The Rules: No Pics, No Drugs, No Judgments

"China is more traditional. Parents hope their children will develop normally, so most won't accept homosexuality," the 23-year-old accountant explained over Destination's pumping music.

He recently started his job at Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Beijing and has yet to feel pressure from his parents, who live thousands of miles away in Chongqing.

"If your parents are very modern and understanding, then it's great to come out. But that is not the case. Not saying anything can help everyone avoid feeling unnecessary pain," he said.

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"I have one friend who has come out of the closet. To his friends' surprise, his parents have really understood him," he added. "Another friend, though, his parents didn't receive the news well. They can't accept it, or control their reaction. If I don't tell my parents, it's easier."

One of this accountant's friends is a Beijing college student who's even more pragmatic about his sexuality. He also declined to give his name for the interview.

Bouncing to remixes of Madonna and Justin Timberlake, he admitted that he won't be on the dance floor forever. "I'm gay in China, but I also have hopes and plans," he said. "I already have two clothing shops, and I want to open another. I'd like to study abroad after I graduate too.

"But talking about being gay would get in the way. I won't tell my family because they would abandon me," he said. "Plus, I want to work in a government ministry in the future. If I come out, there's no way I could do that. So, later in life, I'll probably get married [to a woman] because it makes things easier."

Queer as Folk Beijing

Homosexuality, especially among men, has a long history in China. Same-sex encounters first appeared among intellectuals and artists in ancient art and classical literature, perhaps most famously in the classical Chinese novel "The Dream of the Red Chamber."

Unlike the persecution of homosexuals in Europe's Middle Ages, homosexuality is widely believed to have been relatively commonplace in China's Song, Ming and Qing dynasties.