Hong Kong Is Homo Hub

Gay saunas and karaoke bars await in the neon-lit streets of Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon.

Hong Kong is one of the Pacific Rim’s hottest destinations for gays and lesbians, fans of fashion and gourmet dining, freewheeling investors and entrepreneurs, and devotees of luxury hotels.

From 1842 through 1997, Hong Kong was a British colony. In the decade since the United Kingdom handed this prosperous territory back to China, Hong Kong has continued to enjoy great popularity as a center of business and trade as well as retaining its status as a major tourist destination.

In comparison with other Asian cities, Hong Kong has a fairly visible and well-organized gay community, with an LGBT social and cultural scene that has grown steadily in recent years. This is in part because the city is such an international business and leisure hub, but also because attitudes toward gays and lesbians are steadily becoming more favorable throughout the Pacific Rim. Still, the traditional attitudes of China and even old-school Britain largely prevail. In this sense, gays and lesbians in Hong Kong tend to be more discreet and, in many cases, closeted, than in most major Western cities.

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