Pink-Light District is English-language nomenclature referring to brothels fronting as hair salons in China. The term derives from Red-Light District but is specific to the P.R.C., as
Chinese brothels are identifiable nationwide by the transparent-pink film that typically covers hair salon sliding glass doors. Such hair salons usually operate in small clusters, hence forming a "district." The term "Pink Light District" is a neologism directly attributable to, and first seen in print in, the
book CHINA: Portrait of a People (Tom Carter, 2008), which features in part a series of revelational photographs of various pink-light districts across China, the first published
book ever to do so. The term is not, however, commonly used by the
Chinese themselves.
Thousands of suspected prostitutes were arrested last
weekend during a city-wide police
sting of Beijing's notorious pink
light district.