This paper examines how commercial sex transactions in post-reform China serve as a site for the performance and reconstruction of hegemonic masculinity among male clients. Drawing on ethnographic reflections and textual analysis of client narratives, the study reveals that purchasing sex functions as a compensatory mechanism for men facing crises of masculine identity due to rapid socioeconomic transformations. Three key findings emerge: (1) Clients intend to reclaim patriarchal dominance that increasingly challenged in contemporary gender relations by seeking ideally feminine sex workers and unequal relations of power; (2) Elite class clients articulate sex work as a means to reinforce class-coded ideals of hegemonic masculinity, where premium sexual consumption becomes a homosocial ritual of class distinction; (3) The reconstructed hegemonic masculinity proves inherently temporary, requiring repeated patronage as clients return to social environments that systematically undermine their gender identities. The study contributes to Chinese masculinity studies by demonstrating how China’s economic reforms and cultural context have fragmented traditional masculinities along social class, generating sex work as compensatory practices. Unlike Western contexts where race and sexuality dominate intersectional analyses, this research highlights class as the primary mediator of masculine performance among male clients. The findings complicate both liberal narratives of sexual empowerment and feminist discourses of victimization in sex work, revealing instead how male clients’ pursuit of hegemonic masculinity through commercial sex exposes profound insecurities about their declining gender status. Ultimately, the paper calls for intersectional feminist approaches that address the harms of rigid gender ideologies across all gender groups in China’s evolving society.