中美"性感城市"评选凸显文化差异

　　Tall buildings, big events, modernity: The characteristics of a sexy Chinese city. Condom sales, birth rates, transmitted disease and toys: The determinants of a sexy US city。

　　In unrelated surveys released this week, Shanghai was named China's sexiest metropolis while Austin, Texas was crowned with that honor for the US. The survey results provide a gimmicky glimpse into cultural psyches in the G-2 nations。

　　Beijing-based Horizon Research Consultancy said respondents to its recent China survey based their No. 1 ranking for Shanghai on the basis of some of its most visible attributes: wealth, modernity and tall structures like Oriental Pearl Television Tower, plus its iconic image. Runner up Chinese cities included Hong Kong, for its star power, and Chongqing, for its beautiful women。

　　The so-called "lad's mag" that did the US survey, Men's Health, tried to get, as it said, closer to "nookie rates." More data driven, its rankings considered Nielsen estimates of condom sales, state records on births and financial reports from sex toy makers. Seven of its top 15 US cities were in Texas, while cold weather cities generally ranked low in that survey. "One possibility is that in an area where’s it's hotter, people need to dress lighter and that puts pressure on them to look better and keep in better shape,” Matt Marion, the deputy editor of the magazine said。

　　One way to think about the results is, in top-down administered China, people take sexual cues by peering skyward at the big picture. In democratically run America, it's the individual who matters. Another possibility is that sex remains a more private matter in China than the US, at least in terms of how openly it is discussed and therefore measurable。