To familiarise himself with China’s burgeoning gay culture, he listened to talks by the gender-studies scholar Li Yinhe on the popular television channel Hunan TV read Crystal Boys, a novel about gay youth in Taipei by the Taiwanese writer Bai Xianyong and frequented online chat rooms for gay men like Boy Air, BF99, Don’t Cry My Friends and the local Tianjin Cool, where he met his first boyfriend, a graduate student five years his senior.Īs Duan came of age, so did the Chinese internet.
He caught a glimpse into a future he never knew existed – a future that was perhaps within his reach, too.Ī diligent student, Duan aced his gaokao – China’s national entrance exam – and moved from his secluded hometown to the city of Tianjin, studying literature at a top university. Duan was moved by one scene in particular, in which the businessman brings his lover home for the Chinese New Year to share a customary hotpot meal with his family. When he was 17, he watched Lan Yu, a 2001 Chinese film about a love affair between a male college student from northern China and a businessman in Beijing, based on a novel published online by an author known only as Beijing Comrade. Blued, the social networking app with the slogan 'He's right next door', aims to bring together gay men from all segments of Chinese society into one digital ecosystem.
