A decade ago, tattoo parlors were rare in Beijing, but over the span of the Olympic games many residents have sought a permanent Olympics souvenir at a tattoo parlor.

He Wenqian, right, tattoos Olympic rings on Li Jielong's shoulder. "I want to remember the Olympics forever. A lot of my friends have tattoos, but I am the only one with China's Olympic pride in my skin," Li Jielong says.

Mr. He said he has recently tattooed about 20 tourists, athletes and local residents with Olympic rings, not to mention other Olympics visitors who wanted to commemorate their time in Beijing.

Most Chinese tattoo artists are self-taught, having experimented on their own bodies or on willing friends.

Although many foreigners have been coming in for tattoos, the chair is usually occupied by Chinese, said Mr. He, who charges about $120 an hour, and has owned a Beijing tattoo shop for six years.

Because the industry is largely ignored by the government, tattooists must rely on their own knowledge regarding hygiene and safety issues. Dong Dong, left, remembers when that stigma made it hard to make a living as a tattoo artist.

In the last 10 years, hundreds of tattoo parlors have opened in Beijing, and body art has become a language that connects young Chinese across subcultures and cities.

While tattoos are increasingly visible on backs, arms and necks of people in Chinese cities, the government has shown little interest in promoting or regulating the industry.

Tattoos were considered disreputable in China for centuries. Imperial courts tattooed criminals' faces before sending them into exile.

By the 1949 revolution, the tattoo was the favored mark of crime syndicates and subsequently condemned by the Communist Party.

Today, tattoos remain taboo for many of China's elder generation, which sneers at the sight of a sun or lotus inked on the back of a trendy neighbor.

Photos: Dan Eckstein for The New York Times

Chen Tianjiao is an experimental artist in Beijing who has has visited many outstanding tattoo artists during his roaming around China.

He has 108 tattoo artist autographs tattooed on his legs.

Self-portraits of his favorite Chinese tattoo artists dominate the space on his back.

His face has been tattooed with the same pattern engraved on the tripods of Shang Dynasty four thousand years ago.

Photos: Du Bin for The New York Times

Lire l'article "To Remember Beijing, Indelibly" by Dan Levin http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/sports/olympics/24tattoo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin