Chinese bagpipers who serenaded TeamGB's Winter Olympic curling stars cannot follow the age-old Scottish tradition due to the cold..
Scots pair Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds were welcomed onto the ice for the semi-final showdown with Norway by the Beijing Military Pipe band.
Their kilts, bagpipes and bright red tartan are all made in Scotland, but the six proud pipers are all Chinese.
They freely admit the band has never set foot in Scotland, and the freezing temperatures - with a wind chill factor which saw a temperature of -37C (-98.6F) in the 2022 mountain venues - mean they never take away their undies to 'go commando'.
“We have been preparing for this Winter Olympics for a long time,” band captain Zhang Ali explained.
“The sound of the Scottish bagpipes is really charming. I once heard it and fell in love with it. So I found a teacher to teach me.”
Zhang keeps his mobile phone warm in his sporran.
He added: “We try to be as close as we can to traditions. But it’s cold, we have our undies for sure.”
Bruce, team captain in the men’s competition and No 1 curler in the world last year, was very impressed by the Beijing bagpipes and the drums.
"They're very good and obviously well-trained," he said.
"It's really nice and it's almost homely for us. I’m very happy to have them here.”
Zhang said there were few bagpipe players in China because they are 'very difficult to play'.
"It demands a very long breath,” he added.
The band, who have played at curling contests across the country, ordered their uniforms from Scotland in 2018.
Performance venues include the British embassy and Scottish association events.
They have been seen at all curling bonspiels (tournaments) in China since 2016.
According to your-kilt.com, the no underwear traditions started with the Scottish Highland Regiments, then found its way intothe civilian population.
Rules imposed in 2008 mean Highland dancers and Games competitors have to wear underwear beneath their kilts.
Tennis star Andy Murray famously joked that he would be 'freeballing' when he tied the knot with his bride-to-be Kim Sears.
But he had earlier admitted that he wore underwear with a kilt for his brother Jamie's wedding.
Formula One Racing Driver David Coulthard, born in Twynholm, Kirkcudbrightshire, insists that he never dons underwear as tradition demands.
Many say that a "true" Scotsman will never wear underwear under their kilt. A 2016 YouGov poll found two thirds of Scotsmen had worn a kilt, and 55 per cent wore undies, while 38 per cent did not.
A further seven percent wore shorts, tights or something else.
British duo Mouat and Dodds will play for bronze on Tuesday against Sweden after they lost 6-5 to Norway in the mixed doubles curling semi-final.
The pair started superbly but just a few errors in the last two and three ends allowed Norway to capitalise.
