the culture.

i have never had a student that could tell me how much the water bill is at home even though thats the first thing they worry about to save money.

I shower every night before going to bed. In the summer, I will often shower twice a day.

One of the worst turnoffs for me is to be on a date with a girl and even though it is 7 pm I can smell what she had for lunch. Date ender.

Sometimes my students will ask me for help with a lesson, and "BAM!" they stink.

Mind you, this is NOT all Chinese. I know many Chinese people who shower every day and wear clean clothes every day, but I also know a considerable  number of people here who do not.

Even in winter, when the weather is cold, many people smell. Bad. They think that just because they do not sweat much or because it is cold that they dont "need" it. Um, yes you do.

Some areas are worse than others.

Forgive me if this was blunt, but there is really no delicate or soft way to treat this topic.

Well, you think what you want, but don't expect me to respect you when you pass by and stink like a skunk, pushing me to acknowledge of how your body it stinks like.

I believe the body scents have a meaning and purpose, being a of way of communication, enticing sexually one gender to another, establishing ways of emotional and social communication, creating and keeping alive memories within the family, work and anywhere else you go. A child needs the smell of his mother, the mother knows the smell of her sons, the married people know each other's body smell and scents according to the type of relation they are engaged in during the day.

For the sake of your education, I will give you this tip and so you can check on yourself and see how people behave. First take a shower, everyday, or more than 3 times per week. I personally take it everyday. I am highly sensitive to smells of any kind and HATE body smells. After the shower, use a deodorant to let your skin spread the smell of the deodorant when you sweat. Just use a subtle amount of it. You will see people, unconsciously behaving positive with you. 

 Have you ever fallen in love with a girl? I hope so.

What do you bring to her when you're dating a girl? Flowers, right? Why? Because her senses react emotional and sexually,  in a way that unconsciously she feels attracted to you. Not because you're maybe handsome, but also thanks to the perfume of the flowers that adds to your physical beauty, more beauty. The nature itself hates bad smell and so, goes towards the way of beautifying itself and be full of colors and perfume for us, the human, whether stinking or not. Learn that lesson from the nature, at least. 

If you add to your body your own perfume, an elegant and dedicated to sensually embroider you first date with her, like the French perfumes, you will see how much more she will feel attracted to you. Why? It's common sense. A women needs to see that you are able to take care of yourself. First thing first take a shower, be clean, smell good. PERIOD. 

Abandon this habit later, then unconsciously she will despise you, because bad body smell is dirtiness and dirtiness it's dirty and disgusting.

Instead of saving time and energy, invest on your love for her, for yourself, on the respect for yourself, for her and others. 

 Moreover, there is an intrinsic relation between hygiene habits and spiritual morality. You don't believe me, do you? I will not deep in to the proves about it but I will give you this tip too: 

 When people get depressed, whatever the reason is, they drink a lot and they stop shaving, getting showers, changing their clothes, cleaning their house, leaving the kitchen in disgusting conditions and so on. The lack of hygiene in the Western Countries it's a symptom of mental and emotional issues. It's a symptom of a self abandoning, because you don't care anymore about yourself. You lose your self-respect and love. 

 You are right that in China, people are dirty, but maybe that is the symptom of a serious social and emotional deterioration at a very large scale,  because people here have made up of the lack of respect for themselves and others the way to be including you. I'm having a serious hard time about the dirtiness I breath all around everywhere I get out of my house, because in the way people are bad smelling it induces the feeling of a social and self respect deteriorated. It makes the Human Nature appear uglier than I am am able to see. I just need to see around that people are beautiful and that without being clean every day it's not possible. 

It's because Asians have fewer apocrine glands (glands that produce stinky sweat) than Europeans or Africans. Simply put, if we don't shower, we'll stink. 

If you don't shower every day, you can't marry my older sister.

If I need to go somewhere, I always shower once or twice per day, though I'll admit I don't shower every day in China... but that's because I'm a scumbag who rarely leaves the house these days. Wanna be a scumbag? Don't shower, then.

Besides, nothing's worse than going down on your lady (previous girls) and seeing hidden evil cheese residue from her lack of cleanliness. Well, unless you're Japanese, 'cause they got something for everyone over there, but they're demented.

