The main bar streets in Shanghai is Tongren Lu and Julu Lu. In addition there is also a bar area on Hua Shan Lu opposite the Hilton hotel, just around the corner from Julu Lu. The bars on Maoming Road South was told many years ago that they would have to move as a result of a planned redevelopment of the area. This work now appears to be under way and almost all the bars in this area have now closed although many of them have opened new bars on Tongren Lu. This includes Judy's, Manhattan, The Blue Frog, and others.

There are also a number of bars close to Zapatas at the junction of Hengshang Lu and Dongpin Lu. The main ones on Hengshang Lu that are still going are Zapatas, Bourbon Street, Narcicus, and Oscars.

If you are interested in the club dance music scene in a bar, then head to either of the Windows bars.  One is located across the street from the Jing An Temple.  If it is too noisy for you, or too crowded, there is another bar in that complex down the stairs close to the subway entrance. Heng Shan Road is another strip of great bars with Bourbon Street and other bars.  They are more laid back, and the entertainment varies from week to week.

There are several jazz bars in Shanghai, including the bar at the Portman, the Cotton Club, CJW over in Xin Tian Di, and the House of Jazz and Blues on Maoming Road. 

A more trendy upscale environment is Face on Ruijin Er Road, or Park 97 on Fuxing Park. Xin Tian Di offers a whole assortment of bars, and walking around the area at night gives a great idea of the styles of the bars. Malone’s over on Tong Ren Road is a sports bar that has a great pool table, and a good dance show. O’Malley’s is an Irish pub with folks music up on the second floor balcony and televised rugby, soccer, and Australian football. Zapata’s on Heng Shang Road offers a great Mexican styled environment in an old villa, with a great variety of music, mixed drinks, and dancing on two floors and out into the beer garden in the summer.

Shanghai’s club scene is very intermingled with its bar scene, but the most notable club in the city is Pegasus on Huai Hai Road.  The club is known for bringing in djs from around the world.   

Real Love on Heng Shan Road is another dance club that has popularity with the 20something Chinese crowd.  Heng Shan Road is a good street to look for a club, because if you don’t like what you see at Real Love, there are other options a short walk away.  Bourbon Street offers music and dancing, as do many other places on the street.  All you have to do is listen from outside and you can be sure to get an idea of what is being played inside. 

Right in that area, Zapatas offers great dance music, even though it is more renowned as a Mexican style bar. Zapatas gets quite lively at the weekedns, but Wednesday night is usually even livelier due to it being ladies night with free Margaritas for all ladies.  In this area on Yong Jia Road, Mural offers a crazy lineup of Latin music and funk, and they often run special promotional events to get people in the door and keep them there. 

Guangdii in Fuxing Park has two rooms with hip hop and a mixture of house and trance.  If you want to switch venues, you can always move from Guangdii on over to Upstairs at Park 97.