China's 'sex capital' tries to clean up its act
Staff Reporter 2013-03-02 09:32
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The Discovery Channel TV commercial. (File photo/courtesy of Yangcheng Evening News)
Dongguan, a city in south China's Guangdong province known as "China's sex capital" among Taiwanese businessmen, has tried to clean up its negative image through a series of television commercials by the Discovery Channel, reports our sister newspaper China Times.
The first 15-second TV commercial has been played in some Chinese TV programs and public venues such as railway stations and cinemas, but a cynical public says the move cannot prevent people from knowing what really happens in Dongguan when they visit.
The TV commercial has been broadcast since last September. Online it drew 30,000 views on the Dongguan government's Weibo microblog, known as China's Twitter.
There is a saying that a man should not go to Dongguan if he loves his wife.
If they are not satisfying their cravings in Dongguan, Hong Kong locals now take the train to the neighboring cities, replete with brothels, massage parlors and nightclubs equipped with the same services. Two villages in the city reportedly became known as "mistress villages" 10 years ago.
The trend could signal a migration of sexual services to nearby cities, such as Huizhou and Jiangmen, due to the efforts of the local government, said a Taiwanese businessman who has worked out of the mainland for 20 years.
Fan Hong, a professor of Beijing Tsinghua University, said that the move can help promote the positive image of Dongguan because the city is home to a vibrant culture barely advertised to the public. People only partly understand the city, said Fan.
