SHANGHAI -- area code (86-21)

It is evident everywhere just how cosmopolitan Shanghai was in the past and has become once again. Tree-lined boulevards and ornately designed merchant shop fronts are testament to its former prosperity and its hopeful future.

This is a city of contrasts--sleek skyscrapers rise next to dusty shophouses hoisting laundry out their windows; McDonalds, Pizza Hut and KFC have sprouted up on every block; peddle carts ply traditional sweets on the sidewalk in front of Cartier. Shanghai startles in its manic modernism. Neon-splashed Huai Hai Rd sports trend-setting world-class department stores, mega-restaurants, cathedral-sized banks and gleaming Metro stops. People's Park, with it's showcase museums, is a good spot to view the city's spaceport skyline, straight out of The Jetsons.

Shanghai appears to be run by youth, staffed by youth, and patronized by youth. The population now exceeds 20 million (that's about 800,000 Utopians). Nearly every gay you meet in China says they want to live here. The nightlife is constantly reinventing itself, but many venues have found consistent patronage from young, professional locals and expats. Shanghai has come to rival Hong Kong as the gay center of China as the winds of freedom continue to blow.

• City Weekend's LGBeat a pithy blog on Shanghai's gay and lesbian scene
• Lesbian listings
• Men in Shanghai message forum
• Shanghai Gay Scene Updates message forum

  Navigating the local gay scene is easy with our interactive Utopia Map of Gay & Lesbian Shanghai:

The Utopia Guide to China (2nd Edition) is an expanded and updated guidebook to the gay and lesbian scene in 50 Chinese cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Included are bars, discos, spas, and restaurants. Enjoy hundreds of savvy comments and recommendations from local Utopians and travelers. Click here to order

MANifesto 1950 Huaihai Rd, No. 4 (by Xingguo Rd, inside Shanghai Studio), Utopia Map, 6294-6880, email. A place for the boys to shop, set in a cool underground studio space. MANifesto is Shanghai's first retailer of premium men's underwear, swimwear and fitness gear for men. Check out the latest sexy designs from international brands such as C-IN2, N2N, DT Underwear and Private Structure. Hot items for the ladies as well. Be sure to ask the cutie owner, Kenneth, to show you the goods. Open daily 2pm-midnight. 淮海路1950弄4号（近兴国路） Utopia Member Discount

• The Closet
  Room 412, Bld 11, 696 Weihai Rd, Utopia Map, 5187-3827. An organization that deals with cultural and legal issues for GLBT. In their very cool loft-type space they also host video screenings, meetings, art shows and distribute literature.
• Long Yang Club (LYC) Shanghai
  A social club designed for persons who value quality friendship and enjoy non-scene social activities. People automatically think 'chopsticks and walking sticks' when they think of Asian guys with foreign guys. The Shanghai LYC chapter has a good mix of ages of both Asians and expats. It is not just a male group; they also have sub-groups for lesbians and transgenders. They offer monthly functions such as sports, day trips, dinners/lunches, theater, and bowling events. Check the schedule on their website.
• Rainbow League Hip Hop Dance Group
  Email, 139-1711-1889. Meets bi-weekly on Sat from 3:30-5:30pm at D&D Dance Studio, 1/F Hongkou Football Stadium room 104, Hongkou Tiyuju (facing south, just beyond KFC).
• ShanghaiLGBT
  Email. Shanghai's first group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered folks to meet and share information. With hundreds of members and events twice a month, it's a great way to meet new friends and catch up with what's going on in Shanghai.
• ShanghaiPRIDE
  Organizer's of Shanghai's annual GLBT pride festivities.

  
  

  Click here for pictures and a report from the first ShanghaiPRIDE week 2009

• Sunhomo
  Email, 138-1880-0238. Sunhomo is a gay men’s social organization that meets for sporting and cultural activities. Founded in 2002, they provide additional options for gay men to socialize beyond bars and bath houses. In Shanghai there are five swimming groups (Huangpu, Shanghai Stadium, Pudong, Changning and Jing’an groups), as well as gay badminton, volleyball, soccer, ping pong, tennis, yoga, wushu (kung fu), marathon running, and a bodybuilding/fitness group. Cultural groups include foreign language, Chinese opera, drama, KTV (karaoke), photography, and more. The Shanghai Huangpu swimming group meets three times a week: Tues, Thu and Sat. See their website for place and times for this and other groups.

