A nude beach in Zhejiang Province was closed about 15 days after it was opened amid moral controversy, the Southern Metropolitan News reported Saturday.

The nude beach, claimed to be China's first, was established in a low profile last month in Lin’an City, Zhejiang.

The beach has sparked a lot of controversy. While supporters said nude swimming helped humans stay in touch with nature, opponents argued the move would erode community morals.

The inspiration to establish a nude swimming area struck beach management after eight female university students took off their clothes and swam naked.

Although the management was shocked initially, they decided to capitalize on the incident and quickly put up boards saying "nude swimming area," one for men and one for women.

The signs were removed after protests by visitors, said the China Daily. But the managers told the China Daily that the signs would reappear later.

The customer service department at the beach said the nude swimming area would be reopened to the public Aug. 12.

Huang Jianguang, general manager of the beach, said if the company was to reopen the nude beach, it would choose a more secluded area.

(Agencies August 9, 2004)