Curated, Opinionated Shanghai Living

News, updates, everything we've got...
- Xintiandi Trying Out A New Night Market This Weekend
  
  Seems like we've got some more “guided” local nightlife developments taking shape! Starting today at 8pm, the 500-meter stretch from Huangpi Nan Lu to Ji’an Lu in Xintiandi will be turned into a pedestrian-only night market, with live performances and an outdoor movie screening at 7pm. On Saturday and Sunday, the market starts at 4pm and goes until midnight. This weekend is a first-time trial: after this weekend, it'll run between Shunchang Lu and Ji’an Lu. It's all arranged and supported by the officials of Huangpu District, hoping to develop that lucrative “nighttime economy." Wonder if the Nightlife CEO is involved. I guess night markets are okay again!
- Need A Bar? Brazilian Spot Barraco Is For Sale
  
  Here's a gem from our super duper awesome housing section: colorful Fuxing Lu Brazilian bar Barraco is up for sale. Specifically, they're open to someone willing to take over the lease. Two floors, all the modcons, spacious favela-chic interior, pre-installed swings, walking distance to Sinan Mansions and Fuxing Park. Well-maintained, feels like new, shows pride of ownership. Asking price is 55,000rmb a month. Also, I guess get your last caipirinhas in before they close a deal. We hear it might be as soon as this weekend.
- Is Cendol's Malaysian Cendol Better Than Ice Cream?
  
  Hot out there, isn't it. Just a lethargic slog from one oasis of cool to another. Here's a new one: a brightly colored dessert spot on Ruijin Er Lu, opened by a RAC chef and his wife. It's selling Malaysia's single best answer to beating the heat: cendol. It's also called Cendol. Benefits of being among the first to market, I guess, you can just call yourself the thing you sell. Devious! Is it better than ice cream? It's a complex––yes, yes it is. Read on
  
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- This Bookstore Just Opened 52 Floors Off The Ground and There’s a Queue to Get In
  
  Literature has gone to new heights in Shanghai, with the opening of the city’s highest bookstore on Tuesday. Fifty-two floors up, the Duoyun bookstore is in Shanghai Tower and was designed by Yuting, an architect known for designing “the most beautiful bookstore in Suzhou”, Zhongshuge. I queued for an hour and a half the other night to take a peek. Read on
- Huun-Huur-Tu Bring Steppe Music Back To Shanghai This Friday
  
  How many notes can you hold? Maybe a half? Huun-Huur-Tu's Kaigal-ool Khovalyg can simultaneously hold up to three. It's that characteristic flute-like undertone-overtone sound that evokes steppes, horses, crushing your enemies and seeing them driven before you. Also called khoomei. The folk music and throat-singing collective from Tuva, a Russian republic on the Mongolian border, is legendary among throat-singing enthusiasts who, we don't need to tell you, know their throat-singing from their nose-whistling. Founded in 1992 by Kaigal-ool Khovalyg, Albert Kuvezin and brothers Sasha and Savan Bapa, the group's name translates to the rays of light that one can see out on the grasslands just after sunrise or just before sunset. That's both spiritually uplifting and awesome. They combine traditional instruments with 20th century genres such as electronica to produce a really unique sound. Here's what it sounds like (VPN on). Their 2019 China Tour brings them back to Shanghai on Friday, August 16 at Modernsky Lab. Tickets going for 280rmb over on SmartTicket.
- Bento Boxing: Ifuku Opens Ninja-Themed Lunch Spot
  
  The chef behind izakayas Ifuku and Ifuku Isaribi expands his support network for harried businesspeople with a Japanese set lunch spot called DoDonpa. Open for just over a week, it lurks on the ground-floor of One Museum Place, the mall behind the Natural History Museum. It's ninja-themed, named after obscure anime trivia, and based on an incomprehensible pun, but we went to see if the bento was any good. Read on
- Morton's Mini Steak Sandwiches Are 8rmb Each On Tuesday
  
