Last week I introduced you to some really good places for a night out in Chengdu. But aside from American-style parties, western clubs and rooftop bars, in Chengdu you can also experience some crazy Chinese clubs, chilled pubs and amazing riverside bars.
Ā
Lan Kwai Fong (å °ę”å)
Lan Kwai Fong Chengdu, named after the infamous party street in Hong Kong, is a purpose-built entertainment complex in the heart of the Waitan area on the riverbank. Itās the place where you can find a Latino-American bar like Rumba bar alonside a Chinese club next door. It offers some restaurants, cafes and shops, but even more clubs and bars for the keen party goersĀ ! Lan Kwai Fong attracts an international crowd with its numerous establishments. Every club has differents things and atmospheres to offerĀ : MIU bar for free alcohol, Venus for itās crazy atmosphere and its original dancefloor.
Jiu Yan Qiao (ä¹ē¼ę”„)
Close to Sichuan University campus, there are various bars and clubs in this area. The surrounding street BBQ places, known as Shaokao, are always good for a midnight snack after long night out.
- ONLYĀ : If you ever wanted to experience a Chinese club, then Only is the place to be. If you go you might be the only foreigners on the dancefloor, but the Chinese will be very welcoming, perhaps a little too muchĀ !
- Underground barĀ : A British bar located in the heart of Chengdu where you can find over 50 different beers and tasty homemade food. Nice place to chill with your friends after a long workday.
- MUSEĀ : You can find a Muse in almost every major city in China and the concept is always the same: stylish interior, pumping sounds and the occasional dance show on the stage. Good for a fun evening and a couple of whiskeys mixed with green tea.
Riverside Bars
The Riverside in Chengdu offers quite a few bars to hang out at different locations. There are bars along the river near Jiuyanqiao and west of Ren Min Nan Lu. One of the best ones is probably the reggae themed āJahbarā. There are regular free jam sessions and cheap Tsingdao beer in a nice setting. What more can you ask forĀ ?!
Ā Yu lin (ēę)
- Machu picchu (马äøęÆäø): A small and chilled bar hidden in a side street off Yu Lin Nan Lu (ēęåč·Æ) with live music on the weekends. You can go there during the week and pleay video games on a gigantic screen while drinking beersĀ !
- New little barĀ : The original Little Bar served for years as the capital of Chengduās burgeoning rock music scene but after years of building their audience, the original location wasnāt big enough to house the events that were taking place there. New Little Bar has now a capacity of about 80 patrons and features a stage and sound system thatās a dramatic upgrade from their previous offering.
I hope I could give you an insight into Chengdu’s nightlife. If you also would like to do an internship here, check out our page.
See you soon for another blog!
Party Guide #1
Chengdu is a young, vibrant and dynamic city where you can experience the fast growing economy while being deeply imbeded in the Chinese culture, this city can offer the best of both worlds. Apart from that, there is also a really diverse nightlife that caters for all different tastes of music, beer and atmosphere.
Being here for more than 2 months now, has allowed me to discover more about the different clubs and bars in this crazy city. So I decided to make a list of the best places by areas.
Kehuabeilu ļ¼ē§ååč·Æļ¼
A must go place when living in Chengdu as an expat is the Poly Center ( äæå©äøåæ) On the daylight, this huge complex comprises commercial and residential buildings. But when the moon shows up, Poly Center is becoming Chengduās top nightlife destination, gathering more than 12 clubs and bars up to the top floorsĀ !
- Tag bar & Here we goĀ : 2 clubs located on the 21st floor, allow to a great view on the city while listening to electronic musicĀ with Chengduās best DJs, coming from all around the world.
- HelensĀ : a proper definition for Helens would be Ā«Ā perfect place for predrinksĀ Ā», with free drinks from 9 to 10 and really cheap amercian style food. Helens also have an other venue in Dong Men Jiao, which offers the view on the river side.
WangFuJing Rooftop :Ā One of the best places Iāve been since Iām here. In the summer the most amazing rooftop parties take place here. Hard place to find as you have to go through a deserted shopping mall by night, (quite scary at some point) but as soon as you get there, electro music, garden, deckchairs and cocktails are awaiting!
Tong Zi Lin (ę”ę¢ę)
Tong Zi Lin is the place where most foreigners live in Chengdu, hence has a bit more westernized bar and club scene.
- Jellyfish: Very popular with foreigners (males) and Chinese (girls) alike, this is the place to work on your international relations. Often the place you go when all the clubs around are closing when the sun risesĀ !
- Beernest: A bit more expensive than Helens, the Beernest offers a wide range of beers and crazy good burgers and fries. Nice place for predrinks and to chill by playing pool. Interesting place to go during one of their monthly networking event.
- Tongzilin swimming pool: interesting as you may have noticed, it is not even a club or a bar. But every Sunday after a long partying weekend, it becomes the place to be for every expat, creating a āspringbreakā atmosphere.
- Shamrock: This sports bar is popular which shows a lot live matches (rugby, AFL, NFL, etc.) and is also the home base of the local Western-Chinese rugby team. Ladies night on Fridays
Flower Town (äøå£ä¹”)
- Dojo: If you come to Chengdu for the first time, the first word you may hear when you ask for party is this definitely Dojo. This is the venue for the infamous Flower Town House-Parties. Dojo is an American style party that takes place every two months.The music on the three floors ranges from Hip Hop to Funk and Minimal to Dub Step Chengduās top DJs like Luna or Marco. Additionally, there is lot of other entertainment, like Beer Pong, fire shows, live visuals and a bouncy castle. The bar offers all sorts of drinks and snacks like homemade pizza and baijiu watermelon. It is really hard to get there, but then itās definitley worth itĀ !
āØMorning Bar(ę©äø儽): The Flower Town branch of the Morning Bar has a mix of open air and indoor areas to chill out. There are some live performances and even occasionally small music festival here.
To be continued…