Underlying messages

Ma said the descriptions that accompany each exhibit help visitors to better understand the pieces and the underlying messages they seek to convey, which are actually about Chinese culture.

For instance, in ancient China the bird represented the male and the flower was female, and a large number of sex-related artifacts incorporated those symbols, according to Ma.

Meanwhile, the associations with the natural world go even further: "Birds have flexible and extendible necks which symbolized the penis, while the shape of the butterfly represented female genitalia," he explained.

"The sex culture is about all social values, norms and behaviors. The mentality related to sex, its meanings and connotations, have evolved constantly. What was taboo in the past may simply be seen as commonplace now," he concluded.

Li, of the Shijingshan family planning administration, said exhibitions of this kind have a positive value because they can help to raise public awareness. Meanwhile, the original materials have been supplemented and updated over the years.

"We've integrated new material, such as that relating to HIV/AIDS, plus a range of tips on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases," he said.

He was unable to say if the museum will reopen next year when the renovation project has finished.

Ma, however, is hopeful. "I think they will still keep the exhibition open as an innovative way of promoting family planning and reproductive health work," he said.

Ma has canvassed ideas from the public on how to maintain the exhibition during the period of renovation. "We've loaned 200 pieces to the drug company Pfizer, which manufactures the erectile dysfunction treatment Viagra, for use in exhibitions at academic meetings," he revealed.

One suggestion he received from members of the public was to open a sex-artwork-themed restaurant, but Ma said the idea would be inappropriate: "Restaurants are public places and children visit them," he explained.

However, until a solution is found, the pieces will remain "hidden from the public gaze, "Before I can figure out an appropriate way to display the pieces, free from trouble, they will have to stay in the warehouse," he said.

The history of sex museums in China is chequered, but Ma's has enjoyed greater luck than many of its predecessors.

China's first sex culture museum, which was privately owned and operated, opened in Shanghai in 1999. However, low visitor numbers and revenue meant the place closed down, although it did reopen and the 3,700-plus exhibits were moved to a new location in Tongli, a popular tourist spot in Jiangsu province, in 2003.

"Back then, we were not even allowed to attract visitors by putting up signs displaying the Chinese character for sex," said the founder Liu Dalin, a retired sociology professor at Shanghai University.

At first, the local residents (in Tongli) rejected the museum, and ridiculed it as the "obscene museum", he said. The locals are still unhappy, but have become more tolerant as the exhibition has attracted a large number of visitors, bringing extra revenue to the town.

However, as the contract with Tongli will soon expire, Liu is once again concerned about the future.

New kid on the block

If Liu's museum does survive, it will soon be joined by a new kid on the block, albeit online.

Fang Gang, an associate professor of gender studies at Beijing Forestry University, is a leading light among a group of Chinese sexologists who have set up an exhibition called the Chinese Sexualities and Gender Museum.

The newcomer has three major functions: collection; exhibition and research; and the raising of awareness of sexology among the public, he said.

To date, China's sex museums have simply displayed related artifacts, mainly from ancient times, but Fang's project will widen the focus and will be dedicated to issues of gender and sexology.

"Our museum will go online first, given the cost and difficulty in finding a building to house it," he said.

The new venture will highlight contemporary gender equality and sex education for younger members of society. These are topics that have attracted scant attention, but are in urgent need of greater promotion, he noted.

"The scope will be far wider than other sex museums in the country and will be aimed more at promoting the concepts of sexual rights, equality and diversity. The Chinese people generally lack this sort of knowledge," he said.

Contact the reporter at shanjuan@chinadaily.com.cn