The Independent reports on a unique attempt to draw tourists:
The city of Chongqing in south-west China – the world’s biggest city by some estimates with 32 million people – is planning to build a town dedicated to women in its Shuangqiao district.
The municipal motto is “Women are never wrong” and the project will be modelled on a town depicted in one of China’s most famous literary masterpieces, The Monkey King. Authorities hope it will bring in tourists keen for a bit of role reversal.
…Li Ji, a local tourism official, insisted that “Women’s Town” was being built “only for recreational purposes” and was not intended to have anything to do with feminism.
However, the delighted reaction to news of the town’s construction in the Chinese media shows there is a serious point to be made here about how Chinese women, who make up one eighth of the world’s population, are treated. [Full text]