Some call it art while others call it pornography. Nude modeling may not be new in China or the rest of the world but a recent celebrity scandal has triggered a debate about whether it is indecent, wrong or illegal.
Zhang Qi (not real name) said she felt relieved to hear from a photographer that posing nude was just art, according to the scol.com.cn.
Zhang, 30, told the website she was proud of her body and her measurements: 1.61 meters tall, 46 kilograms, white skin, killer legs and a cute face.
It started in the summer 10 years ago when she was walking in a small county in Sichuan Province and realized someone was following her.
The strange man approached her and presented himself as a "photographer."
She decided to accept one of his persistent invitations to pose and she recalled the day like it was yesterday.
After she stepped into his studio and removed her dress, she said she felt like she was making a mistake.
"A stranger was going to spend the next few hours watching every pore and every inch of my skin," she said. "The more I thought about it, the more I felt nervous."
She said she never took any money from the photographer.
"I don't want to sell my body for money, I want to do it for art," she said.
There are numerous girls doing the same thing in cities across China, but for cash.