An ancient city's sparkling modern nightlife

By Erik Nilsson (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-10 13:03

Xi'an is known for the glory of its ancient days, but its nightlife is also starting to sparkle.

The city's main hive of nocturnal activity is a string of 28 nightspots flanking the old cobblestone Defuxiang street.

The vibe is certainly not quiet - but it's not particularly loud, either.

Most nightspots here are at least as likely to tout specialty tea brews as to hawk house cocktails. Punters are more likely to face off across mahjong boards than pool tables. With cheaper drink prices, a night out on the town is definitely easier on the wallet than in some other Chinese metropolises.

"At first it was mostly foreign tourists who came to this bar street, but more and more Xi'an people are getting into nightlife," says Wang Jinlong, who owns the nightspot Jesco. He remembers that when his place threw open its doors in 2004, there were fewer bars on the strip, and all were emptier than they are today.

Some of the more popular locales along the strip are: Old Henry's, decorated with a Wild West theme and matching musical performances; Rhythm Bar, which stages nightly blues shows on a diminutive stage; and Marco Polo Bar, the entrance of which is guarded by two life-sized terracotta warrior replicas.

One of the oldest nightspots on the strip is Back Nook Bar, which opened in 1993. From a well-worn large wooden stage, Chinese indie-rock outfit Fei Chuan belts out keyboard-driven ballads on weeknights.

"The bar was planned to attract foreigners, and we get a lot of those, but nowadays, we also attract many Chinese," says bartender Gong Mo. "Xi'an people's habits are changing."

Servers here first fill guests' drinks and then their ears, mostly with tales from the days when Shaanxi's provincial capital was the national seat of power.

"I've lived in Shanghai for about a year and America all my life before that, and I've never had so many bartenders chat to me so much," American backpacker Amanda Craig said, perched atop a stool at Old Captain Bar.

While Defuxiang is the nucleus of nightlife in Xi'an, other lively spots dot the capital. Near the imposing south gate of the ancient city wall are the Tang-styled Ancient Street Bar and the Shuyuan Youth Hostel Bar, both favorite watering holes for backpackers.

Visitors looking for more of a boom-boom-in-a-dark-room experience can head to the nightclub One-Plus-One on Dongda Jie.

(China Daily 08/10/2008 page15)