To be clean?
What's wrong with chinese people!! What kind of question  is this o_O

Not all Westerners shower every day. Usually I don't, except in the summer when it's very hot, a short shower every day can be refreshing. I don't think it's necessary to shower every day because my skin gets dry. Soap washes off the natural oils, which protect skin. I would never wash my hair every day. From what I have read, body odor is not just affected by how often a person washes, but also by what they eat. Ingredient quality, as well as spices, affect body odor. If you're not sweating much, there probably won't be a smell. Another difference is that most Westerners do not wear the same clothing several days in a row. Although I wear pants several times before washing, I wear a new shirt every day. If a person doesn't wash often and wears the same clothing several days in a row...well, I think that would lead to some bad B.O.

As for bad breath, I believe that can be attributed to diet, lack of proper hygiene, and dehydration. The more water you drink, the more saliva to keep germs at bay. A dry mouth means more bad breath. Tooth decay comes from eating a poor diet. Brushing and flossing can help, but they do not prevent tooth decay.

In the end, I think that Westerners are becoming more and more paranoid of germs and unpleasant smells. Don't let these people fool you, not all Westerners care so much about being clean. It depends on where you live and the kind of people in that area. Some people care, some people don't. There's a saying: Cleanliness is next to godliness. People think that if a person's body is not clean, maybe they are lazy, or a person not worthy of respect.

Smell can have a huge impact on how we perceive a person. Let me tell you, if I meet a guy, and he's kind of good looking, that's nice. However, if he also smells good, I'm going to remember him for a long time. I assume it's the same for a man who likes a woman. On the same note, if I meet a guy, and he's handsome, but he smells bad, I'm probably not going to want to see him again. This includes bad breath.

So as you can see, there are many different elements to why Westerners feel this way. The truth is that we are human. We all have body odors, some good, some not so good. In my opinion, yes, bad body odor is undesirable. But so is strong perfume, because it bothers my allergies. And some guys wear cologne that smells horrible. Old Spice is some of the best stuff guys can use.

I think that most of the above posts cover the main points. But I would add that as a part of my morning routine, I really dont feel like Im awake/ready for the day if I havent showered.

Once a week in winter? Really?

Westerners didn't shower more than once a year until about 100 years ago, ever since the fall of the Roman Empire when we lost the use of their bath houses. I have oily skin and shower often. If I don't shower in the morning it takes me two more hours to wake up, which is usually Saturday and I have a hangover and don't want to wake up.

 I do not know about Chinese men, but the women shower often. I often watched women that came to my apartment shower. I think most came for the free shower, so invite your Chinese friends over for a shower. It's a good way to save face.

in my secondary school they would not let you attend p-e class unless you had a change of clothes and intended to shower, Anyways i think some people can get away without showering everyday but hygiene is not just about showering, if you shower and wear the same clothes you had on when you was playing basketball whats the point, shaving armpits is a good thing its not just something guys want you to do, girls do this for a reason, try going to a night club in china you will come back home with your hair and clothes smelling of cigarettes if that doesnt want to make you shower than i dont know what will ow wait you dont have to go to the night club in order to smell like cigarettes that can happen in any public place inc the shopping center where smoking is not allowed, change takes too long to happen in china since people are always thinking about tradition or culture.

If you have to ask.............

Also Chinese people take a shower everyday. I take a shower when I need it. 

you are insulting chinese people. many chinese people don't shower often (i can smell it on the bus). but more and more chinese people are learning that showering daily is good for hygiene and health. 

matt you are right about the sweat part but that is only one factor. we all use the bathroom daily. the "residue" can work it's way to the genitals. it can cause genital warts/ pimples or infections in your lover. not to mention the smell when making love. 

the "residue " can works it's way into crevices and if you walk a lot the friction will create open sores, which can lead to further infections.

all sexually active people should definitely shower daily. does who are not should try to shower once every 2 days at least. 

also with china's pollution, you should definitely rinse it off you daily.

but most importantly (according to my nose and my clothes) showering daily is about common courtesy. we all take the bus/train/ plane together i do not want to pass out from your odor. i do not want to smell like you when i go home to my girl.

In some of the poorer parts of the UK in 1930s and 1940s the people kept the coal in the bathtub and never bathed. The only time they got wet was if they fell off a bridge. Things have changed and they will in China in time. Franck3