Service hours for street-based work are relatively short, and the charges are also
relatively low, typically ranging from 50 to 100 yuan (USD 8-16) per service and relying
on rapid turnover. Lili, who came to Shanghai from Anhui two years ago, says: “When
the weather’s hot, it’s usually ten to 20 clients per night. Right now it’s typically seven or
eight.”125
Most street-based work is done in the evenings, typically from around 7/8pm until about
midnight. Some sex workers operate later, from 11 pm to 4 am. Several sex workers
usually stand together in the street. One interviewee, Tingting, told us she had a regular
group of seven or eight transgender colleagues that she regularly worked with.126
Street-based services consist mainly of masturbation, oral sex, and penetrative sex.
Many of the sex workers interviewed said they need to prevent the client from realizing
that the sex worker is not a biological woman. Xiao Kai told us: “I usually fake it and
have seldom been discovered. It’s just a matter of gripping with the hands and using
a little more oil.”127Yangyang says the type of service is determined by the price:
“Going all the way [penetrative sex] is very uncommon. I usually give people oral sex or
masturbate them. If they want penetration, it depends on the price. If they’re willing to
pay more, I’ll do it, but if they don’t have enough, I won’t.”128
Some sex workers take clients home or to a hotel, but the price for this is normally
higher than for services on the street. Xiao Hong, from Jiangxi, began dressing as a
woman for sex work this year: “If they want to go to a hotel, the price is high, usually
500 or 600 yuan (USD 82 or USD 98). Sometimes even higher.”129
The Shanghai transgende ȁ