The practice of hiring funeral strippers in rural China faces tighter curbs after the government announced cash rewards for people who report them to a special hotline.

The ministry of culture said it was targeting "striptease" and other "obscene, pornographic, and vulgar performances" at funerals, weddings and traditional new year public gatherings.

Authorities started clamping down on the practice in 2006 and began a second campaign in 2015. The latest is focused on 19 cities in the provinces of Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Hebei, the ministry said on its website, which also gave the hotline number.

A woman performs pole tricks. Communities in rural China reportedly believe such shows enourage bigger attendances at funerals in order to honour the dead and bring them good fortune. Scott Barbour

Increasing materialism

Communities in rural China reportedly believe such shows enourage bigger attendances at funerals in order to honour the dead and bring them good fortune.