Looking at the city's nightlife today, you would never know the party had slowed down. The array of bars, discos and dance clubs would have boggled the minds of residents in the roaring 20s.
Like anything else in this mercurial city, things change, and yesterday's hot spot may wind up today's dead zone, or even tomorrow's parking lot.
In selecting our top 10 clubs and watering holes, we enlisted the aid of locals and expatriates in the know, and separated our choices by neighbourhood.
We have tried to be fair, choosing places that best cater to the varied tastes of our readers. Still, if you find one of our pub picks is not quite to your taste (whether it is too noisy or not noisy enough, too crowded or not crowded enough), chances are you will get a distinctly different vibe in another neighbourhood. So good luck, and happy clubbing!
Heng Shan Road - Shanghai's long street of bars
Heng Shan Road is probably Shanghai's longest bar street, stretching about half a kilometre with wall-to-wall drinking, dancing and dining establishments. Well known and easy to find, the area has an underground rail station, and any taxi driver will take you there when you say these six Mandarin words: 'heng shan lu jiu ba' .
One of the most happening spots on this strip with expats and locals alike is Bourbon Street (191 Heng Shan Road 64678232) . You know it is a good club when you see the security guards wearing earplugs.
Bourbon Street is huge, with three floors and a (somewhat) quieter sidewalk cafe area. The first floor is taken up by a long bar, reputed to be the longest in Shanghai, and a massive dance floor which is generally packed.
The second floor has tables, and is similarly packed (on a good night, the overflow from the dance floor makes its way up here), while the third floor has a smaller bar and an open section where the more voyeuristically inclined can check out the band and the gyrating bodies below. There is also an excellent pool table.
Drinks are strong and happy hour, in an appropriate reversal of the normal workday schedule, runs from 5pm to 9pm.
Bourbon Street has a live band every night, so if you are looking for a quiet place to chat, come early or look elsewhere.
Another hot spot on this strip is Narcicus (4 Heng Shan Road) . Catering for more of a local crowd, Narcicus gets packed with serious dance floor action, especially on weekends, and the music has more of a disco inferno, 'party people, the roof is on fire!' feel. The crowd looks on the young side, drawn perhaps as much by the music as the mini Budweiser kegs on sale for 200 yuan. (If you went to an American university, that will surely bring back memories.)
For a quieter, old world pub feel, stroll north to Dong Ping Road, a smaller lane where you will find The Blarney Stone Irish Pub (5A Dong Ping Road, 6415 7496) . Here, you can drink pints of Guinness and Kilkenny while watching football on a big-screen TV, just like in Dublin. This pub also features live Irish music on most nights and has a pool table upstairs.
The pub caters more for the expat crowd, and if it is old-fashioned pub grub you are after, The Blarney Stone wins hands down.
Maoming Road spots, from red hot to nicely chilled
Maoming Road was once the darling spot of the Shanghai drink and decadence scene, offering a wide variety of clubs and pubs catering for varied tastes and wallet sizes.
Alas, in the past few months, the strip has been under some well-publicised pressure, with police crackdowns on loud music, noise and general sin putting a heavy damper on the area's late-night scene.
According to locals, within two years the street will go the way of Beijing's Sanlitun South Bar Street - another wild bar street razed and gentrified in the name of profitable progress (not to mention public morality). Still, the street is hopping most nights, though don't be surprised if the fun shuts down at 2am. Getting here is easily accomplished by uttering to any taxi driver the magic words: 'mao ming nan lu jiu ba jie' .
One bar on Maoming Road well worth a visit for fans of live music is the House of Blues & Jazz (158 South Maoming Road) , which, as the name implies, is a great place to hear live blues and jazz.
Unlike many of Maoming Road's watering holes, the decor at the Ho'B&J is more of an old English pub style, with most of the tables set facing the stage, where a great house band and occasional guests play seven nights a week.
Popular with the expat crowd and music lovers of all stripes, Ho'B&J is about the closest thing on this strip that you will find to a place where Jake and Elwood might feel at home.