  Big news about small sandwiches. Morton's in Pudong is celebrating something called "Filet Day" — a dubious but Google-able "holiday" — on Tuesday and selling their petite filet mignon sandwiches for 8rmb a piece. It happens in the bar from 5-10pm, and there's a 10% service charge, but otherwise you can order up to 12 sandwiches per person. It's no happy hour free-for-all but it is an excellent deal from a place where a lunchtime burger and a drink will set you back 300rmb. Here's the event listing. Have at it.
- Misery By Moonlight: Shanghai Wild Animal Park Starts Late Night Tours
  
  Exhibits of nocturnal animals are the worst. Foxes, red pandas, tigers, bears, lounging around, often not even sleeping where we can watch them, transfixed, our heavy breathing misting the glass. Welcome news, then! Shanghai Wild Animal Park, whose official slogan should be "At Least We're Not Shanghai Zoo And We Don't Feed Live Animals to the Tigers Anymore," has started evening hours! As of today, Thursday, there's a late-night entry going from 4 to 9pm. The park will be dimming the lights to simulate moonlight, allowing visitors to get a glimpse of the lions, tigers, bears and raccoons during their more active nocturnal cycles. Tickets are 60rmb.
- Original Beer Lady Closes, Moving West To Bigger Fridges
  
  Sad news! The much-beloved Beer Lady on Fahuazhen Lu, the original, the one that launched an empire (you're welcome), has closed. The neighborhood will miss that fluorescent beacon of hope. Their lease was due, and frankly, the Lady of Beer had outgrown its shell. She's getting ready for another bout of expansions, with a sixth (!!) Beer Lady opening in Songjiang this coming September, a massive 4,000-square-meter storefront with more alcohol, a full kitchen, a guesthouse and everything. Way to go, beer auntie. If you're curious, here's the article we wrote about her back in 2015 that sort of kicked things off.
  
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- Is This Going To Be 2020's Hot New Lounge?
  
  The Muse Group, which owns the super-popular lounge The Nest and restaurant Cannery is opening a new lounge / restaurant thing in Jing'an late this year. This time it's in collaboration with KOR Taipei, a fancy lounge in that city. It's going to be called KOR Shanghai and will open in Wheelock Square, across from Jing'an Temple in the old DOZO space, in late 2019. Super-chef Andre Chiang has done the bar snacks. Here's what the PR people have to say about it! Read on
- S.Engine's Baijiu Coffee Sucks, But Not Because of the Maotai
  
  S.Engine on Maoming Nan Lu is now doing a collaboration with TMall and selling Maotai coffee. Baijiu + coffee. Of course we went to go try it. It was bad. But the baijiu wasn't the problem. Read on
- The Buy One Get One Bottled Beer Shop: Beer Plus Final Blowout
  
  One-time chain Beer Plus is closing their bottle shop in People's Square. The one that served snake. Which would be just the usual news, except they are going to be blowing out their inventory for one week only. From August 7-13, all bottled beer in the store, even the expensive stuff, is going to be buy-one-get-one, so if you're looking for an excuse for a session, there you have it. Once that shop is drunk dry and bicycle-locked, Beer Plus will be down to this single store in Gubei. And then there was one...
- Vroom Vroom: Shanghai Is Hosting The Motocross Grand Prix 2019 Finals In September
  
  Motocrosssssss. The world's biggest, bestest off-road, closed-track motorcycle competition is having its final races out in Shanghai. The annual grand prix, starting in Argentina this year, sees 20 stations and 1,862 races, 41 teams from 40 countries and 241 riders going head-to-head on a dirt track. The final races in MXGP (450cc) and MX2 (250cc) are taking places on Shanghai's 336 acre Motocross Circuit in Fengxian (which is still technically Shanghai) on September 14-15. They're surrounding the whole track with the usual race-day accoutrements: music stages, food, exhibitions, demonstrations and tons and tons of branded merch stands. Enough Monster energy drink to fill West Lake! Tickets to Shanghai MXGP 2019 just went on sale over on SmartTicket. Prices start at 680rmb. Read on
  
