This week in Shanghaiist
On Saturday, Oct. 27, the same night as our Halloween extravaganza, police raided and shut down Shanghai's popular gay club, Club Deep (commonly called "Deep"). Word on the street is that some Deep patrons were indulging in some not-so-legal substances during Deep's "Decadent Halloween" party, sponsored by i-Candy. According to our sources, between 20-30 police officers (initially mistaken for costumed go-go dancers, it was a Halloween party after all) arrested around 10 people, all suspected of using cocaine at the club. Although facts about the incident remain unclear, Deep is closed for the moment and its future is in doubt.
The timing is particularly bad because with the construction of a new, glitzy hotel and spa called The Place Hotel & Spa next to Jing'an park, rumor has it that the presence of a gay club next to the hotel would not be good for business. Whether the drug bust and the hotel's pressures on the club are connected or whether this was part of a larger anti-drug campaign is anyone's guess, much to the delight of conspiracy enthusiasts. Interesting note: No word about whether they are forcing out the even louder, drunker, and vomitrocious (literally) Windows Too directly across the street. Go figure.
For now, the gay scene has relocated to PinkHome, which used to be Shanghai's most popular gay club until Deep moved onto the scene in the summer of 2006. Although club attendance has been dwindling of late, with Deep's forced closure and rumors of a forced move, the club is now back on top.
It's been an interesting few years for the club and the latest developments in the gay community have added even more intrigue. When Home&Bar reopened as PinkHome after months and months of renovation at the end of 2006, the LGBT community responded in full force. The club was crowded, the music was booming, and the drinks were flowing. With a viable alternative to Club Deep, both clubs were doing quite well.
With the "competition" (can't we all just get along?) between the clubs heating up with alleged dirty tactics in full force on both sides, the community got caught in the middle. Despite hiring a new P.R. manager, offering promotions, throwing many themed parties, and working closely with the Shanghai LGBT group, the crowds kept going to Deep. Even more recently, PinkHome's P.R. manager quit and only a handful of people could be seen in the club, paying on a Friday or Saturday night. With Deep temporarily out of the picture, gay clubgoers now want to know, "Where are we going tonight?"
In other gay related news...
- The YouTube video above is yet another introduction to the gay scene in Shanghai. This time, the short video is from Danwei and their YouTube page. In the Danwei video, be sure to catch the Chinese guest and gay tour guide on the show mention that PinkHome isn't "cool" anymore and how no one goes there anymore. With Deep closed, PinkHome is now the cool place to be.
- While another gay bar, Space Bar, was rumored to have been closed down by police, that rumor proved to be untrue, as the bar reopened after some renovations were completed. Now, the money boys have more comfortable places to sit.
- The 600+ member strong Shanghai LGBT group just had their 2nd annual LGBT pub crawl on October 27. Two crowded buses carrying about 100 people in total took a tour of Shanghai's LGBT bar and club scene. Among the sites they were Eddy's, Shanghai Studio, Hunter, Bobo's, PinkHome. The last stop was Club Deep, but as you already know, that didn't work out too well.
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Heh, we almost went dancing there on the 31st. Good thing we changed our minds.
Its about time someone wrote about "Eye on Queer Shanghai" the last article about gay "night life" was about "Home at last" way back in Dec. 2006. Almost a year ago! When finally we had two choices for people. Deep was # 1 no doubt a huge success for Mainland China and well Pinkhome was just surviving word was out the closure of their restaurant and hotel doing badly, I heard they planned to sell the building though facts remain unclear now they have a chance to prove their ability. And to be objective I wouldn’t say Pinkhome is “back on top” again when u have no choices for the “gay scene’ as the author puts it. I hope DEEP don’t give up to easily I know the owners are pretty persistent from what I heard. “Deep closes, Home comes back” but do we have a choice. When “Homebar” existed they had no competition in the “gay scene” until DEEP.
From my understanding, when Deep opened, Home&Bar was closed for renovations. So, at the time they closed for renovations, Home&Bar (ETA: Deep, not Home&Bar) was on top. However, since their opening as PinkHome, they haven't been as successful as they once were. So, only recently have there been two clubs competing for the same, limited audience at one time. That's what I meant in the article.
Homebar was on top during "renovations"? How is that possible? Homebar was the ONLY "dance" gay place in shanghai and probably the whole of China at least in "gay scene" for many years until deep. I just want point out that a place can't be "Shanghai's most popular gay club" without any comparison. Pinkhome has been there for almost one year side by side with Deep :)
I meant Deep, not PinkHome. I will correct the comment to reflect that.
When I use the phrase "most popular", it was not comparing Deep to PinkHome, because PinkHome was closed (as you pointed out). It was comparing Deep to other gay clubs, specifically local gay dance clubs. During the time of PinkHome's renovations, Deep was not the only club around. Therefore, it was the most popular.
I moved out of Shanghai 6 months ago but was really shocked and angry when I heard the news of a simultaneous crack down on Pink Home (Shanghai) and Destination (Beijing). Even though these two clubs were far from being my favorite, they were part of the gay scene I knew in China.
But for me the killer was the earlier closure of DEEP Club, my all time favorite, where I have so many good memories. I just hope the government, the police and financial lobbyists, really understand this time that long term prosperity in China also comes hand-in-hand with social freedom and open mindness.
I also wish that gay people living in Shanghai would not be so resentful and fight for their right and diversity.