Four women wear masks and little clothing as they take on a shift at the club. Picture: Sergey Melnitchenko Source:Supplied. Photographer and dancer Sergey Melnitchenko took these startling images after trying to make ends meet as a model and dancer in Chengdu.
China has a ban on strip clubs and sex work but underground clubs exist where sordid acts take place. One woman who works at the club is pictured attaching tape to her nipples. He says club workers are limited to dancing drinking and playing games with clients, who also enjoy drinking copious amounts as they frequent the underground nightclubs, however prostitution is still reportedly rife within the city. Anything goes in these clubs where activities become dark and seedy.
Make up and costumes add to the exciting element of the underground club. In the backstage area of the club workers embrace as they get ready for work. Originally from Mykolayiv city in Ukraine, Melnitchenko spent four months in the club, which he has not named. He described the venue as a huge bar with a stage where workers would perform and interact with guests. A woman talks with a man who has come to frequent the club.
One woman prepares to go on stage. These amazing photos captured by Paolo Marchetti give an insight into the dark side of the Yunnan province, south of China, where rich business men visit during the night to be entertained.
In many of the photographs the workers are wearing underwear or costumes, and have marks on their body. Wigs and outfits are heavily used for the niche activities which keeps punters pouring in. Two people carry out an act on stage in wigs and wearing underwear and heels. And just last week it was revealed that a Chinese fight club legally adopts orphaned children and trains them in mixed martial arts is under investigation.