YOUR Guide to China 138-1761-1068, email. Local gay tour guide will introduce you to Shanghai and vicinity during the day and Shanghai's gay nightlife after dark. Assistance with sightseeing, hotels, air tickets, car and driver, plus domestic travel arrangements. Learn about the city and its attractions, sample local cuisine as well as local gay flavors. Available to travel to other cities in China as well. Utopia Member Discount

Click here for Shanghai hotels and accommodations.

• Museum of Chinese Ancient Sex Culture
  They have relocated to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Tongli Village just outside Shanghai. There are now more than 2000 objects well presented in four buildings including an outdoor sculpture garden. Tongli itself is a great day trip away from the bustle of Shanghai where you can take boat rides along the canals or eat at the cafés and restaurants which line the ancient lanes. Every 30 minutes in the mornings there are one hour bus rides from the Tourist Bus Center at Shanghai Stadium (subway line one). Ticket price of Y$130 includes round trip bus trip, entry tickets to a Buddhist temple on an island that the bus stops at first and entry to Tongli city. Once in Tongli cross over the entry bridge and walk directly forward for 200 meters till you reach a second bridge, the sex museum is 200 meters down the clearly marked lane to your right. The homosexual artifact section has expanded to take up half of one building and includes a penis-shaped male brothel sign from the 19th century. The exhibits extend back to pre-history so there's an abundance of phallic artifacts available for study and worship. Photo above courtesy of billy-shane, Shanghai.
• Qibao Village
  Easy to get to by taxi, just on the outskirts of downtown near the ring highway. This somewhat Disneyfied neighborhood of old shophouses along a boating canal is less touristed than Yuyuan Gardens and a great place to see the masses enjoying hundreds of food stalls, unpretentious knick-knack shops, tea rooms, and mini-museums dedicated to unique aspects of traditional folk culture such as cricket collecting and weaving. Graze at the many food stalls offering specialties that are getting rarer in the big city. Lots of photo opportunities and you'll probably be the only foreigner amongst the throngs, so you're an attraction as well!

Click here for Shanghai bars and clubs.

Click here for Shanghai discos.

• Changning Swimming Team
  Email. They meet on Sun at 3:30pm at the International Gymnasium at 777 Wuyi Rd (near Zhongshan W Rd).
• Hongkou Badminton Team
  Email. Meeting Thu 8-10pm at No. 60 Middle School, 323 Qingyun Rd (near East Baoxing Rd).
• Kaixin Volleyball
  Nanyang High School gym, Zhongshan S. Rd (at Damuqiao Rd), 159-0199-9838. Every Sun, 1-3pm. Ex-pat LGBT community welcome.
• North Shanghai Swimming Team
  Email. They meet bi-weekly on Sat 2:30-4:00pm at Tongji University swimming pool.
• Orchid Volleyball Club
  138-1813-3043, email. Gay volleyball club plays regularly every week.
• Physical
  Branches of this gay-patronized health club around the city, but especially at Raffles City shopping center at People's Park, Utopia Map.
• Pudong Swimming Team
  They meet Tue 7pm at the Pudong Swimming Pool at 3669 S. Pudong Rd (near Dongfang Rd).
• Rainbow League BBS for gay sporting activities.
• Shanghai Huangpu Swimming Group
  Email, 138-1880-0238, 138-1880-0238. They meet Tue, Thu from 7-8:30pm and Sat 5-6:30pm at the Gezhi High School swimming pool, Beihai Rd (near N. Guangxi Rd and People's Square). Optional dinner follows each swim.
• Shanghai Stadium Swimming Team
  Email, 130-6162-5917. They meet Wed 7-9pm and Sat 4-7:00pm at 1300 No. 2 Zhongshan South Rd.
• Tongxin Football (Soccer) Team
  Email. Meeting Sun 9:30am at the East China Normal University.

  Comments from Utopians:

  "California Fitness Yao Ming in HuiHai Chong Rd is filled with good looking westerners. They offer free Net. I got to play with some very hot men in the steam room and boy it was steamy hot. Discretion is a must, but it sure was fun." -- Azthairub, Oct 13, 2009

Click here for Shanghai karaoke.

Click here for Shanghai massage for men.

