ABSTRACT
The subject of prostitution, and the appropriate nature of its regulation, is a new but increasing focus of research by scholars in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Two of the most noted scholars in this respect are Pan Suiming (1997, 1998a, 1998b, 2000, 2004), from the People’s University of China in Beijing, and Li Yinhe (see Ai and Li 2001; Li Yinhe 2005), from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. With the aim of contributing to this growing body of research, between October 2000 and May 2003, I undertook case studies of female sexual service providers (xingfuwuzhe) in the Chinese province of Yunnan, a province that shares its borders with Laos, Myanmar, Tibet and Vietnam (Zhang 2002).1 The research took place in a number of locations, which, due to the fact that the selling and buying of sex (maiyinpiaochang) is prohibited in the PRC, will not be referred to by their proper names. These locations are: (1) City A; (2) City B, a border city noted for its commerce and tourism; (3) District C, a border tourist area; and (4) City D, an open border city at county level.
