Must-see nightlife in China

Tall windows wrap around a magisterial sweep of wooden bar at this Tai Hang neighbourhood gastropub, the sort of civilised joint where everybody knows…

Consistently voted one of the world's top 50 bars, Quinary is a sleek, moodily lit cocktail bar that attracts a well-dressed crowd. Its gifted mixologists…

If Ernest Hemingway was still alive today, the chances are he’d love this tiny no-sign speakeasy named after his novel The Old Man and the Sea with a neo…

Run by two affable, aproned Chinese bears (who speak excellent English), this gay-friendly hutong hangout pours a host of house creations such as a 24…

Move aside, Merlot, it's mǐjiǔ time! Try something new at this rustic tavern specialising in Chinese wine made from glutinous rice (米酒; mǐjiǔ), a…

Lost in a maze of alleys east of Houhai, this tumbledown courtyard is where Beijing's craft-beer scene first burped into life back in the heady, pre-Xi…

Speak Low is a speakeasy within a speakeasy within a speakeasy. Once you find your way in through the Ocho bar equipment shop, start with a drink on the…

Parisian-style cafe, with round wooden tables, a long marble bar and simple art deco images on white walls, Ars & Delecto is, without a doubt, one of the…

Friendly staff speak excellent English and there is an ever-changing selection of 15 well-kept, local brews on tap. There are also tasty burgers, pizza…

Enter this Xintiandi speakeasy via a wall of rainbow LED lights and an enormous Pac-Man screen at the top of the stairs. Inside it's an intimate, thin…

Quite possibly the best underground club in China, Oil is a compact, sweaty chapel to electronic beats, the darker and more esoteric the better. An…

Partway down a gentrifying hutong is this exquisite coffee roaster and cafe, born here as a pop-up during Beijing's annual Design Week, and now a small…

Ever since this Shanghai export touched down in 2012, Dada has become Beijing's premier venue for esoteric, bass-heavy beats, while remaining…

For a taste of colonial-era Shanghai’s elitist trappings, you’ll do no better than the Long Bar. This was once the members-only Shanghai Club, whose most…

This popular oasis of Francophilia is decked out in hip 'olde worlde' charm with a bar made from stacked suitcases and bistro-like decor, plus windows…

This excellent bar is one of the most pleasant spots in the concession to raise a glass. Ensconced in a converted 1930s villa, the bar's interior has cosy…

First-rate cocktails come with a first-class price tag at this exquisite cocktail bar hidden inside the Duan Qirui Former Government Building compound…

Big Brother might be watching, but he'd be hard-pressed to find you in this hidden nook of a bookshop-cafe off Hunan Rd. There's no sign, just a metal…

Look for the neon-lit guitar at the entrance, leave your itinerary on Zhongyang Dajie and enter the world of Carl Damo, Harbin's hippest conceptual artist…

The new second branch of a long-standing Kunming favourite is far more accessible, and the long wooden bar is fairly inviting as well. You'd have to try…