Naked photoshoot inside Forbidden city sparks outrage

The series of photographs, which were posted online last month, include a picture of a nude woman straddling a marble dragon head at the former imperial palace in Beijing.

Palace museum officials released a statement today saying that the photographs showed a lack of respect to cultural relics and should be condemned, reported People's Daily Online.

The photoshoot took place when the historical site, which attracts 80,000 visitors a day, was open to the public.

The risque pictures were then posted by the photographer on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, and feature a slim model posing nude at various sites in the Forbidden City.

In one photograph the model, wearing red heels and stockings, flashes her bum while leaning over an ornate marble handrail. 

Social media users immediately questioned whether it was appropriate to take naked photographs at the ancient site.

The photographer, posting under the handle WANIMAL, responded to criticism by posting the cryptic message: 'It is the destiny of the expresser to be misunderstood'. 

Surveillance footage shows four people, including the photographer and model, rush into the Forbidden City early in the morning on 12 May.

A spokesman for the palace museum said that the photographer had not sought permission for the shoot, and that staff tried to put a stop to it.

Under Chinese law, anyone who exposes his or her body in public or behaves indecently can be detained for five to 10 days.

(Daily Mail)