Clubbing in China

At 4:30, we met back in the lobby to go to dinner. As we drove along, we couldn’t help but realize we were driving out of town. Eventually, we turned on a dirt road and parked in a gravel paved parking lot with a really sketchy looking building off in the distance.

“It looks like a nuclear waste facility,” I said.

“No,” Emma said. “Is a beer factory. That is where we have dinner.”

We walked across the parking lot to a tent outside the “beer factory.” Loud music was playing and when we pulled back the side of the tent we realize…it was a club sponsored by the beer factory.

I read a lot about how traditional clubbing culture in China differs from Europe and America. In Europe and America, the primary set up of a club involves a bar, a lounge area to sit, and the main attraction is the dance floor. Generally the dress code is fairly formal—pants and a button up for guys, cocktail dresses for girls—and the dancing is certainly the primary focus of the evening.

Chinese club culture is a bit different. Generally the dance code is incredibly formal—suits for guys and skirts and jackets for girls—although you can get in wearing anything. The room is set up with tables, with a small stage in one corner to serve as the dance floor. The primary event of clubbing is actually eating in China, with the stage being used sporadically for groups to go up and dance or sing.

Clubbing in China is certainly a more formal event, but that’s not to say it is any less of a party! The bass was so loud you could felt like you were physically shaking. I have never been experienced that kind of vibration before. The treble was also a little bit off and the music sounded a bit pitchy.

When we very first walked in, a man with a camera grabbed my shoulder and asked if he could take a picture with me. I smiled and nodded and we posed for a selfie. He then asked if I would take one with his friends. I agreed and he pulled me over to a table where one of his friends pulled out a chair for me.

“Where you are from?” one of them asked me.

“America,” I said. He looked confused so I said it in Chinese. “Meiguo.”

They all understood. One guy pointed to the USA World Cup jersey he was wearing and came over so that I could touch it. Soon they started putting food on a plate in front of me and brought me a mug of beer. I started wondering if we were actually taking a photo or if I had been kidnapped.

Eventually the camera guy came back and snapped the photo. I thanked them and stood up to go find my group.

There was a lot of food on the table. I can’t even remember all of the things we ate tonight. Some of it was great, and some of it was not. There were these chips that tasted like movie theater popcorn butter. There were some slimey noodles made from rice that had a really spicy seasoning on them. Roasted peanuts were served as one entrée (and you have no idea what hand-eye coordination means until you’ve eaten peanuts with chopsticks.) The best dish however was a white fish. Even though it had a zillion bones in each bite, the flavor was amazing! I don’t know what it was, but it definitely ranks in the top 10 of foods I’ve eaten in China.

And I have to admit. The beer was not that bad. In fairness, it was super lite and could probably pass as soda in some parts of the world. I drank a glass of it (the first beer I’ve ever finished) but then switched to Coke which was way more refreshing.

Clubbing in China is also an activity for all ages. Two women who were probably who were probably in their 50’s or so started dancing in one of the aisles. A small crowd started forming with people cheering them on. Alex went over to join them, and being a foreigner, he created quite a scene.



But the entire time we were there, we were creating a scene. Even while we were eating a small mob formed around our table. I would be mid-bite when someone would grab my head and turn it to I was facing their camera to take a selfie. Everyone wanted to “cheer’s” their beers with us and Alex was challenged to more than one chugging contest.

People also went up on the dance floor to dance and sing. One woman had a very high falsetto, but her control over her range sounded like a Chinese version of Kristen Chenoweth (the Broadway actress from Wicked.)  Other people were more or less talented, but the dancing was what was really entertaining to watch.

“Do you know what kind of riot we would create if we all went up there?” I said.

“Oh we have to do it!” British Charlotte said.

“Your idea,” Ericka said. “You lead.”

So…I did. Dancing has never really been my thing, but the energy of this room was just contagious. Leading the parade of foreigners, five or six of us went up on stage and started dancing. Sure enough, there was screaming and cheering and people flocking to get up on stage with us. As the bright lights and flashing neon signs whirled all around us, we got pulled in various directions and various photos. Somebody offered a guitar to me and asked if I knew how to play. I told them I didn’t but he continued asking the others in my group to see if any of them wanted to lead a song.

After a bit I went back to take a seat at the table and watch the spectacle. People continued to come up to us and ask us to be in their photos. It was literally like having a paparazzi follow us through the room.

“You are very cool,” one guy told me as his buddy took a shot of us. “I want to be like you someday.”

We left about 8:30 to head back to the hotel. We each came up with various words to describe the evening. Our list consisted of fun, creepy, flattering, entertaining, intrusive, funny, and so on. I have to say all of it was accurate. It was a lot of fun, and it does make you feel like a movie star…but there is something so weird about it too.

We stopped at KFC on the way back to the hotel. I got an Oreo sundae that tasted amazing! Back at the hotel, we all piled into one room to watch 21 Jumpstreet. We all stayed awake for the whole thing, but by the end, we were all a little catatonic. Wandering off to our respective rooms, we bid each other good night and headed to bed.