Bathed in a pink spotlight, the cabaret singer at Phuket's 'ZAG' bar lip-syncs the top notes of a popular Mandarin love song, delighting the crowd of gay Chinese tourists who have escaped judgement at home for sexual freedom in Thailand.
While the song, "The Moon Represents My Heart", is a hit with the patrons, the transgender singer is just the warm up act.
With an estimated LGBTQ population of 70 million, China has the world's third-largest "pink market" after Europe and the United States.
While LGBTQ Thais often still face discrimination in the workplace, the kingdom's gay party scene is famously loud and proud, known for late-night clubbing and cabaret shows in Bangkok and along its coastal resorts.
Thailand has already welcomed 6.6 million Chinese tourists in 2017 -- up from a total of 2.7 million five years ago -- bringing a flood of cash into the key sector.
In comparison, less than 700,000 Americans and a little over 500,000 French citizens visited Thailand so far this year.
