Editor's Note: Due to the sensitive nature of this story, pseudonyms have been provided for all male sex workers mentioned to protect their identities. At the request of the Beijing Zuoyou Information and Consulting Center (BZICC), an NGO that supports male sex workers and helped Metro Beijing source interviewees, journalist Yin Lu posed as a volunteer with the organization to obtain quotes for the story that revealed the lives of them and the discrimination they face. Yin later contacted the NGO to seek sex workers' consent for the story, which was given. Real names of NGO officials have been used.

Neat, stylish and with chiseled facial features, Xiao Nan hardly stands out among the sea of young male migrant workers who come to Beijing seeking a better future.

The 27-year-old native of Henan Province originally worked at a fancy hotel and restaurant, but soon became a pimp to female prostitutes. Six years ago when he came to Beijing, he became a male sex worker for men - an occupation known as "money boys," or MBs in prostitution circles.

Xiao has been an MB for more than five years. "Business is fine these days. Recently, I have had at least one customer daily," Xiao told Metro Beijing.

Beijing is home to thousands of homosexual or transgender sex workers, based on BZICC estimates.

Most male sex workers are homosexual, although there are exceptions. Xiao is bisexual and his roommate and colleague, Zhang Shuai, is heterosexual. Many come from low-income families from other parts of the country with a high school education at most.

The average price for a sex act is 400 yuan ($64.15), with this price doubling for overnight services. Extra is charged for additional services, such as massages requested by clients, according to Kent Zhu, a 23-year-old project assistant for BZICC.

Money might seem easy, but Zhu insists it isn't. Experienced MBs, such as Xiao, can charge about 100 yuan more than the average going rate. Actually, he earns more than 10,000 yuan in a good month.

"When I was at my busiest, I used to take 70 to 80 calls monthly," said Xiao.

"It was very tiring. For some clients, I had to take erectile dysfunction drugs to improve my performance," he said.

However, during quiet months or when police step up crackdowns, he can barely pay his share of his apartment's 1,500 yuan monthly rent.

Newcomers to the industry face a more brutal situation. And sometimes they go entire weeks without having a client.

During the periodic police anti-prostitution campaigns, streetwalkers will not risk getting caught, and their online advertisements will be taken down and even their websites will be shut down, Zhu noted.

Due to their unstable income, most MBs live in cheap apartments they share with colleagues.

 Catering to all ages and tastes

Most MBs advertise their services online, while some work at clubs, even though at the latter they can only earn about half as much money for their services. Some MBs who are college students or white-collar workers only work part-time.

To work as an MB does not require men to be young or good-looking. "The youngest MB we know is only 16, while the oldest is 68," said Guo Ziyang, 26, founder and director of BZICC.

"Actually, more and more men over 35 are becoming MBs."

Some transgender workers wear makeup and high heels with wigs to cater to the tastes of their clients.

"Any person walking by you could be a sex worker," Guo told Metro Beijing.

"They are ordinary people trying to survive, just like everyone else," said Guo.

Often neglected or even invisible to society, an increasing number of male sex workers in recent years have relocated to the capital to earn a living.

"Many MBs choose Beijing to be their starting point. We have come into contact with at least 2,000 homosexual and transgender sex workers since 2007," said Guo.

Discrimination in HIV/AIDS treatment

Apart from the great workload and pressure from authorities, the MBs are also faced with the high risk of being infected with sexually-transmitted diseases, in particular, HIV/AIDS, since they have multiple sex partners due to the nature of their occupation and in some cases, some clients even call for sexual intercourse without protective measures.

"Some MBs are forced by their clients not to wear condoms," said Guo.

"But generally speaking, the rate of condom usage among MBs is very high."

Xiao and his colleagues are especially wary about the threat of HIV/AIDS, and they try the best to protect themselves by using condoms even for a masturbation or oral sex, and avoiding kissing the clients. 

Guo and his fellow volunteers visit and talk to male sex workers from time to time, distributing free condoms and lubricants.

"As far as we know, the proportion of MBs who are HIV-positive is much lower than that of the wider gay community," Zhu noted.

For those who are infected with the virus, however, receiving effective treatment can be difficult due to the fact that there are only a few HIV designated hospitals, and they have limited resources. 

In addition to that, practices such as deliberately delaying treatment, administering the wrong drugs or overcharging are reported to BZICC.

