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Sex textbooks coming to Beijing schools

2011-08-18 13:14    Ecns.cn     Web Editor: Xu Aqing
Some parents worried that such pictures are too vivid for pupils to watch.

Some parents worried that such pictures are too vivid for pupils to watch.

(Ecns.cn)!- Beijing plans to introduce this September textbooks on how to properly and safely have sex, according to the Beijing Daily on Wednesday.

The textbook entitled "Steps to Grow Up" is the leading work in a three-part pilot project targeting students in primary schools. It includes knowledge about the human body, how babies are conceived along with how to have safe sex -- a breakthrough in the Chinese mainland.

In the chapter on how babies are conceived, it vividly illustrates how sperm swim into the mother's vagina and land on the egg.

The textbook will be issued to 30 middle schools and 18 primary schools in the city. However, no sex education courses will be offered; teachers trained for the project must integrate the textbook into other classes.

In China, sex has long been a sensitive issue, and parents are still embarrassed by curious children who bother them with the question, "Where did I come from?" As a result, all parents will be consulted before the official launch of the project next month.

Some parents have already shown concern, claiming that the pictures in the textbook are "too graphic" for primary school children. Others are more optimistic, saying it is a good way to prepare children to become adults.