Sex, a centuries-old taboo in China, is set to create a whirlwind in Shanghai, an international metropolis in what is still a largely conservative country.

The fourth China International Adult Toys and Reproductive Health Exhibition, Asia's largest adult show, opened yesterday at the Shanghai International Exhibition Center in Changning District.

In addition to lingerie and adult toy displays, the three-day event also features lectures by international sexologists on sex history and healthcare.

"Rather than the show itself, which has been very common in France, I am curious to know how Chinese people will react to such exhibition," Jerome Freyheit, 31, a Frenchman who works in the IT department at a stock-exchange company in Shanghai.

"Shanghai is an international city, so the residents may have more contact with foreigners and more often hear about new opinions. But I guess most of people won't go there because it's not part of their habits to mention sex openly."

Chinese people keep their sexual desires bottled.

"Chinese people are known to be outwardly shy when it comes to sex," said Percy Hu, 34, a human resources manager at a Shanghai-based hotel.

"They seldom appear coquettish outside."

The exhibition will also feature ancient sexual relics including archaic ceramic models, a 9,000-year-old China Goddess statue and other collections never before displayed by China's Ancient Chinese Sex Culture Museum, according to its executive curator Hu Hongxia.

And there will be displays of the slightly more avant-garde nature, including S&M displays.

Sexologists from the US, Hong Kong and the mainland will be on site to offer guidance on sexual health and discuss many different sex topics.

"Sex is a part of being human and good sex is part of a quality life," Liu Dalin, a renowned sex expert and founder of China's first sex museum in east China's Jiangsu Province, said.

"We want to guide the public to an appropriate and healthy attitude toward sex through the show."

It seems that Shanghai people are not shy when it comes to sex. Statistics released recently by China's sex products sales network revealed that Shanghai ranks are the third biggest consumers of sex products, following Beijing and Guangdong.

(China Daily August 11, 2007)