By Xing Zhao

When I saw Minmin’s business card, I didn’t know what to think. His name, phone number and email address were on the front, while on the back was a photo of a big middle-aged housewife dressed in red and green. By big, I mean it, a man who would be categorized as a “bear” in the gay world dressed in a traditional Chinese women’s costume. Welcome to Shanghai’s drag queen scene.

The six-foot-two, pot-bellied Minmin led me through the streets of one of Shanghai’s less glamorous neighborhoods to the legendary Lailai Dance Hall (2/F, 235 Anguo Lu 安国路235号2楼). Not only is it the place where middle-aged working class gay men waltz with each other, it’s also home to Shanghai’s best drag performances. “Drag show is a form of art and I just love it,” Minmin told me bluntly, showing the pride of a true queen.

Sitting in a chair on the corner of the dance hall was Mr. Zhang, the head of Shanghai’s drag queens who founded a “culture” company a few years ago to run commercial drag performances. “People love our performances and we do shows in other provinces as well,” says the 55-year-old.

The next day, Minmin and Mr. Zhang were on stage for ShanghaiPRIDE, dressed up in cheerful red and green housewife outfits, heavily made up and waving big handkerchiefs. I barely recognized the men I had spoken with just the day before. Later on, Mr. Zhang appeared in a gold sari. Metal pieces glittering on his chest and anklets dangling around his feet, Mr. Zhang danced like an older version of Shilpa Shetty. Who could guess that the sexy breast-shaking Indian diva impersonator on stage was a grandfather?

To both Minmin and Mr. Zhang, drag is a serious profession. While Minmin is openly gay, Mr. Zhang is married. “I have grandkids,” he says smiling. “Am I gay? I am, but I am also not. Well, I guess I do have such a hobby.” His wife knows he’s a drag queen, but she doesn’t know he’s gay. Being gay as a hobby while wearing drag as a profession, the Lailai dancing queens are a different generation of Shanghai’s homos. They dance, they jive and they have the time of their lives.