A man was detained by local police in Sanya, Hainan Province on Sunday for violating the city's latest nude sunbathing and swimming ban, the Haikou-based Nanguo Metropolis Daily reported Monday.

The tourist, surnamed Sun, 58, from Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, will face five days of administrative detention, local police said.

Sanya authorities began ordering swimmers to put on swimming suits from February 5 to 7 after dozens of people were revealed to have been swimming naked in the resort city of Sanya during the Spring Festival break, but the initial ban had little effect.

The next day the Sanya government released a notice of banning naked sunbathing and swimming in public areas, Xinhua News Agency reported.

For years, Chinese beachgoers, predominantly middle-aged men, have been using the area for nude bathing.

Luo Baoming, Hainan's provincial Party chief, warned at a meeting held on Sunday that the province will fight against these "uncivilized behaviors" that go against Chinese tradition and culture.

The police will patrol on public beaches with loudspeakers, and will be assisted by surveillance cameras.

The province will not allow this kind of behavior to happen again, said Luo, adding that Sanya authorities should persuade people not to do these things or tell them to leave the site, and those who refuse should be detained.

According to an online survey on Sina Weibo with over 8,000 Net users participating as of press time, over 54 percent of Net users said the government should regulate nude sunbathing while swimming and 36 percent of Net users do not agree with it, with many saying it is a personal choice.

Over 56 percent of those polled said the nudist beachgoers should not be detained.

One of the polled Net users said there should be an area for nude sunbathing where minors cannot enter.