China’s hospitality sector routinely holds bed-making competitions that both showcase the skill and dedication of hotel employees and motivate others to achieve the same level.

In order to provide guests with the best hospitality services, Chinese luxury hotels require their staff to undergo intensive bed-making training, and the very best of them get to participate in bed-making competitions hosted by the hotel chain, or held at a regional or national level. And these contests are no joke! Participants need to be masters of their trade to stand a chance of convincing the jury that they deserve to win. Apart from speed – the first contestant to finish gets bonus points – competitors have to abide by certain rules and make sure that they pay great attention to detail.

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A clip from a recent bed-making competition in China recently went viral on Reddit. It features two young men battling it out in a mesmerizing race to make their beds, elegantly setting the bed sheets in one smooth motion, making sure there are no creases as they tuck them under the mattress, effortlessly putting on the duvet cover, and finally setting the pillow cases. It sounds mundane, but the two masters make it look captivating.

 

A quick search on video platforms like TikTok and YouTube reveals dozens upon dozens of videos from various bed-making competitions across China, which suggests that this sort of competition is a serious affair in the Asian country. Apart from the competitors’ speed, judges pay close attention to a series of factors, like the edges of the two mattresses, which need to overlap perfectly, how centered the sheets are on the bed, and if the corners of the duvet cover and pillowcases are full.

Last but not least the attitude, elegance, and fluidity of motions are also scored by judges. Competitors walk very fast around the bed to finish as quickly as possible, but they never run.

I guess it’s true what they say, no matter how mundane your skill, if you’re really good at what you do, you can turn it into a mesmerizing art form.