Local scientists open gene database
SHANGHAI scientists continue their research into genes after the human genetic blueprint was deciphered late last month.
Outerspace on show at Tianshan Park
AN EXHIBITION of creative models including Lego trucks will open at Tianshan Park (today and tomorrow), and continue at No 1 Yaohan Department Store in Pudong from Thursday to Friday.
Expo ready for lift-off
THE Modern World Space Aviation Technology and Culture Exhibition opens in Zhongshan Park on July 10 for two months.
Pollution worse, but not harmful
SHANGHAI'S air quality remained in class 2 last week, considered no harm to human health, said a report released by the Shanghai Environ-mental Monitoring Centre yesterday.
Machinery fair kicks off today
AN international display of plastics and rubber products machines will open at ShanghaiMart and Shanghai International Exhibition Centre today (July 4).
Just 3 days of 'black July' to go
JULY is known as Black July in China because between July 7 and 9, high school graduates will take the most important exam in their life - the national college entrance exam.
Video arcades say ‘no' to students
FIVE video games operators in the Zhabei District recently vowed not to let juveniles illegally into their arcades.
Explosion aids station refurbishment
A BLASTING technique was scheduled to be used on the front face of Shanghai Railway Station at 2:40 am this morning as part of a renovation project being carried out.
Nor fair weather city is the forecast
PROBABLY the safest forecast made was: "There is going to be some weather today."
"One child' policy for all
XU Weiping from East China's Jiangsu Province holds a red booklet which shows her marital status and child-bearing situation: Has she given birth to any children? Has she used any birth control method?
Shanghai women put best feet forward
THE liberation of Chinese women began with their feet.
New look at sex
BOY students surfing the Internet will almost all visit websites with sexual content, said a 16-year-old middle school student.
Sex hotline helps frustrated lovers
By Yvonne Zhang
SEXUALLY-frustrated Shanghai residents have been phoning up a 24-hour sex hotline manned by qualified doctors and experts in droves. Sex is still a sensitive subject in the city and most people feel too embarrassed to talk to friends or loved ones about their sex lives. The Shanghai Reproduction Healthcare Centre set up the hotline nearly three months ago. It is the country's first sex consultation hotline offering live rather than recorded advice around the clock on copulation. "We have been inundated with callers - the hot response has astounded us," said Dr Hu Xiaoyu from the centre. The centre received 6,398 phone calls in the first month and now receives an average of 200 calls per day. There are 25 experts on call answering phones day and night. Callers are aged between 12 and 78, and twice as many men as women seek sexual counsel. More than 10 per cent of the phone calls come from outside Shanghai. The sex experts have even received two calls from the US and Spain, both from Chinese students studying abroad who learned about the hotline from friends in China. A dominant 30 per cent of calls concern male sexual frustration. Most of the anxious men in this category are worried about their sexual proness, fearing they can't satisfy their partners' desire or are tense in the spurious belief that their frequent masturbation will injure their health. Another 15 per cent of the callers ask for information on contraception. Experts said they receive more calls from women than past hotlines have, an indication of Chinese women's growing desire to improve their sex lives. The new hotline has revealed many serious problems. "Some people were sexually abused by adult relatives or neighbours as children and they suffer from the aftermath of this years after they have reached adulthood," said Hu. In the absence of advice on sex from doctors and experts, people are turning to pornographic VCDs and video tapes which, said Hu, cause them more harm than help. "We advocate specialized departments be opened in public hospitals to offer help on sexual psychology and skills," said Hu. "People in trouble are often misled by irresponsible quacks and porn shows."
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