Xiangjie Peng, The Rise of Queer Underground Party Culture in China
The Chinese photographer (b.1961) has been documenting the queer community in various cities in China since 2017. His portraits show places of freedom where people can live out their identities in an open community. The black and white series was shot primarily in clubs and at parties and competitions, which have become an important cultural phenomenon, despite official restrictions on the LGBTQ+ community. As the country slowly opens up to international influences, freedom is growing underground.
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20 Images
01
Drag queens outside Lucca390 bar at night. This location was one of the first few LGBT bars to open in Shanghai around 2017, Shanghai 2019
02
Chang’e Sister and Xihongshi were the first cross-dressers in China to open up about their self-gender identities, Shanghai 2018
03
Inside the hidden Pose Club homosexual bar on West Street near the Bell Tower, Xi’an, Shaanxi 2022
04
Drag queens Chyna Jia and Coke complete their make up in the Loopy Club same-sex bar, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 2023
05
Drag queens at Jar Bar, Old City Roots, Xi’an, Shaanxi 2021
06
Jin Fei was the first drag queen Xiangjie Peng photographed in 2018, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 2018
07
Tanshui Larkin is a drag queen at Miguru (drag cultural community), Chongqing 2023
08
Drag queens attending a Medusa Realness event (queer party and record label), Chengdu, Sichuan 2023
09
Kiki House of Rhodo Rosa at the Kaleido-Rosa Ball Grand Prix held in a workshop space, Beijing 2023
10
Drag queen Sean with self made headgear at the queer TT Club, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 2024
11
Drag queens of the queer party and record label Medusa Realness pose for a group photo, Chengdu, Sichuan 2023
12
Enema Stone, lead singer from Medusa Realness, at the first tour party at Tag Bar after the Covid-19 lockdown, Chengdu, Sichuan 2023
13
Chongqing Miguru (in costume) and Chengdu Cosmo at a Queer New Year’s Eve drag party, Chengdu, Sichuan 2024
14
Drag contestant at the Kaleidoid-Rosa Ball Grand Prix held at the Moxuyou Workshop space, Beijing 2023
15
Miguru is a participating queen in the Miguru First Drag Beauty Contest held at Vox Livehouse Bar Space, Chongqing 2024
16
74-year-old dance teacher Eddy is a drag queen performer of the older generation, Suzhou, Jiangsu 2018
17
Participants in Miguru’s First Drag Beauty Contest held at Vox Livehouse Bar space, Chongqing 2024
18
Halloween party in the Shanghai Hunt Bar, which opened in 2011 for Chinese and foreign LGBT people, Shanghai 2023
19
Passionate performance at Desire and The City 12.31 Chuan-Chongqing Queer New Year’s Eve drag party, Chengdu, Sichuan 2024
20
Kiki House of Rhodo Rosa party at the Kaleidoid-Rosa Ball Grand Prix held at the Moxuyou Workshop space, Beijing 2023
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