Since it opened last Saturday, China's largest exhibition on sexual health and the culture of sex has received 1,000 to 2,000 visitors daily. The exhibition is targeted at people whose understanding of sex was strongly influenced by traditional outlooks.
Standing face-to-face with over 230 sex-related cultural relics, including pornographic pictures from ancient China and various phallic symbols, people in west China, both young and old, had the same reactions: embarrassment and a lot of curiosity.
Hao Chonggao, an official from the Sichuan Culture Exchange Center with Foreign Countries, said since it opened last Saturday, China's largest exhibition on sexual health and the culture of sex has received 1,000 to 2,000 visitors daily.
A common response has been that such an exhibition has given viewers a whole new perspective on sex and should have been held a long time ago.
In the world's most populous country, open discussion of sex has long been off-limits. Older-generation Chinese often parallel sex with obscenity, thinking decent people don't talk about it.
As the exhibition is targeted at people whose understanding of sex was strongly influenced by traditional outlooks, some 70 percent of audience have been above middle-aged couples. "Not Suitable for Children" is printed on the tickets.
After viewing pictures illustrating the facts of life, a 70-year-old visitor from Sichuan University said, "It's stupid for us to look away from sex."
"We all know sex leads to reproduction, but we neglect its emotional part," he said.
Leng Xilin, a middle school teacher in Chengdu, suggested that the exhibition be open to young people and help improve their knowledge about sex.
Experts from Chengdu research office on AIDS prevention among juveniles commented that it would be better if more emphasis was given to AIDS awareness.
(People’s Daily December 5, 2001)
