The first textbook on sex was officially published on the Chinese mainland in April 2002, but it has been not in use in schools so far. 

Sex education among teenagers is still urgently needed, despite the large amount of concern placed on the premarital sex activities of teenagers, said People's Daily in an article published Nov. 3.

The latest survey by the China Teenage Development and Research Center was quoted in the article, showing that about one-third of interviewed Chinese middle school students have never received any sex education, while the majority of those that had weren't satisfied with the quality of the textbook.

There are 327 million teenagers aged between 10 to 24 countrywide, and the average age for Chinese teenagers reaching puberty is 12-13. Therefore, China has 20 million teenagers reaching sexual maturity every year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2003)