Everyone you meet in Beijing will tell you how much the city has changed in recent years. While not as radical as the space-age transformation of Shanghai, solemn Beijing refurbished its historical and cultural assets along with its infrastructure in advance of the Beijing Olympics and seems to have kept up the pace of improvement since then.

The official "color" of Beijing (gray!) is now splashed with color, and fresh garden landscaping is optimistically employed to combat the smog and dust. Residents are happy, as any evening stroll around a hutong (traditional neighborhood) will demonstrate, and there are plenty of shopping opportunities for the middle class in dozens of new mega-mall projects. Beijing is also a foodie heaven with a bounty of fantastic (and cheap) dining opportunities everywhere.

The population is over 22 million, including nearly a million Utopians.

Peking Man

Beijing is bursting with youth, and the abundance of good looking soldiers and policemen is stimulating to say the least. While a lot of fun can be had flirting with friendly locals, Beijing is not a place for abundant nightlife or a quickie holiday romance - "419" in contemporary local gay slang (as in "for one night"). Educated gays tend to socialize in small circles of friends, visiting bars and saunas only occasionally and usually in groups. If you are able to make a local friend, then you'll have an inroad to meeting the single men in their network, although this may take more time than a visitor on vacation will have. Conservative and romantic in his approach to finding the right partner, Peking Man is not inclined to "jump into the river of love" on a whim.

Many locals caution that bars, saunas and parks are filled with "MBs" (moneyboys) on the prowl -- mostly needy men from other provinces - but less and less so these days.

People here in the capital work hard and so clubs that welcome gays are busiest on Fri and Sat nights, and quiet on weeknights. Mid-week gay Happy Hour venues are listed in our Bars and Clubs section and these locations change frequently.

The best way to make local connections is to use apps like Blued and WeChat (which can translate for you).

Don't bother taking a taxi from the airport. The fast airport train goes directly to Dongzhimen Subway Station with hotels within walking distance, lots of good restaurants, and the nearby Sanlitun shopping and nightlife area (and gay venues) just a 20-minute walk southeast.

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

Click here for Beijing hotels and accommodations.

Click here for Beijing bars and clubs.

Click here for Beijing cabarets.

Click here for Beijing discos.

• 798 Art Zone UTOPIA VERIFIED MAY 2018

  Warning! Once a colorful haven for artistic freedom, 798 Art Zone's security is now run by thugs. The Global Times reported on Mar 14, 2018 that security guards beat and hospitalized two women for wearing rainbow badges. A man working for the Beijing Administrative Committee in charge of the art zone lied, saying that "wearing rainbow badges is illegal," and blamed "horrifying" gays for "distorting sexual orientation." Add your review, comment, or correction

• La Galerie Tao UTOPIA VERIFIED MAY 2013
  #83 Dong Hua Men St, Dong Cheng Dist (at the intersection corner just east of the East Gate of the Forbidden City), Utopia Map
  133-9188-0427, email

  This contemporary fine art gallery specializes in Chinese gay artists and the Chinese male nude subject, as well as a variety of high quality fine and decorative arts. Conveniently located one block east of the Forbidden City in an area full of shops, restaurants and tea houses. See some of their works in our Chinese Masters of the Male Nude exhibition.
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• Red Gate Gallery UTOPIA VERIFIED DEC 2022
  798 Art District, 2 Jiuxianqiao Rd, Chaoyang Dist, Utopia Map
  5762-3032, email

  Founded in 1991 by Brian Wallace who first arrived in China in 1984, Red Gate Gallery is the first private contemporary art gallery to be established in China. Prior to opening its doors at the 600-year old Ming dynasty watchtower in Dongbienmen, they organize and curate exhibit the best of Chinese contemporary art as well as facilitating cultural exchanges and dialogues between China and the rest of the world. With monthly exhibitions, the gallery showcases painting, works-on-paper, graphics, sculpture, photography and installation by both established artists and emerging talents. Gay-owned.
  Utopia Member Benefit: 5% DISCOUNT.
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Click here for Beijing karaoke.

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HAIDIAN

• Tsinghua campus

  Find the bigger of the two lakes (they are separated by a street). Prime cruising ground is the dark lane south of the facilities, but the whole lake is cruisy.
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  OTHER AREAS

• Liu Lang Swimming Pool
  Bagou (just outside the south gate of the Summer Palace), Utopia Map
  巴勾柳浪游泳场
  010-6263-5992

  Take the number 10 subway line to the last station, Bagou, and then walk 10 mins northwest to the intersection of the river and 4th Ring Rd at Huoqiying Bridge. For summer months, west Beijing's largest outdoor swimming pool has become a 'must-go' place for locals. They congregate there on one side, especially on Sat afternoons. Just use your gaydar to spot them. The pool has shallow and deep sections, as well as lanes for serious swimmers. Entry is only Y$10, with a deposit for the locker key. Take your own towels, soap, and slippers for the shower afterwards, but only cold water. (special thanks to ChinaMango for the tip!)
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• Starbucks
  Pacific Center

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• Yu Yuan Tan Park, San Li He Rd, Utopia Map

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• The Wudaokou area near the Beijing Language and Cultural University.

