Hidden away inside a former girls’ school in China you find the most unexpected of museums. Located on the outskirts of Suzhou, Tongi is known as the Venice of China; but it also houses something maybe the rest of China isn’t ready for, the Museum of Ancient Chinese Sex Culture. It’s surprising that this place has remained open despite the other museums and parks of its kind being prematurely closed.

Photo: lotour

Recently in Chongqing, Loveland, a much talked about sex-themed park was shut down even before its main opening in October of this year. The former location of the Museum of Ancient Chinese Sex Culture was in Shanghai and closed several years ago. The museum was closed partly because of the word “sex” in the title. As for the park, its “prurient” nature was offensive and against the will of the Chinese public. Love Land sought to educate about sex in general and its practices along with history, etc. The park not only featured a look at cultural differences and the sexual practices in other countries and how they differ from those in China but also on STD prevention as well as information predominantly about AIDS, which has become an epidemic worldwide but until recently not addressed as much in China.

But fear not dear people, you can still find other sexually themed educational places in China! You can go to China’s Little Venice to find the favorite collection of pieces by Professor Dalin Liu, affectionately known as “the Kinsey of China.” Tongli has been the new home of Mr. Chinese Kinsey’s famed collection of over 3000 artifacts that drove him out of Shanghai.

Photo: lotour

Mr. Liu’s aim was to educate the Chinese public about the role sex has played historically in Chinese society. However, even now, it is not a comfortable topic in Chinese culture. Still, in recent years, as a result of a changing times and a more sexually active generation, China has had to confront the same issues other countries face in society, like STDS and increased abortion. Twenty years ago, in 1989 showed that 13% of male and 6% of female college students had engaged in premarital sex. Now the number is as high as 60 or 70 %. However, the education has not caught up with this new sexual revolution and around 80% of abortions are from high school students so there are many who advocate that not enough is being done to teach students about sex.

 

So what could have caused such a stir that the museum was moved from Shanghai, one of China’s clearly defined more modern and progressive cities? Why would this subject get the museum moved? Mr. Liu was an expert sexologist who successfully published 70 books on the subject. He became interested in how Chinese tradition has influenced China’s present society. But surprisingly he found that China’s sexual past is not lacking as some would suspect. He found much more than he imagined. Erotic art, instruction manuals, furniture, and sex aides are some of the prized pieces of his collection. Mr. Liu found that even as far back as 2000 years, Chinese society wasn’t as conservative as people think.

 

Photo: lotour

The collection includes such lascivious items as jade-ahem…tools, and graphic little ornaments parents used to hang in the bedrooms of their daughters on their wedding nights, fully instructional scrolls.

This is definitely something out of the ordinary, and currently you won’t find anything else like it in China. We know everyone has been disappointed since the announcement of the closing of Chong Qing’s sex park, but head East! If you want something a bit different after the botanical gardens in Suzhou and the beautiful canals in Tongli, check out the sex museum.

Sex Culture Museum
Cost: RMB30
Tongli, Wu Jiang County, outskirts of Suzhou.

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