The city was rife with drug dens, brothels and gambling houses, and the city grew rich on the proceeds of the opium trade. But is this still the case, or has Shanghai cleaned up its act? I decided to investigate. Anyone who visits the city or lives here for any length of time will attest to the plethora of opportunities for vice.
A guy walking alone on the Bund or Nanjing Dong Lu at night will more than likely be approached by girls offering services. Antoine, a French consultant, has experienced this first hand on a number of occasions. Presumably the receptionist or manager alerted them to the presence of a lone laowai. The KTV culture is well known as a vehicle for the sex trade. Some of the streets in the Old City bear names related to prostitution, including Honglangan Jie street of the red banisters and Hongzhuang Nong Red Hamlet lane.
Working girls advertised their services on signs pinned at the lane entrance, and the arrival of a new prostitute was greeted by firecrackers. The general impression is that anything can be had for a price, and corruption is rife.
So it seems that the Whore of the Orient lives on. The factory town of Dongguan in Guangdong Province was recently the subject of an undercover investigation into the sex trade.
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