Researchers trace Chinese desire for whiter skin back to a gene mutation from 15,000 years ago

China's noted preference for paler skin has reportedly been traced back more than 15,000 years.

According to an international study, the complexion change of Han Chinese was the result of an advantageous mutation of the gene OCA2. The same mutated gene, by the way, has also been linked to various diseases. Oh, the unbearable whiteness of being.

Led by professors Su Bing and Meng Anming, a research team from China, Europe, and the US analysed genetic samples of over a thousand people, publishing their findings in the latest issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution.

It's believed that the gene mutation occurred after the Han Chinese ancestors migrated northwards from southwest China and southeast Asia, 25,000 to 30,000 years ago. Less sunshine in the North triggered the evolution of OCA2 with those with paler skin now able to absorb more sunlight, preventing potentially debilitating deficiencies of vitamin D. Making them more fit for survival over time in their new environment

http://shanghaiist.com/2016/01/13/pale_skin_gene.php