A male contestant wearing an ancient traditional Chinese woman's costume takes part in the first annual pole dancing contest in Southwest China's Chongqing city on March 19. In recent years, people's perceptions of pole dancing has gradually shifted and, while it used to be only viewed as an erotic performance normally seen in a strip club it is now enjoying a growing reputation as an art form. The contest attracted contestants between the ages of 15 and 50. [Photo/icpress.cn]