Opening up

Recent trends in condom use are riding on changing Chinese attitudes toward sex, Zhang Lei and Wu Wencong report from Beijing.

On World AIDS Day last year, the Shaanxi Provincial Communist Youth League organized volunteer activities to help raise awareness and prevention of the disease. The tradition on Dec 1 across the world included giving out free condoms to passers-by in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province.

But three boxes of condoms out of the six that volunteers checked out were returned shortly. A volunteer from Xi'an's Northwest University said people were still embarrassed when she approached them with the condoms.