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- Design Jobs on CreativeHunt: Put That Art Degree To Good Use
  
  Designers! We know you're out there. We've spoken. We were pounding Fireball shots at 8pm, commiserating over how much it sucks to work underpaid freelance gigs for your portfolio. And it sucks. Here, we've got a couple of actual full-time design jobs over on CreativeHunt, all based right here in Shanghai. Here's one: Junior Product Designer for boutique agency Centdegrés. How about Senior Interior Design at Des:glory Design? For something a little more entry level, there's an opening for a Creative Designer at 2G Design Agency. For something way more niche and specialized, how about Senior Retail Space Designer at BYB Vision? That sounds exciting! Check out more design jobs on CreativeHunt.
- Mimes, Tap-Dancing, Tragedy, Dance: Tickets Available for Shanghai Grand Theatre’s International Season
  
  Autumn at the Shanghai Grand Theatre is going to be pretty busy. Their International Theatre Season starts early September and finishes in December, rounding off the end of the year with everything from mime to Greek tragedies. SmartTicket is currently selling tickets for seven of their shows, the first of which is Andre and Dorine on September 4 - a hilarious but heart-breaking mime performance about an elderly couple and their son. Superhuman Leo tests his new skills through mime on September 12, Gabriela Muñoz’s mime show about a wedding Perhaps, Perhaps starts on October 5, and Polish avant-garde band Karbido create a musical composition using a table on October 24. Tickets are also available for French theatre group Cie La Navie’s take on Greek tragedy Antigone on October 30, British tap-dancing group Old Kent Road perform OSCiLLATE on November 6, and contemporary dance piece Tiger & Tiger Tale starts on November 20. All shows have multiple performances.
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A Tribute to Joao Gilberto

JZ gathers some of its headline musicians to put on a tribute to Brazilian legend Joao Gilberto, with vocals by Jasmine Chen. 80rmb pre-sale or 100rmb on the door.

Nightlife | JZ Club (Found 158)

El Son Sono

Founded in Montreal, El Son Sonó is a Latin music group composed of brother and sister Tito on guitar and vocalist Elodie. The pair have been exposed to original Latin m...

Nightlife | Yuyintang Park

90's Alternative Rock Night

The Pearl's musical tribute to the music of angsty teenagers. One night of alternative rock and grunge music, played by the house band the Red Stars, with your favorites ...

Nightlife | The Pearl
Tuesday Tunesday: Summer Sounds Edi...

Creative community, Elevate, occupy TY7 for the last Summer Sounds edition of their bi-weekly social night. Meet some artsy people, have a drink and chat, and listen to s...

Community, Nightlife | TY7

Edward Scissorhands

In a castle high on top of a hill lives an inventor's greatest creation - Edward, a near-complete person. The creator died before he could finish Edward's hands; instead,...

Community | The Pearl

Viva La Vida

DJ Tuto takes the decks with Salsa, Bachata and Latin House for Bar Rouge's Latin night. 100rmb cover including a drink.

Nightlife | Bar Rouge
Billy Drummond & Stefan Karlsson Qu...

Drummer Billy Drummond leads his quartet through a night of jazz, including Li Xiaochuan on trumpet and Stefan Karlsson on piano. 180rmb pre-sale, or 220rmb at the door.

Nightlife | JZ Club (Found 158)

The Get Down

Hip Hop rhythms on the dancefloor every Wednesday with The Get Down. 100rmb with a drink.

Nightlife | Bar Rouge

Come Correct

The Come Correct Crew hosts the OG weekly hip hop and urban music night every Wednesday. Come Correct has been running since 2011 and has been a platform for many of the ...

Nightlife | Dada
Fantasies and Reflections – Lenka...

Belrgrade-born harpist Lenka Petrović is the first prize winner of the prestigious 20th International Harp Contest in Israel in 2018 and is the first Serbian to win the ...

