Club entertainment in China
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A
Vics
Vics is not the most sophisticated nightclub. Nevertheless, it has remained a favourite with the young crowd for many years now, which makes it some sort of institution. The tunes are mostly standard R&B and hip-hop, there’s an infamous ladies night on Wednesdays (free drinks for women before midnight), and weekends see it rammed with the footloose and fancy free. If you can’t score here, you should give up trying. Entry is free from Monday to Thursday; located inside the Workers Stadium north gate.
reviewed
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B
Neptune Disco II
Neptune II is a fun club with a mostly Filipino crowd and a rockin' covers band. If everything's closing and you can't bear to stop bopping, this is the place to head for. It really rocks at the Sunday afternoon-tea dance starting at 14:00.
reviewed
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C
Propaganda
Long-serving Wǔdàokǒu nightclub attracting throngs of liúxuéshēng (students), lured by free entry, cheap booze and wildly popular sounds. It's 100m north of Huáqīng Jiāyuán east gate.
reviewed
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D
M2
This is a more exclusive branch of the Jìng’ān nightclub Muse, one of the city's hottest.
reviewed
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E
Drop
Deluxe lounge action, excellent tunes and potent cocktails keep Drop strong on the scene. It’s like walking into Wallpaper* magazine, but the vibe here is unpretentiously inclusive and the crowd reaches a happy fever pitch on big nights. The members-only policy after 10pm Thursday to Saturday is (flexibly) enforced to keep the dance floor capacity at a manageable ‘packed like sardines’ level. Enter from Cochrane St.
reviewed
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F
California Club
Located on the ground floor of the Upstairs at Park 97 complex, this place is rather more sophisticated than most of Shanghai's clubs. The dance floor is tiny, but the surrounding area is stylish. The 2nd floor hosts a different live band each night and is very popular with Hong Kong Chinese, well-heeled Shanghainese and expats, who pack it out on weekends. Get here before midnight, or be prepared to queue. Admission prices vary.
reviewed
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G
Joe Bananas
JB’s, in Wan Chai forever it seems, has dropped its long-standing wet T-shirt/boxers aesthetic and gone for more of a bamboo-bar feel. Unaccompanied females should expect a good sampler of bad pick-up lines; go with friends and have some un-PC fun. There are free drinks for women from 6pm to 3am on Wednesday, and ‘Crazy Hour’ (6pm to 8pm daily) is even more generous than happy hour.
reviewed
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H
New Makati Pub & Disco
It has to be said: you can’t go lower than this sleazy pick-up joint, named after a Manila neighbourhood. Imagine dimly lit booths, Filipino amahs and middle-aged white male booze-hounds, who all just wanna have fun. In fact it is less wretched than this description might make it sound and it’s a friendly, unpretentious place to dance the morning away.
reviewed
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I
World of Suzie Wong
Still jumping most nights of the week, Suzie Wong’s opium-den chic with a 21st-century twist has made it a Beijing nightlife legend. The dance floor, roof terrace and traditional Chinese-style beds you can lounge on attract a really mixed crowd, from models to business types and working girls. The entrance is just by the west gate of Chaoyang Park.
reviewed
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J
D2
This two-storey bar and dance club is where to strut your stuff. Downstairs there’s loud dance music, a dance floor and a bar-lounge area; upstairs there are fashionable booth seats and a terrace overlooking the dance floor. Its sister club DD3 at the Fisherman’s Wharf is also a throbbing, groovy spot to revel and to flirt.
reviewed
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K
Poachers Inn
Probably the most popular bar in Beijing, cavernous Poachers literally heaves on weekends with exuberant throngs and thumping bass. If you want a conversation, take turns with a loud-hailer and if you want a beer, grease yourself down to get to the besieged bar. The dancefloor is a writhing knot of liuxuesheng (foreign students) and partygoers.
reviewed
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L
Homebase
A meet ‘n’ greet for the styled and beautiful early on, this place turns into a bump ‘n’ grind after hours (there’s a cover charge of $100). It’s one of the more popular after-hours venues and one of the few places that is still partying well after dawn in a city that does, in fact, sleep. Great house and breakbeat music and a small dance floor.
reviewed
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M
Mao
Don’t arrive here too early (before midnight) unless you want to stake out your spot on the designer Italian sofas. MAO gets going late, sometimes stays open till dawn and has an outdoor garden going for it – it’s more for fashionable imbibing than dancing, though. It’s one of the more high-end clubs in the city.
reviewed
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N
Insomnia
Come here when you can’t sleep, as it fills up only when other bars are starting to wind down. It’s a people-watching place with a wide, open frontage, and there’s a Filipino band doing covers out the back.
reviewed
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O
1/5
Pronounced ‘one-fifth’, this sophisticated lounge bar and club has a broad bar backed by a two-storey drinks selection from which bar staff concoct some of Hong Kong’s best cocktails. It gets packed on the weekend with a dressy professional crowd, but it’s still a good place to chill.
reviewed
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P
D2
Shanghai’s only gay disco at the time of writeup, D2 occupies a large space at the Cool Docks There’s a cruisey room (a mezzanine that looks down on the dance floor), a lazy room (with beds) and a crazy room (the main dance floor). Thursdays is the open bar night (Y100 for all you can drink).
reviewed
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Běiběi Hànbīng Díshìgāo
Underground entertainment takes on a new meaning at this disco/roller-skating rink that is literally underground. It's in the underground shopping centre opposite the train station; take the stairs down from the southwest corner of Hongjun Jie. Admission includes skate hire, but bring your own earplugs.
reviewed
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Q
Tribeca
No, not NYC but glitzy Hong Kong… It's an über-decked-out club with chatting lounges, a long bar and popular theme nights (eg salsa on Sunday). It's popular with a suave Cantonese crowd, so dress to impress. There's free entry and drinks for women on Thursday night.
reviewed
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R
Fashion Club
This glitzy bar is where partiers dress to impress or be impressed. But pick your night carefully as it can be dead mid-week, but on a good night there’s a great mix of tunes and a fun vibe. The indoor-outdoor combo is perfect, and makes it the best place on the wharf.
reviewed
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S
GT Banana
Banana must be doing something right as it's been around for yonks – maybe it's the caged dancers and fire-eaters. Spicy Lounge upstairs brings more variety to the musical mix with regular appearances from international DJs.
reviewed
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T
Cargo
Young and fashionable Beijingers flock to this place, located in the cluster of clubs just south of the west gate of the Workers Stadium. Big-name DJs from abroad play here on a regular basis and it’s busier during the week than its rivals.
reviewed
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U
Muse
One of the city’s hottest clubs, Muse boasts two floors, with house music downstairs and hip-hop upstairs. Don’t bother looking for a large dance floor; just squeeze into the crowd or jump up on a private table (Y3000 per night).
reviewed
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V
Destination
Běijīng's sole gay club, Destination's coarse concrete finish wins few awards for its looks, but the crowds at weekends don't seem to mind.
reviewed
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W
Sin Lounge
Cool views, slick design and a large dance space are the temptations in this glamorous hotspot. Big-names regularly man the turntables here; colossal floor-to-ceiling windows serve up late-night Shanghai as the dance-floor backdrop.
reviewed
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X
Soho
The bizarre Taoist fairyland meets Alice in Wonderland decor makes for a rather brightly lit nightclub, but no one seems to care. It can get absolutely packed in here with dancers bumpin’ to a mostly hip-hop soundtrack.
reviewed