Bar owners in China are constantly walking a tightrope between allowing patrons to have a good time and ensuring residents living nearby are not being too disturbed. For areas frequented by expats and foreigners this divide can often take on a ‘what is culturally acceptable?’ edge, pitting foreigners against locals, as if the problem is with one or the other.

Media reports have shed light on the behaviors of some expats who have acted recklessly under the influence of alcohol. A prime example of this is Shanghai’s Yongkang Lu. Once a street market, this 50-meter long side street has become a chaotic, loud and messy bar street, incurring the wrath of residents, young and old, who live nearby. One way locals have found to deal with expats booze drinking culture in China is to occasionally dump buckets of water on the rowdy patrons below. 

Source: MarkScottAustinTX

Spending one Saturday night with some friends of mine at Hunting Bar, a quaint Guangzhou bar that is part of a cluster of bars in a residential area, came to a halt when a bucket of water was poured down on us. Thankfully, a side-tent had been installed by the bar that protected its patrons from the occasional buckets of water from above, but the police did turn up at about 23:30 to tell us to move inside. 

The Yongkang Lu situation highlights the behaviors of certain expats in China. The growing presence of multiculturalism in the country has become a ‘push-and-pull’ of acceptance and, in some cases, an outright rejection of what should be responsible living. But both sides can easily point out ‘uncivilized’ behaviors, which ultimately don’t help to solve the friction. 

Trying to walk the tightrope

Noise pollution is everywhere in China no matter where you live: near a construction site, a school, a bar street, and even with neighbors who talk at high volumes. Calling the local authorities for excessive noise pollution is possible but, for the most part, nothing will be done. However, when it comes to bars and their patrons, action has been taken. Local authorities have ordered bar owners at Yongkang Lu to close by 10 pm and tables removed from the street by 9 pm. Moreover, a ‘special tax’ has now been implemented on the bars to be given to locals while property owners have seen their property increase in value due to the area’s popularity.

Xingsheng Lu in Guangzhou, is another example of a new ‘it’ street, but with its rise in popularity comes the inevitable displeasure of locals. Once a quiet street with only a handful of business within a 50-meter street, the arrival of the Irish Pub Hooley’s ignited new business ventures to set up shop, many of which are western-type bars and restaurants. Noise pollution is bearable when many of its residents live higher than your usual four-storey buildings, but issues can still arise.

The creation of ‘party zones’

China’s nightlife is growing, with young Chinese generations hitting the bars and clubs. Perry’s Café is a student bar known for its inexpensive food and drink. Inside, Mexican sombreros, handwritten graffiti, wooden tables and chairs are some of what makes this café unique in the city. It has been known to be a popular watering hole among foreigners but finding a seat on Friday evenings has been a challenge as it is now, more often than not, full of locals.

Guangzhou has come up with one way of coping with booze drinking culture in China and retain the city’s burgeoning nightlife, and that’s with the Zhujiang Party Pier Beer Cultural and Art Zone – a refurbished area that overlooks the river and the city center.  And its best feature is that you can party until dawn as the loud music from bars and clubs reverberate far from residential areas found on the other side of the river.

This does seem to be trending, as city planners move the party scene away from residential areas, or at least do there best to keep it in one area, though this can make those areas a miasma of hedonism.

A sore thumb?

There are some places that have taken extreme measures in dealing with booze drinking culture and banned foreigners from the premises. In Seoul, South Korea, for example, some bars have ‘no foreigners allowed’ signs in their front entrance. 

However, there are ways to have your cake and drink it too. Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen recently hosted their versions of the Santacon Crawl tradition. In its second year organizing the event, Guangzhou resident and Latin deejay, Alex Llan, wanted to share this tradition with the locals. “Christmas here is lonely so we decided to bring our friends together to make it feel like a big family.”  Llan has been living in China for seven years and said that being a foreigner is not always easy.

About 300 to 400 participants attended the event by dressing up in Santa attire. The wannabee Santas gathered at various spots throughout the city, starting at noon and finishing in the wee hours. The idea is to roam around the city, dressed as santa and have a good time; for most this means drinking. And while other Santacons have drawn criticism because of participants drinking too much and misbehaving during their drunken stupor, according to Llan there were no complaints about the participants in China.

Living in China can bring you face-to-face with cultural misunderstanding, misinterpretations and bad behavior that has nothing to do with the previous two but is often understood within those terms. And if you are in doubt about how to behave when you head out for the night, take some of santa’s advice.

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Keywords: Booze Drinking culture in China foreigners against locals; Happy hours