Entertainment

For a Chinese city of its size, Hangzhou supports a thriving foreign expatriate community, composed mostly of international businesspeople, teachers and students who come from diverse cultural backgrounds, such as the United States, Mexico, Australia, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, South Korea, and Japan, to name just of few of the countries well represented in Hangzhou. Nightlife in Hangzhou is surprisingly multicultural and lively, and you are just as likely to converse with a local Chinese in fluent English as you are to speak broken Chinese with another foreigner with whom this is the only common language.

There are over fifty bars and pubs in town, some open until morning every night of the week, where you can hear live music, ranging from underground Chinese rock to Argentine salsa and English cover songs played by Filipino bands. The most popular with expatriates is currently Kana's bar, operated by a former exchange student from Burundi who is one of the originators of the local bar scene here. He is famous for never forgetting a name and always giving student discounts on most of his already inexpensive drinks. The Reggae Bar, operated by Kevin Chen from Sichuan province, is a popular spot on the weekends for international students from Zhejiang University, because of its close proximity and Rasta music that plays most nights of the week. Kevin's younger brother, Evan, makes free deliveries of fantastic and inexpensive pizzas (USD 3.38) to the dorms and to the China Center, a popular comfort food for students late in the semester. The Jazz Music Pub, just around the corner from Zhejiang University dormitory, is a mellow environment where foreign student bands can be found playing on the weekend. Casablanca, located in an historic building on West Lake, has professional international bands playing every night of the week, as does the Shamrock Irish Pub, which is located in a beautifully renovated three-story house built in 1926 on Hangzhou's historic Qing dynasty walking street, and serves every brew from Guinness to Kilkenny on tap. There are also over forty clubs listed in Hangzhou, and several of these are quite popular with Chinese and foreign expatriates alike, such as Absolute House, L.A. Disco, Channel 9, Baby Face, and Caligula, with mixes ranging from hip-hop, house and trance, to jungle and drum and bass. The music changes often and there is an excellent sound system and international DJs are not uncommon.

For the athletic, Hangzhou also offers excellent nearby hiking trails, aquatic sports like rowing and windsurfing, golf, and some great gyms that are fully equipped with the latest machines and offer exercise classes like step and yoga. There are even several places in town for bowling and billiards. Chinese therapeutic massage is available at a variety of venues throughout the city (ranging in price from USD 2.41 to 7.25 per hour). Students can explore the leisure and nightlife of Hangzhou with the assistance of two free monthly English language magazines, edited by and designed for native English speakers. More Hangzhou Entertainment Guide and In Touch Zhejiang both provide readers with a large range of local listings, classifieds, events and feature articles of interest to our students living in Hangzhou.

There are also several movie theaters in town that show both Chinese and new Hollywood releases. While art-house theaters are few and far between, all sorts of movies can be purchased on VCD and DVD in the local markets for less than it costs to rent one in the U.S. In the last few years, the selection of such movies available in China has increased dramatically, ranging from the most recent mainstream studio films, as well as the classics and silent films, to a variety of independent films from foreign directors around the world.

For online entertainment listings, please see the following websites:

Hangzhou

In Touch Zhejiang: Nightlife section

China Britain Business Council

More Hangzhou Entertainment Guide

Print editions of both In Touch Zhejiang and More Hangzhou Entertainment Guide are freely available at the Reggae Bar (95 Shuguang Road) near the campus and several other locations throughout the city at the beginning of each month.

Live House, a BLOG for the underground music scene in Hangzhou (in Chinese only).

Shanghai

City Weekend Shanghai

That's Shanghai and Asia Expat

Shanghai Expat

Shanghai Guide

Xianzai Shanghai

The Glamour Bar

Shanghai Streets, a BLOG for the underground music scene in Shanghai (in English)

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