Today is opening day for a government-funded "gay bar" in Dali whose stated goal is to create a "common room for partner education" for the local gay community in one of the areas of China with the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates.

The 120,000 yuan (US$17,576) bar, located in Dali's old town, is managed by the NGO The Good Friend Center, according to a Global Times story.

Reaction across the Chinese Internet has ranged from praise to condemnation, to suspicion that the local government did the project to attract funds from international NGOs. Some commentators have said that the high-profile location is bound to doom the project due to the lingering stigma attached to homosexuality in China.

For the last three years, the main meeting area for homosexual men in the area had been in a wooded area just outside Dali's city wall, Kunming Information Hub reports.

On November 24, Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said that homosexual sex accounted for 32 percent of the HIV/AIDS infections in China, adding that that proportion was likely to grow.

Government estimates put the current number of HIV/AIDS infections in China at about 650,000, while some epidemiologists say the number is more likely around 1.5 million. The Dali Health Bureau estimates there are 1,500 to 2,000 HIV-positive gay men in Dali.

The Bureau said the new bar it has funded will employ gay volunteers to attract customers.

Zhang Jianbo (张建波), the non-gay manager of the "bar", said that the bar was going to be less about the drinks and more about education and prevention.

"We might not even sell beverages in the bar. We will turn the bar into a tribune to offer lectures and training to gay people in order to reduce AIDS infections among them," he told the Beijing News.

Official data states that Yunnan province is home to more HIV/AIDS infections than any other administrative region in China. In addition to gay sex, unprotected sex among heterosexuals – especially involving prosititution – and intravenous drug use are major contributors to the number of transmissions each year.

Last year, a Tsinghua University study focused on the spread of HIV in Yunnan announced that in general intravenous drug users were being surpassed by women and gay men as the fastest growing HIV-positive gender demographics.

The Tsinghua report added that the virus' transmission rate among ethnic Han Chinese was quickening its pace, whereas in previous years it had been predominantly concentrated in ethnic minority populations.

Update I: Chinese news site ccvic.com is reporting that the Dali gay bar has already been closed down by local officials.

Update II: Zhang has been quoted in the People's Daily as saying the bar's opening was delayed due to public pressure.

"The bar will open, but maybe later. We are under a lot of pressure now and should eliminate the negative effect first. The other reason about the bar's delay is the over exposure of the bar which makes gay people afraid to come in," he said.

This Sunday, December 6, Kunming will be one of many cities around the world where people will ride bicycles to show their solidarity with the environmental movement in the runup to global climate change summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, which begins the following day.

The Kunming ride will leave Kunming Stadium at 1:00 Sunday afternoon. It has been organized by Kunming resident Jesse Rodenbiker as part of Ride Planet Earth, a project by Australian Kim Nguyen, who has been riding from Brisbane, Australia to Copenhagen since August 2008. Nguyen passed through Kunming in April of this year.

The ride will be roughly 35 kilometers of essentially flat road. Participants will head out westwards along Renmin Xi Lu, then turn southwards toward Dianchi Lake, before crossing a causeway to the Haigeng area and joining Dianchi Lu to head back into town. The route returns riders to Kunming Stadium after roughly 2.5 hours. Google Earth users can download a KMZ file here.

In addition to the Kunming ride, there will be Ride Planet Earth events on Sunday in Melbourne, Ho Chi Minh City, Shanghai, Manila, Belgrade, Barcelona, London, Milan, Paris, New York City, Cairo and other major cities around the world.

Riders interested in participating are encouraged to bring their own bikes and helmets. If you don't have a bicycle, there will be a limited number available on loan.

Voting is now officially underway for the Best of Kunming 2009 awards. From today until Sunday, December 27, GoKunming readers can vote for their favorite restaurants, cafés, bars and entertainment venues around town.

To vote, log in and then place your vote here.

Here are the categories and nominees:

Food: Best Chinese Restaurant
Da Dongbei Jiaozi Restaurant, Gingko Elite, Heavenly Manna, Hong Dou Yuan, Huatongqun Dai Restaurant, Makye Ame, Panlong 17, Shiping Huiguan, T9 Creative Cuisine, Xiangyun Huiguan, Yi Dong Yang Lou, Yihejiajia

Food: Best International Restaurant
Cacaja, Feiyang Teppanyaki (Kundu), Ganesh Bar & Restaurant, Lazy Bones Pizza, Meijiya, Moonlight Corner (Expo Garden), Moonlight Corner (Green Lake), Salvador's Coffee House, Sandra's, The Box, Totem Village, Watami

Food: Best Fine Dining
1910 La Gare du Sud, Blue Bird, España Restaurant, Gingko Elite, Moonlight Corner (Expo Garden), Moonlight Corner (Green Lake), Panlong 17

Food: Best New Restaurant
Ganesh Bar & Restaurant, Lazy Bones Pizza, Sandra's

Drink: Best Café
Chicago Coffee, Coffee Break, Dan Di Coffee, French Café, Game Café, Mazagran, Must Columbian Café, Prague Café (Beichen), Prague Café (Wenlin Jie), Q's Coffee, Salvador's Coffee House, Samoana, The Silver Spoon Café, Vintage Café, Wicker Basket

Drink: Best Bar
1895 Movie Bar, Aoma Meili Pub, Camel Bar, Chapter One, Double Happiness Bar, Fisherman's Bar, Ganesh Bar & Restaurant, Halfway House, Hiker's Bar, Lucifer's Life, On We Go, SoHo, The Box, The Hump Bar

Drink: Best Wine Selection
Gingko Elite, Moonlight Corner (Green Lake), Salvador's Coffee House, The Box

Entertainment: Best Day Out
Dianchi Spring Spa, Dwarf Empire, Gingko Tree Massage, Haobao Organic Farm, Hello! Haigeng Minigolf Park, Kunming Museum, TCG Nordica

Entertainment: Best Night Spot
1895 Movie Bar, Camel Bar, Halfway House, Kundu Pool Club, Laowo Bar, Moonlight Corner (Green Lake), On We Go, SoHo, Speakeasy, TCG Nordica, Uprock

All registered GoKunming users are eligible to vote once – suspicious flurries of registrations all voting for the same place will not be counted – if you are not yet a registered user, please register here.

In case you forgot who won last year, here are the 2008 winners.

Good luck to this year's nominees!