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Thread: Hundreds celebrates for first Shanghai gay pride festival

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[quote=COOLSPRINGS,369889]

By Royston Chan
14 June 2009 @ 10:53 am

SHANGHAI - Hundreds of gay men and women, some with rainbow flags painted on their faces, turned out for Shanghai's first gay pride festival on Saturday to celebrate with cocktails, drag shows and a hot body contest.

There was no parade, and the crowd paled in comparison with similar events in Sydney or San Francisco, but some people detect a more international, open-minded attitude in China's financial capital as it prepares to host next year's World Expo and aspires to become a global financial centre.

"I don't think China is very conservative now. Shanghai is developing very fast and it's becoming more and more international," said Amy Lin, a 17-year-old from Taiwan who joined Saturday's festivities.

The crowd was heavy on expatriates and English speakers, rather than typical Shanghainese.

The pride day events also included traditional Chinese dance performances by drag artists flashing fans and feathers. A few events earlier in the week, including a film screening and a play, were abruptly cancelled due to a lack of proper licences.

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Two gay couples kiss, as part of an unofficial marriage ceremony, during celebrations for mainland China's first Gay Pride week at a bar in Shanghai June 13, 2009. The Gay Pride week celebrations continued in Shanghai despite cancellations of some of the festival's events by city authorities earlier in the week, according to media reports. A fair mix of local and foreign participants took part in the festival. (REUTERS / Nir Elias)

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