  Surprisingly nice, busy and very cruisy. The small cafés and bars are full of university guys eager to talk and make new friends.
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CHAOYANG

• Bellagio (Taiwanese cuisine) UTOPIA VISITED MAY 2018
  6 Gongti Xi St, Utopia Map
  鹿港小镇 - 北京市工体西路6号
  010-6551-3533

  This large and modern restaurant attracts trendy gays and lesbians as it lies directly across from Destination disco. Beijingers really enjoy the Taiwanese-style desserts on offer here. Lesbian-friendly with cute tomboy staff.
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• Ghost Street UTOPIA VERIFIED MAY 2023, UTOPIA VISITED MAY 2017
  Dongzhimen Inner St, Utopia Map
  东直门内大街(簋街)

  From Beixinqiao Subway Station all the way to the 2nd Ring Rd. Red lanterns create a carnival atmosphere for happy local diners who come for heaps of peppered crawfish. Order up as many as you like by size (Y$2, 3, 4 or 5 apiece) and deshell with your fingers for the succulent and tongue-numbing tail meat. Prepare to sweat! As usual, to select the best restaurant, look for a place that is packed with customers. Lots of other delicious side dishes and many menues have English as well as pictures to point to. Or, if you want to try excellent modern Beijing cuisine in a heritage courtyard setting, go to 235 Dongzhimen Inner St where you can dine on a truly incredible contemporary Chinese menu (in English with pictures of wonders like salmon spring roll sprinkled with lime Pop Rocks and, pictured below, chocolate-dipped purple potato sticks with fruit loops!), watch acrobats twirling teapots on a stick and gawp as their award-winning chef creates a "never-ending noodle" choreographed to music!
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• JingZun (Peking duck) UTOPIA VISITED JUN 2019
  6 Chunxiu Rd, Taipingzhuang Nanli, Chaoyang Dist, Utopia Map
  北京市 朝阳区 春秀路 太平庄南里6号楼 北侧
  6417-4075

  This bright, clean and modern eatery not only serves yummy Peking duck and other local side dishes (try the shredded chicken in "Beijing sauce" wrapped in tofu, the peanut and spinach salad, and eggs scrambled with greens) but the price is very reasonable -- about 1/3 the cost of most duck specialty restaurants. Not the yummiest, but won't break your wallet.
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• Meizhou Dongpo (Sichuan) UTOPIA VISITED JUN 2019
  7 Chunxiu Rd, Dongcheng, Utopia Map
  6417-1566

  Delicious Sichuan specialties with an emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients. Chinese friends agree, this chain restaurant, while beautiful and more upscale than many restaurants, is a quality bargain at the price. Large menu with color pictures and English descriptions makes ordering easy. Fresh fruit juices, Beijing and tea-flavored duck, sensational braised pork belly, and a wide variety of interesting veggie dishes, make this a good choice for a nice meal out with local friends.
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  FORBIDDEN CITY / CENTRAL BEIJING

• Pianyifang Roast Duck Restaurant (Peking duck)
  G/F Hademen Hotel (opposite the New World Center) and another branch on 3/F of the second phase of the New World Shopping Center (with the ice rink in the atrium), Utopia Map
  便宜坊烤鸭店

  This is one of the two most famous Beijing roast duck restaurants. The most expensive duck on the menu is cooked inside a pot rather than roasted in the oven and supposedly has a more exquisite flavor. Crispy roasted is cheaper and plenty good.
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  OTHER AREAS

• HuGuoSi Street UTOPIA VERIFIED FEB 2023
  Utopia Map

  Foodie alert! A stretch of refurbished old buildings housing a wide variety of tasty regional Chinese cuisines, from sweets and dumplings to Muslim food and donkey delights. The lane is decorated with folk art paintings of many traditional food practices that have vanished from the streets of modern Beijing. Mostly locals here (not a tourist trap), so follow the crowds to find the popular places.
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Click here for Beijing saunas.

OTHER AREAS
• Nanluoguxiang UTOPIA VERIFIED FEB 2023, UTOPIA VISITED MAY 2013
  Utopia Map
  南锣鼓巷

  South Luogu Lane is a revitalized traditional merchant street running through one of the best preserved hutong (traditional urban housing area) districts in China. New shops, cafés, beer bars and boutiques line this avenue and side streets beg to be explored and reward the intrepid explorer. One of the most enjoyable evening strolls in Beijing.
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