BEIJING, May 23 -- The State Administration of Industry and Commerce issued a notice over the weekend banning meals served on naked bodies, a Beijing newspaper reported Sunday.

   

Body sushi originated in Japan and soon has spreaded throughout the world, including China. (file photo)

 The notice officially canceled the service offered by a restaurant in southwestern China that served sushi on unclothed female university students.

    The Saturday pronouncement forbids the service because it ¡°insults people¡¯s moral quality,¡± the Beijing Times said. Serving food on women¡¯s bodies also ¡°spreads commercial activity with poor culture,¡± the paper said, citing the administration¡¯s notice.

    In April 2004, Chinese media reported that the Hefeng Village Huaishi Cuisine Restaurant in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, was serving sushi and other Japanese food on two naked university students as they lay on their backs.

    Customers would pay 1,000 yuan (US$120) each for the meal after making reservations up to three days in advance, media said.

    The women lay calmly as people ate, a restaurant manager told Kunming media, which said this style of dining existed in ¡°ancient Japan.¡±

    The reports came out in April 2004, raising questions among Kunming residents. A restaurant staff member said the service had been canceled.

    The State Administration of Industry and Commerce notice bars nudity for other dining and entertainment purposes, including ¡°meals on breasts¡± served in Changsha, Hunan Province, and naked models used in an art exhibit at Wuyi Mountain in southern China.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencis)