Chinese authorities ban nude sunbathing in Hainan to “preserve local culture”

17 Feb 2014  2072 | World Travel News

SANYA - The beaches around the coastal city of Sanya in the Southern resort island of Hainan (China) are very popular with domestic tourists. But they have turned into a magnet for nudists in recent years, sometimes numbering up to 500 adepts, although nude sunbathing is illegal in China. Both residents and tourists had appealed to authorities to ban nude swimming and sunbathing as the behavior is seen as disrespectful to women and children.

Chinese authorities have announced last week a crackdown on nude sunbathers, with loudspeakers and surveillance cameras as well as police patrols being used to deter potential offenders. The official Xinhua news agency, citing Hainan authorities, said people who refused to be dissuaded despite the police patrols, loudspeakers and cameras would receive "education through detention".

Xinhua reported on Sunday that would-be nudists - usually middle-aged men from China - could be detained for between five and 10 days, depending on the seriousness of the offence. Since Feb. 6, police have posted notices to this effect on the Dadonghai beach.

Last Tuesday, the agency indicated that a man who insisted for naked sunbathing has been thrown in jail for five days by local police. The middle-aged man, a tourist from Heilongjiang, the country's most northern province, refused to put on clothes at Sanya East China Sea public beach despite staff having asked him several times, according to Sanya police to Xinhua.

Nude swimming and sunbathing is nothing new to Sanya. In certain areas, several nude beachgoers are discovered daily, usually claiming the sun helps alleviate skin complaints. Beach staff regularly patrol public beaches, telling people to wear bathing suits, and surveillance cameras will be installed soon, according to the city's police.

"Normal people will not swim or sunbathe naked in a public place," Xinhua quoted Hainan's provincial party secretary, Luo Baoming, as saying. "This kind of behavior is not consistent with China's cultural traditions," Luo said.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews

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