Some seek a long-term love interest, some a one-time sex partner, others friendship.Ĭhina decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 and removed it from its official list of mental illnesses four years later.
NEWSLETTER: Get the day’s top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >įor more than three decades, Dongdan Park, one mile east of Tiananmen Square, has attracted gay men from across China. “We can talk freely about what we’ve been hiding from our families and co-workers.” “It’s like home,” said Ning, who earned his exotic nickname in the 1960s after having a dalliance with a chef from Paris who was working for the French Embassy in Beijing. Sent to a labor camp for three years, Ning, now 77 and known as “Granny Paris,” still keeps returning to the scene of his alleged crimes. “Lady Paris,” was arrested by police officers after visiting Dongdan Park in Beijing - the third time he was charged with “hooliganism” in seven years.
