Prostitution is illegal but practiced openly. Prostitutes work out of five-star hotels, karaokes, entertainment centers, dance halls, boxing clubs, beauty parlors, hairdressers, barbershops, saunas, bathhouses, massage parlors, nightclubs and on the streets.
Prostitutes operate openly in almost every major hotel in China. In one survey, 10 percent of sexually-active men admitted having paid for sex with a prostitute.
Single foreign men often receive phone calls from prostitutes in their hotel rooms. No sooner had I check into my room at the Beihai Hotel than there was a knock on my door. I turned down her offer, then headed out to see the sights of the city.
Less than an hour later, I was approached by another prostitute. Brothels are often disguised as hair salons or operate out of working hair salons. They are common sights in cities and towns of all sizes and operate for the most part without any interference.
Brothels and kinky toy shops are mixed into residential neighborhoods everywhere. Prostitutes work at all levels of society from the grandest hotels to the poorest neighborhoods and lowliest villages. Prostitutes with beepers and mobile phones openly solicit sex at truck stops on the main highways.
