June is PRIDE Month for the LGBTQ community where rainbow flags fly in parades, parties, and carnivals around the world. Enviably “the world outside” it’s easy to find this and there is also a PRIDE celebration entirely run by volunteers here in China entering its 10th year. That is ShanghaiPRIDE.

Whether you have been a participant or have never heard of it, ShanghaiPRIDE has grown from having only 8 organizers and 3000 participants in the beginning to now over 30 organizers and 6500 participants.

The various and exciting events in the month of June, truly impacts the LGBTQ community in this country. The success of this celebration is not only owed to the volunteer team, numerous participants who came and celebrate, but also to those who sponsor and support our events.

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Being a guest speaker of Pride Talk, we see many people participating in ShanghaiPRIDE. “Sharing our stories with a group of people with similar pursuits is truly satisfying. I have befriended those who fight for LGBTQ identity recognition on the frontlines, and discovered the loveliness of the volunteers who devote themselves to ShanghaiPRIDE without complaints.” Recalls Song Tian.

Guo Jiyao is another speaker of the Pride Talk held in June, 2017. As the only “straight” person among the guest speakers, she was anxious about her role. When she eventually stood on the stage and faced her audience, she was relieved to find that we are not that different despite varied sexualities. She thinks that Pride isn’t just a carnival within the LGBTQ group, it’s also an opportunity for LGBTQ community to communicate with other “major groups” in order to promote tolerance. She hopes that in the future, there will be more “straight people” or allies to join the event.

Jim Gu was the host of Red Ribbon Charity Dinner in 2015. On the stage of Pride Talk, he shared his thoughts and expectations in his three years of volunteer work to connect and inspire the audience. He continued to stress the word “connection.” When talking about the future of ShanghaiPRIDE, he said, “I hope that Pride can walk into a bigger and more inclusive community within the LGBTQ community to engage more people, understand each other, and establish connections. (ShanghaiPRIDE should) Go from the metropolis of China to bigger regions, from China to Asia, and eventually to the world!”

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“I brought 10 pieces of my artwork on LGBTQ topic to the 5th ShanghaiPRIDE Arts Exhibition.” Yang Xu introduces, “It was my first time participating in Pride. I felt so excited that day and a little nervous, too. I shared my intentions and experiences creating works around LGBTQ. People were really supportive and encouraging. I got to know people from different countries and backgrounds. After that, I was more determined to create works of better quality to share with others. I persevered through the past five years, and I have made progress in every stage of my creative work. It fills my life and makes me more confident.”

Regarding the future of ShanghaiPRIDE, Yang Xu says, “I believe it will continue to escalate in its scale and become even greater and more influential. I think we can spend more time on improving the quality, for instance, finding better venues, guests, and hosts, collecting more works, as well as strengthening the message and visibility.

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Andaz Xintiandi, Shanghai Is not a strange name to those who are familiar with ShanghaiPRIDE. It’s been sponsoring various events of Pride, including our annual Red Ribbon Gala Dinner, Pride Run, Pink Brunch, LGBTQ Group Open Day, and an array of forums, promoting the celebration to more local communities.

Among all these events, the Red Ribbon Gala Dinner held on International AIDS Day impressed the General Manager of Andaz Xintiandi Shanghai, Robert Hamer, the most. He spoke highly of the volunteer team of ShanghaiPRIDE, praising them for their effectiveness and execution.

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Last, but not least, let’s hear from the sponsor who once held out her helping hand to support the PRIDE, Lillian Jiang, about her stories of the past 10 years.

Participated in 2013 ShanghaiPRIDE

Q1、What’s the most memorable experience at that year?

Well, I helped one of my gay friends find a partner at the ShanghaiPRIDE Opening Party and they are still together.

Q2、What do you think about that ShanghaiPRIDE is going to hold for 10 years?

I think that it’s incredible that ShanghaiPRIDE is promoted by a group of volunteers and they all have their full-time jobs.

Q3、What you think we can do to raise awareness and visibility to promote self-acceptance and acceptance for the LGBTQ community?

Would you consider producing some LGBTQ movies?

Q4、Anything you wanna say to Pride10?

Happy 10th anniversary! I look forward to the next 10 years of ShanghaiPRIDE.

Here we want to express our appreciation and gratitude for all partners who have been supporting ShanghaiPRIDE. Also, we’d like to thank the following partners who have taken our interview.

爱白上海，Bing Ang，Bunny，Curtis from Disney，Fabrizio from Ibsen International，飞来即兴，Franziska from Pawsome，Howie Lin，Jay Lin from TIQFF，Jessica  Yuanyuan，即兴者联盟，Joe Xiao from Indulge，Lillian Jiang，Liu Shi，Meeja from Denmark，Oli Liu from Brownstone 布朗石西班牙餐厅，Truebaby等

In the past 10 years, whether you have participated in ShanghaiPRIDE events or not, everyone is welcome to leave your messages sharing the most touching moments, or send “Our Story” to shanghaipride@gmail.com. We will pick some of them to publish.