No kissing, just sex in the city

A mainland production house is marketing its new series as the Chinese version of Sex And The City, the hit American TV show.

The 27-episode series, which literally translates to Women Walk, was made in Shanghai by Qi Xinruan earlier this year and features Taiwanese actress Jessey Meng Kuang-mei in the Carrie Bradshaw-like lead role (made famous by Sarah Jessica Parker), though she is an accessories shop owner, not a newspaper columnist. She is joined by mainland actresses Huang Xiuyin, Zhou Lei and Li Mei. There's a twist to the Mr Big character (mainland actor Wu Bin) - he sleeps with all four women, not just one.

Meng says she connected with the script because it portrays 30-something mainland Chinese women in a realistic way. 'I think the problem with Chinese culture is that in general men are still on top, but this is filmed from the women's point of view. The four women are the most important and the 100 male actors from Beijing and Shanghai who appear are in minor roles,' she says.

While her role model Parker has a no-nudity clause in her contract for Sex And The City, Meng insisted on a no-kissing deal, arguing it was unnecessary. Surprisingly, she won.

Nonetheless, she is concerned the series is so risque it may be difficult to sell in China or Hong Kong. 'The subject is too sensitive and we have been worried about getting a time slot,' she says. 'But if it can be shown, it will be a great challenge to China's strict TV code.'