The Chill and the Crazy: Chengdu Bars

The Chill and the Crazy: Chengdu Bars
By Michael Webster , eChinacities.com

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and sometimes you need to go where know one knows who you are. When it comes to bars, Chengdu has both types. Here’s a list of Chengdu’s chillest bars, and a few crazier ones thrown in for good measure. After all, sometimes you just need to cut loose.


Photos: geeknerd99

Machu Picchu 马丘比丘咖啡馆 View In Map
Machu Picchu definitely qualifies as one of the most relaxed bars in Chengdu. Nestled just off of the bustle of Yulin Nan Lu, the atmosphere at Machu Picchu makes it the perfect place to just take a load off. The décor isn’t super impressive, but then again, it doesn’t need to be. Every once in a while they'll put on a concert during the weekend, but the rest of the time it’s a great place for good conversation.

Add: 14 Fang Hua Heng Jie,Chengdu
地址: 成都市芳华横街14号
Tel: 028 8513 2903
Opening hours: 09:00-01:00

The Leg and Whistle英格兰酒吧View In Map
While we're still in the neighborhood of bars where you can nurse a lager without too much bother, The Leg and Whistle certainly deserves honourable mention. Just around the corner from Paname and Jellyfish, the Leg and Whistle has a bar that you can actually sit at, with a pool table that you don't have to wait a year for. (Of course, if too many people read this and start showing up, that might change...so forget you ever saw this.) If you feel it's too sleepy, you can pop around the corner and join the mad crowd that usually frequents Paname. Conversely, if you can't hear a word being said to you at Paname and want a more intimate setting, you can slip over to the Leg.

Add: Kehua Jie, Chuan Da Huayuan Bldg. B2, Chengdu
地址: 成都市科华街川大花园红座B2附19号
Tel: 028 8546 1958
Opening hours: 21:00-02:00

Nanuna 纳奴哪 View In Map
You don’t always want to chill; there are times when you feel the need to burn as many calories on the dance floor as you are consuming in your beverages. Nanuna is a great place to do it. The music selection is usually decent, and there’s a good mix of foreign and local clientele. The drinks there are more in line with a Chinese place – expect beer bottles packaged by the dozen and whiskey cut with green tea – but you're not really going there to drink, are you? That's right, shake that money maker.

Add: 36 Laonanmen Daqiao, Hongmen Jie,Chengdu (opposite Big Boat)
地址:成都市老南门大桥黉门街36号
Tel: 028 85551926
Opening hours: 10:30-01:30

Munchen 1810 慕尼黑1810View In Map
There are two Munchen 1810s in Chengdu, this review is specific to he Hollywood Plaza Branch. I really don't think there is anything authentically German about the Munchen 1810, but good times can still be had there. There has been a bit of a German beer craze in Chengdu lately, leading to an availability of more than just Heineken, and the Munchen decided to try to take it a little bit further. It looks as though the owners of the bar had seen a picture of the Hofbrauhaus online and then held a contest for which interior designer could approximate that setting on the lowest budget. That said, it has a large, open layout, with a healthy combination of booths and high stools.

Add: Hollywood Plaza, 1st Fl., 18 Erhuan Lu South Sect. 3, Chengdu
地址: 成都市二环路南三段18号
Tel: 028 86181810
Opening hours: 10:30-22:00

Empty Bottle Bar 空瓶子酒吧 View In Map
For all intents and purposes, the Empty Bottle is still the absolute epitome of a Chengdu bar. It's a Chengdu landmark for the locals, and they still manage to draw a healthy crowd just about every night. It's a great place to go with a group of people to watch the singers, dancers, juggling bartenders, and play a few Chinese drinking games. Though the silhouettes of go-go dancers performing behind screens can be distracting. The entertainment manager there brings in local Chengdu celebrities, like Super Girl and Happy Boy contestants from Chengdu who made it through a few rounds of competition.

Add: Yulin Shenghuo Plaza 3rd Fl., Yulin Nan Lu, Chengdu
地址: 成都市玉林南路玉林生活广场3楼
Phone: 028 8559 9798
Opening hours: 19:00-02:00

Mooney's Bar 香格里拉大酒店爱尔兰吧 View In Map
Mooney's is a typical, pricey, international hotel chain restaurant that caters to the business crowd. For that reason, it sometimes gets a bit of a bad rap from the locals. Still, when you want a place that's actually clean, decorated to Western standards, has decent and well-maintained bathrooms, and has a selection of drinks and beers that you often can't get at a regular Chengdu bar, Mooney's is the place for you. They also have consistent entertainment, popular favourites performed by a live band that actually sticks around for the whole night, something other Chengdu bars lack. (The current modus operandi for bars in Chengdu is a bunch of different singers each doing 20 minute sets.) The current group is from New Zealand and they usually put on a pretty decent show. Go there, sit at the bar, ask for a Kilkenny, and forget that you're in Chengdu for a few hours.

Add: Shangri-La Hotel, 9 Binjiang Dong Lu, Chengdu
地址: 成都市滨江东路9号
Tel: 028 8409 7899
Opening hours: 17:00-01:00

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Keywords: Chengdu best bars best Chengdu clubs Chengdu chill bars best Chengdu nightlife

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