Sleepless in Beijing

And I am clubbing away, in one of the most happening gay clubs in town.

I have not visited many queer nightspots in Beijing, so I would not declare it as the most happening gay club in Beijing. However, it is rather popular with gay men, and sometimes with straight clients.

Destination is quietly tucked away on a side of Gongti Xi Road, a stark contrast from the brightly-lit signboards just opposite, enticing party-goers with the flashing neon lights. It is not exactly obsure, but yet not conspicuous either with the monochrome signboard. I managed to see it on the taxi simply because I kept my eye on that side of the road.

However it was an entirely different scene the moment I stepped inside. It was jammed packed with party-goers at 11 pm on the Saturday night, most notably men. It was a bit surreal to see all the gay men, in different shapes and sizes, dressed to the nines (ok perhaps some dressed to the sevens or eights), straight-acting or queeny and bantering rapidly in their crisp Beijing-accented Mandarin. There were quite a number of young Caucasian men there, rather different from what I had seen when I last visited this club in year 2005, when almost all the Caucasian men there were at least in their fourties.

The 30 yuan admission charge is inclusive of a drink, either a bottle of Carlsberg, Evian or Barcardi Freezer. I got a bottle of Carlsberg beer for myself, and sneaked off to a corner to prevent being an obstacle, while admiring the action on the dance floor. It was too crowded on the dance floor, and my friends and I decided that we would dance later, and chatted while drinking by the side. It did not take long for us to get bored.

We decided to squeeze into the springly dance floor, which is rather interesting given that well, it does spring when you bounce up and down on it. My friend whispered to me, 'I think we are simply bouncing up and down on the same spot.' I replied, 'That is the only thing we can do now.' Indeed, bodies pressed together in the dance floor, that it was not remotely possible to dish out any para-para antics, much less a John Travolta's.

The music was mediocre at its best, but we were greatly amused by the people-gazing. There was an middle-aged man with balding top who was dancing away vigorously on the raised podium, without any slight hint of self-consciousness. It was immensely entertaining to see him up there on the podium, with all the other young men. Who says fun is for the young only?

Don't believe it when they say that only flamboyant gay men party. There was a guy who was dressed in a normal checkered shirt and wore his big spectacles, and I regret that I would have to describe him as nerdy-looking. He was bobbing his head to the beats of the music, ocassionally swinging his arms around as if he was in a trance. Diversity is the key here, no matter who you are, you can be yourself in a queer venue. I suspect that that is why queer nightspots are attractive to many of us, as they represent safe spaces for us to be who we are., to be dykey, queeny, manly, womanly – practically anything without being showered by judgemental stares. (Although my straight female attracted a lot of curious glances, with her skimpy halterneck top.)

After some rounds of chatting, dancing and drinking, we decided that it was enough for the night, given that the music was not fantastic. We subsequently adjourned to another club for more dancing and had a sumptuous dim sum supper after that.

My verdict? It would be a pleasant surprise to any new foreign visitors, to find such places in communist China. Then again, China is not a communist state, I would describe it as primitive capitalist. No, it is not worth it if you are thinking of buying a plane ticket just to party there, but it is worth checking out if you happen to stop by Beijing.

Now what about the lesbian venues, you might ask. Well I might be checking one of them out soon, so stay tune and watch out for updates on this blog!