• Da-mu-qiao (Great Wooden Bridge)
  Mid-street gardens on Zhao-jia-bang Rd (between Xiang-yang South Rd and Da-mu-qiao Rd), Utopia Map. Local guys. Beware of hustlers.
• English Corner
  Shenzhonglou Restaurant, 51 Yunan Middle Rd (People's Square area, near Beihai Rd), Utopia Map, 136-7173-7017, 138-1880-0238. Weekly discussion of topics of interest to the Shanghai G community. Meet other students (and teachers) of English. Sat starting at 4pm. Afterwards, join in various Rainbow League sporting gay groups (see under Organizations) or stay for dinner and more conversation.
• Jujiaqiao Park
  Intersection of Boshan East Rd and Jujiaqiao Rd, Pudong, Utopia Map. This tiny, yet very lengthy stretch of roadside greenery, wedged between apartment buildings and a roadway lit by neon karaoke joints, offers a nightly wildlife refuge, especially during warm summer evenings. Crowd is middle-aged to mature, friendly, and as usual in Chinese parks any sort of activity draws a cluster of curious interest from those here to "go fishing" (as the Chinese call it).
• People's Square
  Near Xi Zang Zhong Lu and Wei Hai Lu, Utopia Map. Cruising area in city center, in afternoons and early evenings. Southeast part of the garden (close to Xi Zang Zhong Lu and Wei Hai Lu). Many hustlers, but also some gays and AIDS/HIV outreach volunteers. 人民广场东南角花园, 近西藏中路，威海路
• Starbucks Coffee
  Most branches seem to attract trendy local and visiting gays, but especially noteworthy are the Starbucks at Citic and also Riverside Ave Park in Pudong, where you can cruise and enjoy your cappuccino with the most spectacular sunset view of The Bund across the river.
• Xiahai Temple Park
  Hongkou, Utopia Map. Not far from Lai Lai Ball Room Dancing Hall (see under Bars & Clubs). This tiny park with dim corners attracts decidedly mature non-scene local men and the "archeologists" (Chinese gay slang) who seek them.

Everyone seems to sum up Shanghai food with two attributes: bland and sweet. If you want to try tasty local food, street-side stalls and shops are abundant, and fresh. Noodles are often still cut by hand. Don't miss the local street specialty, sheng jian, juice-filled, sesame-topped pork dumplings (see picture) fried and steamed in giant round pans. If you could pick one food to take with you to a desert island, and it wasn't Humboldt Fog, it should be sheng jian!


THE BUND

• Shanghai Grandmother Restaurant (Chinese)
  70 Fuzhou Rd, The Bund (one block away from the Metropole Hotel), Utopia Map, 6321-6613. Modern interior, clean and reasonable food at tourist prices. This is a good landmark to help you find sheng jian dumplings.
• Wufangzhai (dumplings and noodles)
  Utopia Map. One block south of Shanghai Grandmother Restaruant you will find two local dives with large, round sheng jian dumpling pans covered by wooden lids just inside their open windows. The more delicious ones come from Wufangzhai (furthest south from Grandmother). Buy a voucher for a few yuan at the small counter inside. One order is four dumplings. Careful, these dumplings are little granades filled with steaming hot juice! Perfect the art of sucking while biting to protect yourself and those around you. We warned you!

  

  
  FRENCH CONCESSION

• a Future Perfect
  No. 16, Lane 351 Huashan Lu, Jing'an (near Changshu Lu/ Metro Line 2 Jing'an Temple Station), 6248-8020, email. Tucked away in a small lane in the French Concession, attached to the boutique hotel Old House Inn. This gay-friendly restaurant has airy, white decor with splashes of lime green. Cozy garden dining. If you're here with a group, ask for the friends and family table, which is a large elevated corner booth great for people watching. Soup, salad, pasta, meat dishes plus changing specials. There are also substantial set breakfasts and lunches, along with a full bar. Free W-Fi. Utopia Member Discount
• Lapis Lazuli (international fusion)
  9 Dong Ping Rd (just near the intersection with Heng Shan Rd), French Concession, Utopia Map, 6473-1021. Truly excellent food in a lovely, upstairs setting. Set lunch menues or a la carte dining. There is also a French bakery across the street that is to-die-for.

  
  HUAIHAI GAYBORHOOD

• Jesse Restaurant (Shanghai cuisine)
  41 Tianping Rd (opposite Eddy's Bar and near Shanghai Studio), Utopia Map, reservations: 6282-9260. A small and famous restaurant serving excellent Shanghai specialties (try the fatty pork in sticky, sweet brown sauce). Very friendly staff can make recommendations from the extensive menu. Service is fast. Although they may be able to squeeze you in on the spot, make a reservation to avoid disappointment.

