The Manifesto 都会宣言

Thank God the Internet is finally back up, although access still remains somewhat patchy and slow. Saturday was my 29th birthday, and so a couple of friends and I went off to Bakerzin at Raffles City for dinner and then continued along to Shanghai Studio for drinks. Bakerzin has some of the most sinful desserts in town, and we ate like there was no tomorrow. I swear if you poked me with a needle now, I'd burst with chocolate cake all over your face! Many thanks to Henry who was on hand to provide such wonderful service even though he slept just two hours the day before. (We had a house party at his place the day before, but that's another story for another post). Many thanks also to my buddies at Shanghai Studio. The Jaegermeister we had was deadly! Because my birthday is at the end of the year, I've gotten used to the idea that some of my closest friends will not be around each year because they're either on vacation or they have to go home, but I'm still thankful to all the friends that did show up. You're the reason why I stay on in this city!

CITY WEEKEND invited some "interesting people" in Beijing and Shanghai from various professional backgrounds to be on the cover of its first edition this year, and asked about the best thing that happened to them in 2006 as well as their hopes for the new year ahead. As the case happens to be, they think yours truly counts among the "interesting people" (not quite sure what this is supposed to mean). For the photo shoot, each guest had to bring along something that best represents his/her career. An interior designer brought along a measuring tape while a bar manager brought along some shot glasses. I took with me a pair of C-IN2, but eventually decided, what the heck, I might as well take my pants off (thank God I was wearing my favourite pair of DT). That pretty much sums up my first experience stripping for publicity. Thank goodness it was all voluntary.

The wonderful guys behind QAF Beijing, Steven and Jack, interviewed me for a special Shanghai edition of their groundbreaking little podcast which explores gay culture in China. Catch me at the end of the second vid. The third vid is the Chinese episode which has me talking (in very bad Mandarin) about the pink dollar economy in China.

Saturday saw the likes of Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Maggie Cheung and other miscellaneous tramps descending upon Shanghai Studio for the Drag Party of the Year organised by the Shanghai LGBT group. The city's favourite drag queen, Gwen from Tempe, also graced the special occasion with her presence and added to the festive spirit of the party. Some party attendees also decided to swing across the road to Eddy's Bar (another prominent location in the city's gay ghetto), attracting curious stares from people in the neighbourhood and taxi-drivers sticking their heads out. Apart from the paparazzi catching some pretty damning shots of us engaging in some hot wet lesbian action, we also had some strange men rubbing up against us all night and other men inviting us home for a tryst with their girlfriends. Okay, TMI we know, but really, it's been a long time since we put on our wig let our hair down for such a smashin' party, and went home at 6am when the lights were all out. Till the next time we put on our qipao, keep swingin' Shanghai!

Photos from Ken Yip.

Join Shanghai LGBT's Yahoo group here.