Prostitution is illegal in China but is relegated to the status of a misdemeanor unless the participants knowingly have a “serious venereal disease,” or physical violence, injury, or a minor child under the age of 14 is involved. It is technically punishable with a warning, a fine up to 5,000 yuan, a signature on a "statement of repentance," "re-education through labour," or 15 days in prison. However, due to the relatively high rate of unemployment and the absence of any meaningful social welfare infrastructure, it is—as a matter of practice—openly tolerated barring occasional police sweeps (see Article 30 of the Regulations of the PRC on Administrative Penalties for Public Security, 1986)
Some researchers have conservatively estimated that there are as many as 10 million active prostitutes in China at any given time who contribute as much as five percent to the country’s annual GDP as most of the earned income, although not taxed, goes back into the economy through consumption (Dougherty, 2006).
The social structure of prostitution in China is quite complex comprising as many as seven and more tiers that have strong ties to historical and cultural antecedents. These tiers or levels range from the maintenance of long-term second wives and temporary “indentured wives,” (èrnăi and bāopó, respectively), at the highest end, to “down-the-work-shack” prostitutes (xiàgōngpéng) who primarily service poor migrant workers at the lowest end.
Generally speaking, foreign men in China will have access primarily (if not only) to those prostitutes who comprise the mid- to lower tiers unless their Chinese is excellent and they are residing permanently in the country. The fourth to sixth tiers of prostitution, in descending order, constitute: “ding dong” girls (dīngdōng xiăojie), so named because they operate out of hotel rooms and will ring the doorbells of hotel patrons who they think might be interested in their services; “hair salon sisters” (fàlángmèi) or massage girls (ànmónǚ) who operate out of storefronts that appear to be either barber shops or massage parlors from the outside, and finally; streetwalkers (liúchāng) who congregate outside of entertainment establishments or in certain designated areas (Ibid, pp. 16 - 17). Barring a few isolated districts across the country, street prostitution is usually highly controlled, especially in major cities such as Beijing as it currently is in New York City for example.
By far, the most visible and plentiful prostitutes in China are those who comprise the fifth tier or the fàlángmèi. Most of these girls come from the countryside, are extremely poor and illiterate, and are completely at the mercy of their madams (lăobănniáng) who provide them with housing, clothing and food, as well as a cell phone and monthly subscription. Their monthly salary tends to parallel whatever a masseuse would earn in that particular area (generally 600 to 1500 yuan depending on location). They are allowed to keep whatever tips (xiaofei) they may receive but as tipping is not customary in China, that tends to be a negligible amount (Ibid, p. 33). Virtually none of them has a boyfriend (for obvious reasons) and they are, for all intents and purposes, unmarriageable for the remainder of their lives (in a country that highly values—and literally defines itself by—the importance and central social role of marriage and family).
While it is true that this type of work provides a means of self-support that would otherwise not be available to a significant percentage of the population, it appears to come at a very high personal cost. Although there are small pockets or sub-groups of freelance prostitutes in China who can accurately be described as having made a real choice (for example, better educated and narcissitically-damaged college students who are looking for a quick buck and, more likely than not, lack the capacity for genuine relationships based on anything other than fulfilling mutual needs and obtaining immediate gratification), the girls in the lower tiers of prostitution are doing it soley to escape homelessness and starvation. The psychological damage incurred from long-term "forced choice" prostitution is well-documented by psychologists and sociologists alike, both in Western and Chinese research literature.14
In addition, and of serious concern to healthcare workers, various reports attribute new cases of AIDS in China directly linked to prostitution to be as high as 64.1% (see, for example, one study conducted by the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention that placed it at 49.8%, as reported in the China Daily, 2007, and another, by the organization AIDS in China, 2005 that found it to be considerably higher). There is also a strong negative correlation between the tier of prostitution occupied by the girl and her risk of contracting (and transmitting) venereal disease, i.e., the lower the tier, the higher the risk. By contrast, the same studies reported that new cases of AIDS attributable to drug use were no higher than 12.8 percent.
Despite its abundant availability, often within just a few hundred yards from one's apartment, it must be keep in mind that foreign men who frequent prostitutes play right into the racist stereotype of Western men as morally depraved and they are looked down upon by their foreign affairs officers and school owners (even though, quite hypocritically, it is obviously true that the rest of the patrons in the adjoining rooms are not foreigners). In a country with such a high preponderance of emotionally healthier and less desperate girls who are genuinely looking for Western boyfriends and husbands, it is no small wonder to us why any foreign man would risk both his health and reputation by patronizing prostitutes.
So strong is the sentiment against Western men who frequent Chinese prostitutes or, in the alternative, have a string of different girls coming in and out of their apartments several times a week, many schools and universities are extremely reluctant to hire single, unattached men, and this is often the rationale behind job advertisements that seek women only. If you are an unmarried male foreign teacher with a steady girlfriend, it would be highly advisable for you to make that fact well known to your prospective employer. If your primary interest in living and working in China is to pursue sex tourism, you will be gravely disappointed by the overall experience (in terms of quality, breadth of services offered, and relative cost, especially when compared to other Asian countries), and it would be best for you to consider another destination altogether.
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