CHINA — The local government in Yucheng, China – a sleepy community about an hour’s drive from Shanghai – recently signed a 10 billion yuan (U.S. $1.5 billion) deal to develop a one-stop market for adult products. The proposed “Happy Town” will include a sex toy shopping street, a sex exhibition center and an adults-only hotel.

According to the South China Morning Post, the Yucheng project is part of a wider initiative coming from the central Chinese government. The intent is to revamp a thousand rural towns across the country, each with its own unique gimmick.

Villages and small towns are dreaming of becoming the next Hershey, PA (famous for chocolate) or Palo Alto, CA (famous for technology). And while others are busy brainstorming a “theme” of their own, Yucheng already has its hook.

The Chinese government hopes these “charming towns” will woo money, talent and various skilled workers to rural areas, helping narrow the urban-rural development gap. They envision vibrant local economies featuring a sense of culture, unique industry and livable environments, setting forth a new face of rural China, one that’s less disparate from urban areas.

Statistics reported by the South China Morning Post show the average urban Chinese resident had a disposable income of 33,616 yuan (U.S. $5,078) in 2016, more than 2.71 times that of the average rural resident. Further, while more than 90 percent of households in cities were connected to tap water and piped gas last year, only 70 percent of those living in Chinese villages had tap water and just 20 percent were connected to gas.

The Yucheng local government views the Happy Town project as a new growth engine for the local economy. Home to 22,000 people, the town currently relies on energy-intensive and polluting industries such as dyeing, the manufacture of machine parts and silk spinning for most of its revenue.

A spokesperson from the Happy Town developer J.C. Group told the South China Morning Post that the project’s blueprint was based on Yucheng’s “advantages” in manufacturing – advantages locals seemed unaware of when pressed. One local resident suggested a more plausible explanation: Yucheng’s proximity to almost every major city nearby.

Regardless of the rationale, a federally-sanctioned erotic city center may be an indicator of policy changes and cultural evolutions happening in China.

Image via galofgray