China Love Land: Sex Theme Park Demolished Before Debut

This investment turned out to be as risky as it was risque.

A sex theme park that featured explicit exhibits of genitalia and sexual culture is being demolished before it can even open, a government spokesman in southwestern China said today.

The park, christened "Love Land" by its owners, went under the wrecking ball over the weekend in the city of Chongqing, said the spokesman, who like many Chinese bureaucrats would give only his surname, Yang.

Yang refused to give the reason for the demolition or other details. However, photographs of the adult-only park had circulated widely on the Internet over the weekend, prompting widespread mockery and condemnation.

Exhibits had included giant-sized reproductions of male and female anatomy, dissertations on how the topic of sex is treated in various cultures and what the official China Daily newspaper called "sex technique workshops."

The demolition highlights conflicted views on sex in modern China, where a prudish attitude toward discussion of sexuality is paired with an almost clinical approach to its physical aspects.

While pornography is banned and sex education largely unheard of, shops selling sex toys and related items stand out prominently in many neighborhoods and sex outside marriage is widely tolerated. Prostitution, while technically illegal, is widespread and the keeping of mistresses among prominent businessmen and Communist Party officials is considered commonplace.

Such attitudes are blamed in part for risky sex and ignorance about birth control among minors. With public discussion of sex so limited, there is relatively little awareness of sexual harassment and abuse and laws and regulations covering such matters are weaker in China than in many countries.

Newspapers last week carried prominent reports on a government official who was let off with a fine simply because he claimed he had not known that the 13-year-old girl he paid to have sex with was underage.

The man, Lu Yumin, a local tax bureau official in Sichuan province's Yibin county, was arrested on charges of child rape, but was convicted only of visiting a prostitute and fined 5,000 yuan ($730).

Comments

[digeridoo]

05:45 PM on 05/19/2009

They are better than the Repugnicans

[harmonikasavingsbonds]

08:51 AM on 05/19/2009

Avoid the snack bar.

Don't ask...

[futate01]

01:30 AM on 05/19/2009

it failed because of that idiotic statue. completely repulsive and in a non sexual way. i saw nothing sexual about it instead it looked like some kind of sadists human dismemberment fetish fantasy. It was disturbing. Who came up with that and thought it represented something sexy in any way? They simply could have put up a large poster of a beautiful woman in a bikini or something like that.

[marlb0r0]

08:13 PM on 05/18/2009

check this out... sounds like America!:

"While pornography is banned and sex education largely unheard of, shops selling sex toys and related items stand out prominently in many neighborhoods and sex outside marriage is widely tolerated. Prostitution, while technically illegal, is widespread and the keeping of mistresses among prominent businessmen and Communist Party officials is considered commonplace."

[henrypapillon]

08:03 PM on 05/18/2009

But do they buy rats from the Cambodians?

[kankan]

07:33 PM on 05/18/2009

I think this is more about a question of improving the image of the city. Chonqing itself is really huge, 38 million population of ppl. Prostitution in Asia in general is not enforced like it is here in the West. So the reality here is culturally, Love Land would had flew, and probably got approved because some govt official received a kick back. But once you erect a statue of a partially nude crotch in mid air, I don't think there was any question to demolish the site.

[LMPE]

05:46 PM on 05/18/2009

The Chinese discuss sex clinically?

Well, that's more mature than Texas.

[floridalib]

01:10 PM on 05/18/2009

if you ever find yourself in Amsterdam, visit the sex museum. Probably one of the most entertaining things in the city

[Usama]

12:52 PM on 05/18/2009

I suppose when dealing with a nation of 1.3 billion, a little promotiion of sex can become a sex bomb of millions. If Mickey Mouse had male genitalia and no shorts, would families take their kids to Disney World?
Or would the lechs and debauchers make fast work of the matter?

Personally, I find the image of a woman's spread legs and thong as degrading to women that objectifies them to be no more than doll parts for pleasure.

Bringing it down was a wise choice.

[minimalist syntax]

01:30 AM on 05/19/2009

You make a good point about that image-- she doesn't even have a head, because her humanity doesn't matter, only some of her body parts matter.

[TrnsNtnl]

12:46 PM on 05/18/2009

Sexuality and gender roles are a huge issue in China right now especially with the amount of import consumption or soft culture imports and middle class roles being created in work demanding changing family dynamics. Sex toy conventions arents out of place there, especially in 2008. The funny thing is the US is probably way more sexualised culturally and at younger ages but so self hating and punished in its domestic public image that sexuality and gender are just as hypocritically swept under the carpet in the US. Although we have been making gaines with the Mathew Shepard bill and gay marriages across the nation.

[JScott]

11:53 AM on 05/18/2009

Well Holland or Thailand here's a opportunity for ya (maybe the already have these-started by Beate Utse-google it).

[arspar183]

11:47 AM on 05/18/2009

that park lasted only a little longer than i usually do

[JoeBlough]

03:05 PM on 05/18/2009

Ha! Front of the class.

[Guitarsandmore]

11:21 AM on 05/18/2009

He had the Wong answer.

[finishcurve]

11:21 AM on 05/18/2009

I bet the place would not have even been issued a building permit, here in the usa.

[Jaywalkker]

12:42 PM on 05/18/2009

You're probably right, no building permit...but I'd love to see Sex Land amusement park go up next door to Ken Ham's Creation Museum.

[finishcurve]

12:13 PM on 05/19/2009

LOL.
Yes, and there should also be a display of "closets".

[TrnsNtnl]

12:47 PM on 05/18/2009

For real.