“Communist China” – not the type of place you'd expect to find a thriving gay scene. But China today is about as Communist as the Old Party is Grand (though Republicans ARE old and getting even older). Shanghai today is a brash, flashy, neon-percolating city of excess, and out to party like there's no tomorrow. I was there during the week of the longest solar eclipse of the century, and I can assure you that the parade of celestial bodies wasn't only in the sky.
Shanghai Eclipsed
Nowadays, as long as you don't criticize the government and shy away from politics, it seems like anything goes in China, especially if you're trying to get people to spend money. And gays . . . spend . . .money. So naturally gay bars and night clubs have started sprouting up all over the city. That's actually a problem, in that the two most popular gay nightspots are on opposite sides of town (well, opposite sides of the older inner city – Shanghai is a megalopolis of 20 million people).
One cluster of bars is located in the so-called “gay triangle” on the western edge of the old French Concession district of the city. The closest subway station is the Henshan station on the number 2 line, but it's still a bit of a walk, so a taxi would probably still be the better bet (and taxis are cheap – only 11 to 14 RMB (around US$2) for the first 3 kilometers). It took me a good 10 to 15 minutes to walk the distance from the metro station, and that was speaking Chinese and asking for directions twice.
I visited two of the more frequented watering holes – Eddy's and Shanghai Studio. Though both of them have addresses stating they're on Huaihai Road, they're both actually just off the Road at a major, but quiet, intersection where several streets meet. Eddy's red sign is visible looking down one of the intersecting streets, while Shanghai Studio is especially well hidden down a wide alleyway (walk down and look to your right). The décor color of choice in Chinese clubs, it seems, is red. Red glowing lights, red glowing bars, and red stylized posters of Mao – all very chic and Sex and the City a la chinois.
Eddy's is a smart, but small bar, and was packed. Dress code – summer casual. Drinks – beers and tonics. Boys – Asian with a sprinkle of White. More “scenic” than cruisy, it seems to be one of the must-stops for expats and tourists in Shanghai.
Eddy's
Shanghai Studio was a little more unique. After entering at ground level, you descend down a long, warmly lit, twisting art gallery passageway until you reach a warren of chambers. Here you have a bar, there you have a dance floor, here you have a lounge, there you have another bar, oh wait, here you have an underwear store, oh, and then another bar . . . It's an intimate and cozy affair, but with the maze of rooms, you can easily lose yourself in the crowd.
Shanghai Studio
After drinks and cigarettes (yes, they do smoke a lot in the Middle Kingdom – so Europeans, make yourself at home), it seems that half the gay triangle clientele up and treks across town to D2 – THE place to be on Saturday nights. In the renovated “Cool Docks” (or “Lao Ma Tou” (Old Docks) in Chinese) retail/shopping complex on the Huangpu River, it is a thumping, giant warehouse style dance club that could easily be at home in London or New York.
D2 (Thanks to Im Stone for the pic)
With a typical large dance floor flanked by a floor length balcony and topped with a giant bar lounge, this is the place to be for shirtless, Asian beefcake sightings (even though a sign at front prohibits “shirtlessness” in public areas).
Celestial Body (Thanks to Im Stone for the pic)
Standing in the midst of all the colored lights; flashing strobes; gyrating, muscled bodies; and thumping music with drink in hand, I couldn't help but wonder what Mao would have made of all this. A Cultural Revolution indeed. 上海同志们万岁万万岁！
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