  
  PEOPLE'S SQUARE

• Bakerzin
  5/F Raffles City Mall #507, 268 Xizang Zhong Lu, Utopia Map, 6340-5243. Excellent food and a popular spot for gays to brunch.
• Ciao Bambino
  740 Hangkou Rd, Utopia Map, 6080-0800. Corner café, located in the period art deco Langham Hotel, opposite the back side of Raffle's City, is a perfect place for afternoon tea. Large, cozy booths and a case full of scrumptious desserts like olive oil white chocolate mousse with lingenberries.
• Jaja
  Utopia Map. One of two exemplary, and competing, Shanghai dumpling outlets (the other is opposite). Jaja serves incredible xiaolong bao (steamed dumplings) in bamboo baskets. Aside from the plain pork (Y$8+ per basket) and the costly pure crab dumplings (Y$80+ per basket), you must try the incredible pork and hairy crab roe dumplings (Y$18+ per basket). Bite first holding it in a spoon with your chopsticks to suck out the golden broth. You won't want to miss a drop! The shredded ginger in sweet, citrus-scented vinegar is the perfect condiment for this dumpling. Eaten with a bowl of shredded egg and seaweed soup to further heighten your taste buds. This combination is one of Shanghai's must-have foodie treats.
• Yang's Fried Dumplings
  Utopia Map. One of two exemplary, and competing, Shanghai dumpling outlets (the other is opposite). Yang's serves excellent sheng jian (pan fried dumplings). This version has a thinner, softer skin than some of the doughier versions served elsewhere. Enjoy with a cold can of China's herbal alternative to Coke. As always with sheng jian, please try not to squirt your neighbors with steaming pork juice.

  
  OTHER AREAS

• Da Qing Hwa Dumpling
  Several branches of this kitschy, but tasty, eatery exist in the city. We tried the one in Jing'an Dist (6289-9999, 6289-6666), not far from the Jade Buddha Temple. This restaurant has to have the gayest men's bathroom in Shanghai (pay a visit, if only to wash your hands)! The staff are all wearing "Chinesey" period costume but the waiters are totally cute so the effect is more charming than camp. Chunky wood furniture (how many forests were killed to furnish this place?). The place was full of locals rather than tourists (a good sign). Great and unusual dumplings come a dozen to a plate, fried with a crispy crepe-like skin so you have to pull them apart. Best of all, you can have a huge feast for four at only Y$100 (about US$12)!

  

• Dong Zhi Jie Restaurant (Chinese)
  88/6F Zhapu Rd (near Tiantong Rd). Gay people only come here on weekend evenings, from 9:30 pm till late. You can see close to one hundred gay people having dinner then. 东之杰餐厅,地址在乍浦路88号6楼,靠近天潼路
• Embre
  832 Julu Lu (near Changshu Lu), Utopia Map. A lovely restaurant with tasty food and a good selection of wine. Indoor and al fresco seating. Lesbian-owned.

Click here for Shanghai saunas for men.

PEOPLE'S SQUARE

Sunpoint Tanning Studio 607 North Cheng Du Rd, Jing'an Dist, Utopia Map, 6272-2090, email. Gay-owned European style indoor tanning studio. Professional, clean, and good atmosphere. Utopia Member Discount


PUDONG

• Sun Season Tanning Salon Shanghai
  1/F German Centre Tower 3, 88 Keyuan Rd, Pudong, 021-2898-6013. The first professional tanning salon in Pudong. Gay-friendly. Tanning machines from Ergoline and Dr. Kern. Open daily. Utopia Member Discount

  
  OTHER AREAS

• Dontai Road
  Utopia Map. Charming old neighborhood with small shops and street vendors selling "antiques" and Chinese gifts. More authentic ambience than Yu Yuan garden area.
• Ping Li
  326 Nanchang Rd (just west of Maoming Rd), Utopia Map, 136-4195-9112, email. Gay-owned fashion and gift shop. If you are looking for imported brand clothing, shoes, accessories, cosmetic care or other trendy items, stop by and say hello to Ping Li.
• Tianzifang
  Taikang Rd, Utopia Map. A traditional "stone gate" neighborhood that has been conserved and transformed into a vibrant district of art galleries, fashion and design boutiques, and sidewalk cafés. Residents still live here, so you can also observe the daily routines of Shanghai's common folk. Offically declared the "Intellectual Property Protection Experimental Park," it is an enjoyable must-see if you are interested in the young artists and designers of Shanghai or simply want a taste of bohemian café life.
• Xintiandi
  At Huangpi Rd and Taichang Rd, Utopia Map. Shanghai's trendy boutique shopping area housed in renovated traditional heritage buildings. A great place to people watch in the afternoons and evenings. Oodles of gays, of course.