"In 2011, three male sex workers died from AIDS, due to untimely treatments," Guo said.

Earlier in November, a local NGO advised a man diagnosed as HIV-positive, who suffered from lung cancer, to disguise his medical status after he was turned down for treatment at a hospital in Tianjin.

While the patient in this case was not a sex worker, the North China Region of the China Alliance of People Living with HIV/AIDS confirmed that discrimination in receiving treatment is common.

"We think patients have a 99 percent chance of being rejected by hospitals if they know the patients are HIV carriers," Li Hu, a manager of the alliance told Metro Beijing in a previous report.

Violent police tactics

Besides sexually transmitted diseases and widespread discrimination in medical treatment, another occupational hazard MBs face is violence.

Prostitution in China is illegal, and the attitude of Chinese police toward homosexuals or specifically MBs has long been controversial.

Beijing's periodic prostitution crackdowns in recent years have caused the biggest problems for MBs. Police stings are often set up to make arrests, with violent  treatment often following in police station cells.

Dongdan Park in Dongcheng district and the Mudanyuan neighborhood in Haidian district are known as the popular gay "cruising" spots for hooking up in Beijing.

"Regardless of whether they are sex workers or not, any man can be questioned by the police in those areas. It's humiliating," said Liu Yige, 25, a legal aid worker with Beijing Aizhixing Institute, an NGO providing legal consultation and support to the gay community and MBs.

According to a previous report of the Global Times, in September 2010, Mudanyuan was raided by local police, with several visitors arrested. Beijing police said that the crackdown was a "routine check" ahead of a major holiday rather than taking action against some special group.

Two years ago, Xiao was held by police for one week after being charged with prostitution. At first when Xiao didn't admit to being an MB, he was beaten up by police. Upon his release, he was again arrested due to police entrapment and this time charged with drug possession. Many other MBs have had similar experiences, Zhu said.

"In 2011, more than 60 violent attacks against MBs in Beijing were reported to us. They involved both police brutality and violence from clients. Attacks included robbery, rape and assault and battery, with 30 MBs injured and one killed," Guo said.

The death occurred in September last year when police raided an apartment at a residential compound where more than a dozen MBs and their clients were using crystal methamphetamine. As the group fled police, an MB fell off a building, dying hours later from severe head injuries.

The case is hardly isolated in Beijing. This year there have been at least five incidents allegedly involving police injustice against male sex workers, according to BZICC.

When Metro Beijing confronted police with such allegations, a spokesman said he "could not confirm" whether such violence had occurred.

"Every citizen has the right to personal safety and health, no matter what they do or the legality of their job," Liu noted.

Eradicating discrimination toward male sex workers within the police is critical, he said. 

Living a 'tiring' lifestyle

Xiao's run-ins with the law led him to reflect on his job while in custody, particularly whether it was worth the trouble it brings. After some soul-searching, he resolved to "find a legitimate job and be a good person" after he was released.

"But I wanted to make money, so I took the old shortcut again of being an MB," he explained, noting he planned to "switch jobs" next year.

An intelligent, articulate man, Xiao has considered going into marketing or hotel management.

Using money he earned as an MB, Xiao has already bought two apartments - one in his hometown and one in Hebei Province - and insists he is ready to settle down.

Like most MBs, Xiao keeps his job and sexuality secret from his family and friends. His parents, who still believe he works as a hotel manager in Beijing, have pressured him to marry his long-term girlfriend.

"If I marry her, I will be tormented by my conscious," Xiao said of his girlfriend, who is unaware of his career as an MB and his sexual orientation.

Xiao's situation is complicated by the fact he has broken one of the golden rules of being an MB: falling for a client.

Xiao's feelings for a regular client, a married, white-collar worker whose wife is currently pregnant, changed when he began feeling guilty accepting money for sexual services.

"A man shouldn't just live for himself. He should live for his family. My father has been diagnosed with a brain disease. Last time I saw him, he couldn't speak clearly and tried to gesticulate at me," said Xiao, pausing to reflect on his words.

"My mother told me, 'don't make your father leave this world without a grandchild.'"

Xiao hopes he can find a woman who will openly accept his bisexuality and his past as an MB.

"I want to find such a woman, love her sincerely and talk about everything with her. My current lifestyle is too tiring," Xiao said.