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Week Around the Ists
Shanghaiist is Shanghai’s No. 1 fag hag, just ask any gay man. There is a dearth of information on our great city's thriving gay community in the media. That's why we’ll be featuring different aspects of the scene, including entertainment venues, parties, and personal stories in the near future.
Although, incomparable to San Francisco, Sydney or Amsterdam, at least Shanghai has its big gay parties hosted by the likes of R&G (think 3,000 of the hottest men in town, sweaty, shirtless, and grinding with each other) and G.O.D (open-air events at the Summit's 35th floor bar) and we can boast of a "bear bar", aka a place that caters to guys with a big-hairy-man fetish. However, is it right to call ourselves one of the world’s most compelling/exciting/trendy/insert adjective destinations, when we're still waiting for a nightclub with a dark room? (No, we're not talking about a photo lab. Since the internet lacks a decent gay vocab dictionary, use your imagination.)
Recently, the typical Eddy's/Home Bar routine that fills most gay men's weekend, has been put to a halt due to Home Bar's ongoing renovation. However, an unlikely newcomer has stepped into Home Bar’s place!
Shanghai’s newest gay establishment, Club Deep, is located in Jing’an Park. The bottom floor creates a chill lounge atmosphere while the upstairs is for dancing to some decent techno music. With R&G using their party attendee lists to promote this bar, they’ve been packed out for the past several weekends. However, when Home Bar reopens in July with their expanded area, it will be interesting to see where Shanghai’s gay men truly call “home”.
Also, the latest gossip is that Club Deep’s “Eye Candy” party was abruptly shut down last Saturday. Seems the management doesn’t have the best guanxi with the local officials yet. This is the second time they’ve been shut down since their opening in June!
Proud owner of a Club Deep VIP card, Shanghaiist is entitled to free entry and many other benefits- at least we hope so. If anyone is still in the closet and wants to come out, drop Shanghaiist an email (shanghaifaghag at gmail.com) and we can check out one of Deep’s many theme nights, including suit and tie evening for the professionals or tank top night for the hunks who workout.
Photo from M.7.
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Where are the lesbian hang-outs? Why do the gay men get all the love?
Establishments that cater to a gay and lesbian clientele run the tremendous risk of closure if they overtly promote themselves as gay venues in local publicity and advertising. Sure they may employ symbols such as the rainbow flag or pink triangle, but they do not seek publicity normally.
Meanwhile, thanks for the article, however it is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm looking forward to you uncovering the many other bars that cater to gays (locals especially, the ones above are out of reach to the local guy) and lesbians (yes, places exist for them too!).
Thanks for the comments! I'm also planning on doing some features on the lesbian scene, but if you have any other places you suggest, feel free to email them over.
All of the bars mentioned in the article have a mix of expat and locals, but if know of some more underground ones, please share!
Thanks for the support!
Shanghai's #1 fag hag
Sorry, forgot to include my address. Hope to hear from you!
shanghaifaghag at gmail.com
There's a reason for the small amount of media coverage of gay venues in Shanghai, and this is simply because it often does more harm than good.
The people in the 'community' find out where to go through word of mouth and selected, subtle marketing in the right places.
Thanks for the comment. Actually, all the places mentioned in the article with links are well advertised and searchable on Google. I definitely understand the need for discretion for some establishments and will balance that with the gay community’s, and my own, desire for more transparency and acceptance in society and in public forums like Shanghaiiist!
From a reader:
well being from LA i was some what a snob about the whole gay scene here in china.. let alone trying to figure out where the HELL to go.... CLUB DEEP.. is the place to be. the MUSIC is just like being in SAN FRANCISCO.. i loved it... of couse i did find the dance area a bit tiny. NONE the lesssssssssssssssssss!. it was totally worth it and there is not much more that i could possibly say..... you need to see it for your self....