My favourite part of Shanghai is the French Concession district. The area has some of the oldest still-standing buildings in the city. The district housed some of the most powerful figures in Chinese history and the architecture is proof of that; massive homes, beautiful stone-work and elegant French-style streets, it is truly awe-inspiring. I would spend most nights having drinks at a hole-in-the-wall dive by the name Rooster. Sitting out front watching the lights and hearing the sounds were some of my favourite times in the city.
The Rooster is on an infamous road in Shanghai called Yongkang Lu. Infamous because it has become a popular expat night-life destination, and a real thorn in the side of local residents. A Chinese investor, realizing the drinking habits of foreign expats, opened two places on Yongkang Lu four or five years ago - a dive bar and a niche restaurant. The places boomed. Others soon joined and the road became a haven for expat bars and restaurants. So popular the road became, that on most nights you could find people partying in the streets, bars open until sunlight and restaurants the same. Sounds great right?
The problem arose when those fantastic bars and restaurants only rented or bought out the bottom floor of their building, leaving the top two floors occupied by their original local owners. Like any respectable person, these local owners weren't too happy being woken up at the wee hours of the morning by drunken laowai shouting and drinking in their streets.
Complaints were made to the city representatives, but with the success and money coming in from this street, the city officials wouldn't do much. Move or fight back were their only options and I'm sure some have moved, but others fought back with varying result and creativity.
I heard a number of stories from locals, and I'll share two of them with you now. The bars on Yongkang Lu are smaller joints and are unable to hold a large capacity of people, so most people sit outside at tables or eventually they would party out in the streets. But when the street became too loud and the owners were woken, they would fill buckets of water and start throwing them down onto bar-goers sitting at tables or partying in the street. An Aussie friend said he was sitting at a table with friends eating food when an owner dropped a bucket of water on them, ruining their meal and soaking them in the process. The water trick became so famous, expats would bring umbrellas out with them when they would venture to Yongkang.
Another story I heard was just that, a story, a rumour. If it is true, it's fucking awesome. The story goes that an apartment owner got so fed up with the noise and disturbance that he brought a butcher knife to a city officials office and threatened the entire office until something was done. The person in charge of the area told him to come into her office and they could talk it out. The man was enraged and continued to threaten her until she got fed up with the situation. Witnesses claim she stood up, told the man that there was nothing she or anyone would do and if he couldn't accept it, move. The man didn't like that answer and grabbed her threatening with the knife. She then yelled, "you don't have the guts, you won't do it. I'm calling the police and you better be out of here before they get here." All of this in Chinese obviously, and the story had been making the rounds, who's to say how much, if any of it, is true. Nevertheless, Yongkang is a great place to hang out and the French Concession is where it's at.
The Rooster is on an infamous road in Shanghai called Yongkang Lu. Infamous because it has become a popular expat night-life destination, and a real thorn in the side of local residents. A Chinese investor, realizing the drinking habits of foreign expats, opened two places on Yongkang Lu four or five years ago - a dive bar and a niche restaurant. The places boomed. Others soon joined and the road became a haven for expat bars and restaurants. So popular the road became, that on most nights you could find people partying in the streets, bars open until sunlight and restaurants the same. Sounds great right?
The problem arose when those fantastic bars and restaurants only rented or bought out the bottom floor of their building, leaving the top two floors occupied by their original local owners. Like any respectable person, these local owners weren't too happy being woken up at the wee hours of the morning by drunken laowai shouting and drinking in their streets.
Complaints were made to the city representatives, but with the success and money coming in from this street, the city officials wouldn't do much. Move or fight back were their only options and I'm sure some have moved, but others fought back with varying result and creativity.
I heard a number of stories from locals, and I'll share two of them with you now. The bars on Yongkang Lu are smaller joints and are unable to hold a large capacity of people, so most people sit outside at tables or eventually they would party out in the streets. But when the street became too loud and the owners were woken, they would fill buckets of water and start throwing them down onto bar-goers sitting at tables or partying in the street. An Aussie friend said he was sitting at a table with friends eating food when an owner dropped a bucket of water on them, ruining their meal and soaking them in the process. The water trick became so famous, expats would bring umbrellas out with them when they would venture to Yongkang.
Another story I heard was just that, a story, a rumour. If it is true, it's fucking awesome. The story goes that an apartment owner got so fed up with the noise and disturbance that he brought a butcher knife to a city officials office and threatened the entire office until something was done. The person in charge of the area told him to come into her office and they could talk it out. The man was enraged and continued to threaten her until she got fed up with the situation. Witnesses claim she stood up, told the man that there was nothing she or anyone would do and if he couldn't accept it, move. The man didn't like that answer and grabbed her threatening with the knife. She then yelled, "you don't have the guts, you won't do it. I'm calling the police and you better be out of here before they get here." All of this in Chinese obviously, and the story had been making the rounds, who's to say how much, if any of it, is true. Nevertheless, Yongkang is a great place to hang out and the French Concession is where it's at.