Then again, Jake was a man with a serious appetite not just for blues but also for booze, so in between sets he might well have been found down the street at The Cat Club (Yongjia road, No33, at the end of Maoming South Road) . This is the place for serious drinking, until your liver cries 'enough!', as the Cat Club not only has friendly waitresses, a good pool table and football, it also has an 'all you can drink' happy hour special at 100 yuan from 7pm to 10pm, seven nights a week. Jake wouldn't have played here, but he'd probably have come here to get tanked up between sets.
One of the most popular chill spots in the area for the beautiful crowd is The Face. (Building 4, Ruijin Guest House Gardens, 118 Ruijin Er Lu 646 64328) .
Located in an elegant old country house complete with a huge lawn, this is where the expat crowd comes to sip gin and tonic on the armchairs of the wooden verandah, just like in colonial days.
Music tends towards techno, which you might think would seem out of place given the Southeast Asian and Indian decor, but what is Shanghai chic if not a melange? Being a popular spot with the well-heeled expat crowd, The Face charges high prices for its cocktails, but on the plus side they are pretty strong, and a daily happy hour from 5pm to 8pm will keep your drinking budget down a tolerable bite from your account.
Other not-to-be-missed spots around town
Next to Fuxing road and practically inside Fuxin Park is Park 97/California Club (2 Gaolan Road, 5383 2328) , an ultra trendy dance club where Shanghai's hip elite meet to get sweaty and check each other out.
This nightclub has two floors and two separate dance floors, and on the weekends the crowds are so thick that you don't walk so much as swim through the sea of Shanghai's beautiful people just to get to the bar.
On the plus side, merely stepping outside past the velvet rope lands you in Fuxing Park, offering an oasis of serenity in which to catch a breather between fits of dancing. Drinks here are pricey, but this (and the 50 yuan admission price) is a small price to pay to see and be seen by Shanghai's trendy elite.
Another excellent club in the neighbourhood, albeit one catering to a crowd a bit past adolescence, is the swinging Cotton Club (No. 8 Fu Xing Road West) . Unlike the trendy techno scene offered at Park 97, this is more of an 'in' place to go for live music in a smoky, understated atmosphere.
The house band at Cotton Club serves up a tasty mix of blues and jazz from 9.30pm to 12.30am, Tuesday through Sunday.
Leading the band is a small, unassuming Chinese woman whose stature belies her Ella Fitzgerald-like vocal skills. It certainly is something to see (and hear) while sipping a single-malt whisky or a couple of Bloody Marys.
The Cotton Club is located in the old French concession, which is one of the more laid-back areas of town for a late-night post swing wander.
Another hot spot for Shanghai clubbing is La Belle (2F, 333 Tong Ren Lu, off Beijing Xi Lu in the Jing'an District) .
Located on the second floor of the circa 1938 Green House, La Belle bills itself as Shanghai's first Parisian Club and lounge.
With a regular lineup of three DJs, La Belle is usually packed with trendsetters looking for a serious clubbing experience.
It is also high on the list for visiting DJs from abroad looking to make their mark on the Shanghai club scene, so if you show up on the right night, chances are you will be treated to not just local but international talent as well.
If keeping your cocktail glass full is important to you, make sure your wallet is equally full, as drinks at this well-known hipster spot are on the steep side.
Finally, no top 10 bar listing would be complete without a mention of Shanghai's best gay bar, which, according to those in the know, is in the Jing'an district's Vogue in Kevin's (House No. 4, Lane 946 Chang Le Lu, by Wulumqi Bei Lu, 6248-8985) . This is still 'conservative' China, and the club may be a bit hard to find because it is located in a dark alley off the main road. While it is fairly hidden (probably by design), Vogue is a popular and long-running venue, complete with inviting and English-speaking staff.
The crowd at Vogue tends to be youngish, with a good mix of locals, expats and visitors. Vogue gets crowded on weekends, so this is probably the best time to meet up with that special someone. It's a beautiful thing.
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