It’s been a rough year for the Beijing LGBT Center. The nonprofit went hunting for a new home last March after its landlord refused to renew the center’s lease. Months later, staff and volunteers had barely hung their rainbow banners in a second Chaoyang location when they were evicted in late summer following complaints by narrow-minded neighbors. Now settled into roomy new digs in Liufang, the LGBT center is here, queer, and not hiring a moving truck anytime soon, as center director Stephen Leonelli reports that the new landlord supports the NGO’s cause.

Most of the center’s services are in Chinese, but there are still ample opportunities for expat LGBTs and allies to check out the center and mingle with local “comrades.” MDancing movie nights on Saturdays (RMB 10) feature films from around the world, most with English subtitles. And if you wish your day job would let you teach the racier points of English vocabulary (e.g. sham marriages, gay slang, sex roles, and fetishes), you’re in luck – volunteer teachers are usually needed for the LGBTalk discussion group.

The new center features several meeting rooms, but for events that call for less utilitarian quarters, the LGBT Center regularly partners with local businesses to host foreigner-friendly events. Those looking for lavender love should watch out for speed dating and dance parties every two to three months. Past venues have included Great Leap Brewing, 4corners, and Haze. Meanwhile, the center’s Rainbow Worm series, a cultural exchange night held bimonthly at The Bookworm, gives expat LGBTs a brainy break from the bar scene.

Beijing LGBT Center Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-5pm and by appointment. Rm 2108, Bldg B, Xintiandi Plaza, 1A Xibahe Nanlu, Chaoyang Distict (6446 5698) bjlgbtcenter.com 朝阳区西坝河南路西甲1号新天第大厦B楼2108室

By subway: 250m north of Liufang station (Line 13)

Photo: Lova