Aria Zhang was on the hunt for the perfect location to open her shop, but every time she mentioned what she would be selling, her application was knocked back.
But the 31-year-old persisted and finally opened a sexual wellness store in one of Shenzhen's high-end shopping centres last October.
"My goal is not just to sell products," Ms Zhang said.
"I want to provide a space where people can physically touch and understand the materials and functions of the products.
"It's a place for education and discussion."
Traditionally tucked away in discreet corners of the city, a growing number of stores selling products used for sexual pleasure like vibrators have been opening in shopping centres across China.
It's a shift welcomed by customers like Stacey Shi.
Even though Ms Shi had been shopping for sex products for several years in countries like Australia, Japan and Thailand, she was hesitant about visiting a pop-up store in Shanghai, where she lives.
But her feelings changed when she stepped inside the Osuga store.
She said it was "very bright" and "de-shamed" the whole experience.
The Chinese brand, now in a permanent location, was reportedly one of the first sex toy stores to have a shopfront in a Chinese shopping centre.
Ms Shi said the public-facing shops normalised conversations around women's sexuality, gender equality and sexual health in China.
'Women's sexuality is taboo in China'
Guo Jia, a gender and cultural studies lecturer at the University of Sydney, said traditionally, sexual pleasure devices in China were "predominantly for men, [made] by men, sexualising and objectifying women".
But the bricks-and-mortar shops that were opening in shopping malls are changing that market, she said.
Dr Guo added there was also growing awareness about gender equality in China, and the idea of young, urban Chinese women pursuing sexual pleasure was now also more accepted.
But more needs to be done to break existing taboos, she said.
"Sex, especially women's sexuality, desire, and pleasure, is a taboo [topic] in China due to the lack of appropriate sex education in schools and [within the] family."
Dr Guo said school-based sex education in China needed to be more inclusive and open-minded and there should be a standardised sex ed framework.
Besides managing her shop, Ms Zhang regularly hosts workshops and discussions around sexual wellness and health for customers.
"Some of the female participants in my workshop come to improve their knowledge about relationships, while others don't fully understand the female anatomy," she said.
Ms Zhang said her most recent workshop had 120 attendees.
While there's no data on the number of sex toy shops in China, the country's adult product market has grown significantly in recent years.
According to Statista, China's adult product market was valued at about 179 billion yuan ($39 billion) in 2023 — up 6.5 per cent compared to the previous year.
The research mostly focused on products bought online.
Qichacha, a Chinese corporate information search portal, showed there are 1 million adult-product related companies in China, with the number of registrations consistently rising over the past decade.
'Normalising the conversation'
Twenty-four-year-old Yiqing Huang from Guangzhou said she was pleasantly surprised during her first visit to a sex toy shop.
"The store was bright, and seeing other shoppers confidently browsing made me feel more confident in my shopping," she said.
Sex and relationship therapist Maxi Xie said presenting the products in a way that "normalises the conversation around pleasure", helped to break down the "sexual shame" that had long been a part of Chinese culture.
That's why sexual pleasure products were traditionally bought online, or even hidden in vending machines, he explained.
"In China, there's still a prevalent 'culture of shame' regarding sex and sexuality," Mr Xie said.
"For many people, the idea of discussing these topics openly is difficult."
While there are no specific national laws regarding the locations of sex shops in China, local governments impose regulations based on cultural norms, public sensitivities, and zoning requirements.
The stores must generally be located away from schools and places with cultural or religious significance like temples. Businesses also need to comply with public morality standards.
While Ms Zhang's shop has already been open for several months, she continued to face resistance from the community.
She said a child recently accidentally walked into her store, and their parents filed a complaint to local authorities.
"The kid's parents got really angry and came to my store to yell at me," she said.
After that incident, Ms Zhang bought more education resources for her shop.
"My store added a new book which is about sex education for children, called 'Being Parents Without the Awkwardness'."