Arts | Grand Theatre

Bingo Night Fever

It's bingo night down at Mr & Mrs Bund, with prizes from all over the place, including GOPRO HERO 7, wines, and NIU SCOOTER and DIOR SUNGLASSES. Bingo board offered to an...

Dining, Nightlife | Mr & Mrs Bund

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages…. venturing through 70s, 80s, 90s up to the present hits. The Pearl’s Red Stars rock the audience with hits from ABBA to Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson to Que...

Nightlife | The Pearl
Zimmer

Baptiste Pierre Corentin aka Zimmer is a French producer whose dreamy house music sounds like it was made on a tropical island by a man dressed in full tikki sipping a Pi...

Nightlife | Arkham

Elevator Reincarnated

Celebrating new life, new space, new dances, old friends and getting messy on the new floor. Having spent previous lives as a goat, a mailbox, a tuna sandwich and an igua...

Nightlife | Elevator

DJ Tensnake

German-born DJ / Producer Tensnake lands at Bar Rouge for a night of contagious and highly precise modern disco music. Tensnake grew up listening to disco, soul, boogie, ...

Nightlife | Bar Rouge

ALL EVENTS

GALLERIES

- August 4, 2019
  
  You know where the after party at
  
  @ 83BANDS Club
- July 25, 2019
  
  Girls Night Out
  
  @ Bar Rouge
- July 23, 2019
  
  Medusa: Pride Is
  
  @ Elevator
- July 20, 2019
  
  Dj Tujamo
  
  @ Bar Rouge
- July 13, 2019
  
  DJ Gregor Salto
  
  @ Bar Rouge
- May 30, 2019
  
  SCIS Events
  
  @ Shanghai Community International School (SCIS) Hongqiao Campus
- May 30, 2019
  
  SCIS Campus
  
  @ Shanghai Community International School (SCIS) Hongqiao Campus
- May 28, 2019
  
  BISS
  
  @ British International School Shanghai (Puxi)
- March 22, 2019
  
  WISS DP Art Exhibition
  
  @ Western International School of Shanghai
- November 23, 2018
  
  Wellington Winter Christmas Bazaar
  
  @ Wellington College International Shanghai

[Essential Guide]: Sports

From ping pong to Chinese football and international tennis, it's everything you need to know about watching professional sports in Shanghai.

By SmSh

Apr 5, 2019

Sports & Recreation
MORE ESSENTIALS
[The List]: Gay Bars In Shanghai

Here's what's out there for gay bars in Shanghai. Cocktails and cruise control in the city's small but resilient gay nightlife scene.

By Andrew Cruz

Jul 26, 2016

LGBTQ
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[On The Radar]: BOR Eatery, Chili's

Dueling cuisines out there in the city: chef-driven Danish mini-hotdogs (and more) versus company-mandated baby back ribs (and more).

ALL RADAR

SMARTREVIEWS

19 Aug 2019

Stylish all-day dining for committed omnivores

suzyd_ on Husk

Husk is always busy. I’ve now been for dinner there and, although I enjoyed the meal, I still can’t fully fathom why it’s so popular. The positives: it’s fairly well-located on a small street just off West Nanjing. The interiors are stylish. There’s a ground-fl... Read more
15 Aug 2019

Just solid, standard Tex-Mex

Wisefish99 on Pistolera (Jing'An)

Have you ever had Tex-Mex food before in the United States? The standard combos of ...savory/spicy chicken/pork/beef meat + cheese + peppers + onions + beans + rice in a tortilla/burrito/over a salad? Good, then you know exactly what Pistolera is. Will surprise absolutely no on... Read more
14 Aug 2019

Lunch time stroll in the park

globaltraveller on Ginger

I have been a frequent diner at Ginger over the years, the restaurant is not too far to walk for a late lunch to escape both the monotony of work, and of course the searing heat for a while, and to catch up on the current book I am reading without interruptions. Arriving after the main rush a... Read more