Government officials in Sanya said yesterday they were investigating rumors of sex and drugs parties at a trade show, aimed at China's richest people, in the Hainan Province city.

Online posts featured photographs of high-profile celebrities and young Chinese models at the Hainan Rendez-Vous Lifestyle and Yacht Show held from last Saturday to Tuesday.

Online posts featured photographs of high-profile celebrities and young Chinese models at the Hainan Rendez-Vous Lifestyle and Yacht Show held from last Saturday to Tuesday.

The posts quoted "participants in the event" as saying one model earned 600,000 yuan (US$97,000) from sex parties over three evenings and that more than 2,000 condoms were used at just one party.

Several celebrities quickly responded to the rumors stating they were either not at the event or clarifying what really happened.

"Time will tell and the truth should be known: My family is the most important part in my life," wrote Wang Xiaofei, a millionaire businessman who is married to Taiwan actress Barbie Hsu, on his microblog.

Wang said he was in Beijing and Taiwan when the yacht show was being held. He even posted screenshots of the flight information from his mobile phone to prove his innocence.

Xu Yajun, husband of Hsu's sister, Taiwan actress and TV hostess Dee Hsu, wrote on his microblog that either the "sex party things" were purely rumors or something that very few people did during the event.

Other celebrities told reporters they took part in events at the show but described them as "high-end" gatherings or wine parties. Some said the rumors were probably spread by people who weren't able to join them.

The event's organizer published an announcement denying the online allegations.

"False reports about the event have been spread online, damaging the reputation of the event by spreading information unrelated to the company," the announcement said.

"Currently all the rumors widely spread online are not true. The company has never organized such parties and never authorized anyone to do so. All the participants in the event can prove that such things never happened."

According to the rumors, police in Sanya were said to have raided a party and taken some people away for drug tests. However, police have not commented so far.

The annual Hainan Rendez-Vous lifestyle show features hundreds of luxury brands of yachts, business jets and other products.

Last year's event in Sanya attracted more than 20,000 visitors, according to its official website.