In the end, Chongqing's "Love Land" just lacked the staying power.

With its adult and explicit themes, the country's first sex theme park proved to be "too hot" for local authorities, and was torn down over the weekend.

People pass the gate of the sex-themed park in Chongqing. [China Daily]

"Sex education and harmonious sex" were the aim of the project, park manager Lu Xiaoqing said earlier, but the Chongqing government thought otherwise.

"Vulgar, ill-minded and misleading" was the official reaction on the park, which was slated for an October opening.

Visitors have taken jaw-dropping pictures of sculptures of naked men and women. The park also featured a giant replica genital on a wall and an exhibition on the history of sex as well as sex technique workshops.

Academics are not surprised at the park's fall. Professor Xia Xueluan, a sociology expert at Peking University, said: "Sex is a matter of privacy. It is not for publicity."

(China Daily May 18, 2009)