Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region located on China’s south coast, with a population of around 7 million, a British colony for 150 years. Hong Kong is one of the most visited cities in the world, where different cultures have lived in peace for years, but still retaining a lot of its British influences. This small island is famous as the world’s most densely populated city, overlooking Victoria Harbor, and people are mostly gay-friendly, making it a popular gay spot for years.
Hong Kong consists of four main areas: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon (one of the most densely populated places on the planet), The New Territories (often ignored by tourists, partly mountainous landscape) and The Outlying Islands (including Lantau Islandand Hong Kong International Airport Island). The gay scene is mostly focused on the Central District entertainment zone on Hong Kong Island, the Tsim Sha Tsui district in Kowloon and Middle Bay Beach. Travelers to gay Hong Kong should know that while legal protections are limited and people are the very least happy to let you live your life, although many gay Asian men find it difficult to come out in some ways.
We don’t believe being gay should define our choice of destination, but having gay-friendly hotels and events can increase awareness of LGBT issues, as such we prepared this guide with a gay angle, by asking locals help. We recommend starting from the Clock Tower, then strolling around the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, exploring the Space Museum along the way and hunt at the Ladies’ Market for clothing and souvenirs.
Hong Kong is a small city, but it has many must-visit sites, so check out the Peak, the highest peak on Hong Kong Island, and ride the Peak Tram from the bottom to enjoy the shops on the high deck.
Hong Kong decriminalized homosexuality in 1991, but same-sex marriages are not permitted and coming out to one’s own family as being gay is still a difficult thing, although Hong Kong’s wider population accept the gay community. Hong Kong is a city like no other, where money talks and skyscrapers compete with mountains, and even though the LGBT movement traction started since the 1990s, it wasn’t until after the Leslie Cheung, the first major celebrity to come out as gay in Asia, overting sexuality that the gay community here started to become visible. Sadly the tormented superstar leapt to his death in 2003 but these only seemed to embolden the local scene to become as thriving as the economy, with a healthy dose of international queer travelers.
If you’re not into dancing, there are plenty of gay beaches for sun-seekers, though if you are really lucky your hotel will have a pool. At night, there are plenty of vendors to haggle with at the night market, with tasty authentic local cuisine. Blued and Grindr are the most popular apps used by gay men, so we strongly recommend you set up a high-quality VPN on your phone, to remain anonymous.
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