All dolled up: China sex toys play for real

This photo taken on April 2, 2015 shows salesman Yi Jiange positioning a new high-end sex doll on a display shelf at the Micdolls store in Beijing. China's puritanical Communist Party decried decadence during its first decades in power, and while conservative attitudes are still widespread, economic reforms have brought the country more sexual freedom, and a plethora of sex shops. - AFP PHOTO

BEIJING (AFP) - She lay quietly on a narrow bed, greeting potential customers with an impassive stare and a disproportionately buxom form: meet “156”, a stand-in companion for Chinese men with empty beds.

Named for her height, she is a high-quality sex doll made of thermoplastic elastomer, a rubbery material softer than silicone, with adjustable hands, a removable head and genitals, and available from specialist shops in Beijing for around $2,500.