Naked boatmen proposal arouses outrage

By Jane Chen | March 9, 2010, Tuesday |

Online Edition

NATIONWIDE controversy greeted a political adviser's proposal to renew the custom of hauling barges by naked boatmen in a tourist zone in central China's Hubei Province.

Yao Benzhi, vice secretary-general of the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, even volunteered to become the first naked boatmen, today's Changjiang Times reported.

He said the tradition would restore local culture and boost tourism in the Shennongxi Stream Gorge of the prefecture's Badong County, which was partly flooded for the Three Gorges Dam.

But his proposal has aroused criticism for pursuing economic growth at the price of the boatmen's dignity.

Xu Peng, vice director of Badong Tourism Bureau, said it was unlikely to restore the tradition to avoid offending family tourists. Currently around 1,000 local boatmen must wear special pants while working. They used to work naked because their clothes were made of coarse fabric that chafed in the water.

Nation

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Naked boatmen proposal arouses outrage

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