By Justina Crabtree

Rainbow flags and posters with the colorful motif have been on display outside some embassies in central Beijing's leafy Chaoyang and Dongcheng districts in recent weeks, marking the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on May 17, and remain up as late May slipped into June, the official Pride Month.

But despite this quiet nod to the city's LGBTQ community, Pride Month itself is not a major event in the Chinese capital, Ying Xin, director of Beijing LGBT Center, told CGTN.

Nonetheless, the organization, established in 2008 and one of the main groups of its kind in the city, does hold events throughout the year, including street photography of same-sex couples, business diversity meets, online seminars and parties.

Meanwhile, a lively Pride is taking place this month in Shanghai, Beijing's more international counterpart, with many in-person events in the calendar.

Connection during coronavirus

Despite the difference in Pride Month celebrations between the two cities, Beijing's LGBTQ scene is in ascendance – helped by increasing openness to connection online from when the coronavirus pandemic was severe in China earlier this year.

"Before the pandemic, if we held an online seminar usually 50 people would join us; now up to 200 or 300 people can join us," Ying said, adding that while some people prefer face-to-face interaction, others are happy because web events overcome the limitations of geography, for example, involving those in Wuhan City or Hubei Province when lockdowns and quarantines were in place.

Three to five percent of China's population is openly LGBT, which is an estimated 60 to 70 million people, according to China-focused market research firm Daxue Consulting in February of this year. Read more via CGNT