Palace officials believe pictures showing nudity should be condemned. (Photo : China Daily/Weibo)
A photographer is in hot water after posting images of models wearing no clothes in the Forbidden City.
The photos first appeared on a "Wanimal" account in Weibo and was posted by a photographer named Wang Dong on May 17. One model was shown riding on one of the palace's dragons.
The incident inside the Palace Museum eventually caused a stir, with people questioning the legalities of taking nude photos inside a historic place. Some netizens also criticized the photo for damaging the solemnity of the museum.
Meanwhile, Wang said in an interview that there will be “some who do not understand expression.” He explained that the creation of nude photos is nothing new.
Shan Jixiang, the director of the Palace Museum, recently confirmed that the incident has been reported and that the act should be condemned.
Shan said that the historic place has around 1,500 surveillance cameras and 20 of them captured the nude photo shoot incident.
He added that the footage recorded four young people from the time they bought tickets, to the time a woman removed her clothes as well as the entire photo shoot, adding that the evidence has been sent to the authorities for further investigation.
As with legal concerns, one lawyer said that if the photographer took photos in the Forbidden City without prior permission and other tourists find it disturbing, it should be deemed illegal.
Based on Chinese regulations, a person who exposes his or her body in public or acts in indecent manner shall be detained for five to 10 days.
