For Chinese eyes only, the museum that holds secrets of the spies

A NEW Chinese spy museum exhibits guns disguised as lipstick, hollowed-out coins used to conceal documents and maps hidden as a deck of cards.

What you won't find there, however, are foreigners.

A sign outside the Jiangsu National Security Education Museum in a park in the eastern city of Nanjing states that only Chinese citizens are allowed inside, a policy designed to keep the communist regime's cloak and dagger methods secret – no matter how timeworn they may be.

"We don't want such sensitive spy information to be exposed to foreigners, so they are not allowed to enter," a spokeswoman for the museum said. "Most of the people we turn away are pretty understanding since this is not your average museum."

In an era of spy satellites and cyber-espionage, the exhibits sound almost quaint. Four halls display a history of security practices and equipment dating from 1927, the year the communists began their guerrilla war against their Nationalist foes.

Although would-be visitors who look like westerners are turned away immediately at the door, those who look "clean" and have Chinese features are usually allowed to enter without further checks, the spokeswoman said.