Nightlife in China: Clubs

Going out for a night on the town in China is a unique experience, and it was one of my favorite parts about living in Hangzhou.   A night out on the town usually meant either KTV or clubbing (or sometimes both). Now, I was not one for clubbing back in America, for several reasons.  One, I spent the majority of my formative years as an introvert, so getting dressed up, and being displayed on a dance floor (because clubs in America are basically just places to be seen) seemed like a really bad idea.  Two, I went to college in a really small town, and their idea of 'nightlife' are sketchy bars where you just sit around, listen to loud music, get drunk, and try to make conversation by screaming over the music.  Not that there is anything wrong with the bar scene, but it is a far cry from the nightlife in China.

Clubs in China, or at least Hangzhou, are considerably less pretentious.  They are even less pretentious if you are foreign, as in my experience foreigners tend to garner a lot of positive attention.  We have literally gone to clubs dressed as hipsters, rock stars, members of the Jersey Shore, and unicorns and have never felt awkward or insecure in our reception by management or the other clubbers.  If anything, we were welcomed with open arms.

So I don't have too many pics of clubs in China.  Photodocumenting was never on the top of my to-do list when I went out, but I did capture this night, as it was our hipster night out (we don't normally dress quite like this). 

Your average club in China is going to have a few key characteristics.  There will be a lot of tables, because most of the Chinese clubbers go to sit around, look pretty, and get drunk (kind of like the bar experience in America, but classier). Except unlike bars in my small college town, these places will also have a DJ, not just an iPod plugged into a sound system or a Goo Goo Dolls cover band. They will also have a dance floor, which can range from really small to decent.  However, it is okay if the dance floor is not huge, because like I said, the majority of the Chinese will be at tables, drinking, and kind of swaying the music around their table.  If you are at a foreign club (a club either owned or frequented by foreigners) then there is considerably more action on the dance floor. The majority of clubs in Hangzhou are also also really nice.  I am not talking about a sketchy little hole in the wall here people (for those of you familiar with SUNY Oswego, this is  not Toucans or Club Crystal).  The clubs--many of them, anyway--are really nice! Like, stepping into a music video kinda nice.  Like watching a clubbing scene from a movie kind of nice.

And if I haven't sold you on these clubs yet, here's another thing.  Many of the bars around the clubs have nights like "lady's night" (sorry gents) and ladies drink cocktails from 8 to midnight...FOR FREE.  So you go to a bar, get however drunk or tipsy you want, and then you hit those clubs.  It's like a system invented by geniuses...or college students.

So let  me set the scene a little for you.  You walk into the club (there is no cover charge) you walk up to a service desk where you can check your coat and bag if you wish--for free.  You slip the coat check ID tag around your neck or wrist. You can hear the distant pulse of the music from the other room, and the beat starts to thrum through your entire body.  You then walk into the club proper, where the music pretty much takes up residence inside your body; seriously, it's like the music becomes your heartbeat and  your bone marrow.  You make your way over to the bar, maybe order a drink, and wait until the DJ played a song you know.  As soon as that familiar beat starts playing, you push your way onto the dance floor (depending on the club your were in, it is either empty or packed) and dance until you need to sit down because your feet are killing you and you can't breathe.

A really nice thing about clubbing (and almost everything) in China is that is very safe.  You can go with just you and a friend or just a group of girls and you will be totally fine.  The only club I have ever felt a little threatened in was in a club that was owned, operated, and frequented by foreigners.  Chinese men tend to be wary of women, in a respectful sort of way.  I am not saying they are never inappropriate, but it was rare for one of us to feel threatened by a Chinese man at a club.  It was typically another foreigner who would make us feel uncomfortable, and I think this is largely due to the different cultures and cultural norms represented in these clubs.  People from all over the world come to China to work or study; throw these different cultures into a nightclub, add a little alcohol, and sometimes it got uncomfortable.  Whenever it did, we would leave, and either go to another club (a Chinese owned and operated club) or head to KTV or home. If you are going to visit China (especially in one of the bigger cities on the east coast) and you are having any reservations about it's night life--don't.  I mean, use your head, but don't be over anxious about it.
 

So hipster it hurts. 

Many of the clubs are located in various clubbing districts, so if one club is not playing the music you feel like listening to (or some of the other foreigners are getting handsy in a way you are just not feeling), there are three to five clubs in the immediate vicinity you can walk to and check out.  You can take a taxi to one of the other clubbing areas to check those out as well.  I recommend a taxi for a distance of more than a few blocks; China is safe, especially eastern China and especially if you are foreign, but if it is just you and a couple of girlfriends, why take chances?  Going out to clubs in China was one of my favorite weekend activities; it was a good way to cut loose, relieve some stress though dance, and have a good, safe time.  If you get tired of dancing, you can go sing KTV--they're everywhere.

I live in a small town in New York and I miss Hangzhou's nightlife.