186 Best Bars in China

One of the town's oldest establishments, this is Dali's most popular watering hole. In addition to an extensive bar, Bad Monkey brews its own beer, with every batch selling out quickly. Drinks aside, the kitchen stays open until early morning and cooks up decent fish-and-chips and pizzas. There's live music almost every night.

Also known as Bandu Music, this unpretentious café and bar in the M50 art compound sells hard-to-find CDs and occasionally holds concerts of traditional Chinese folk music. When touring the M50 galleries, this is a nice place for a break.

This funky, eclectic bar has live music most evenings, attracting a mix of young locals and expats. It's conveniently located among a row of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean restaurants that are very lively at night.

This Japanese-style cocktail and whiskey bar offers some of the classiest drinks in Tsim Sha Tsui. They have an extensive whiskey-based cocktail menu, as well as highballs and tea-forward drinks. 

One of the better bars on Laowaitan has earned a following thanks to its romantic ambience and professional pourers. The whisky list is more like a tome, with more than 150 brands, including familiar faces like Maker's Mark alongside more exotic options such as Nikka from Japan. You can even enjoy a Cuban cigar while you're at it.

In the trendy Bund 18 complex, Bar Rouge has been the destination of choice among Shanghai's beautiful people for years. Pouting models, visiting celebrities, and, seemingly, all of the city's French expats are among the regular clientele. The Pudong views are knockout—as are the drink prices.

This is a popular evening destination especially with nearby office workers who come by for happy hour. The interior is straight out of Arabian Nights, with billowing draperies swathing the space. Usually quiet and classy, it switches to hot, hip, and hopping on weekend nights, especially in summer. It's the ambience, not the food or drink, that bring people in.

For a pleasant evening stroll, head north along the waterfront promenade and then take one of the tree-lined walkways into the center of this park. The nightly carnival here is great for kids, and there's a small street-food market next to a beautiful footbridge that connects with the Marco Polo Hotel.

Bingjiang Xi Lu is the street for barhopping. Very popular with a younger crowd, it has great views of the Pearl River. You can always cross the bridge to Yanjiang Xi Lu and pay a visit to some of the venues on that side.

One of the only craft breweries in Shenzhen, Bionic Brewery serves up its own batches of pale ales and wheat beers, alongside guest taps from other local brewers. The taproom is a lot of fun, with plenty of seating, colorful decor, and reasonable prices—drafts cost about Y30–40. It's only open on weekends, so plan ahead.

This New York–style pub has a loyal following thanks to its excellent cocktails, a good selection of beers, and friendly service. It's a no-frills place, located across from the Sheung Wan MTR station.

This whisky bar (pronounced "blackbird") has become the go-to watering hole for a more creative crowd. The design is bachelor-pad chic, with exposed brick walls, Chesterfield sofas on gray, tiled floors, and an outdoor terrace with long wood tables and potted palm trees. Take the elevator up to the sixth floor of 8 Lyndhurst Terrace, a building worth noting for its variety of bars and restaurants.

Sandwiched between glitzy nightclubs, Blue Marlin is the place to kick off a night out. Big, brash, and commercial, it caters to all tastes with imported beers, decent cocktails, and finger food. Evenings bring televised sports and live music from a house band.

Visit this canal-side town house to peruse a wide selection of English-language books and magazines while sipping imported wines and beers. At night, there's often live music.

South of the U.S. Consulate you'll find the Bookworm, a relaxed haven for thousands of the city's expats to drink, eat, and browse through more than 1,000 books. It doubles as a library, bar, and café. An annual literary festival (usually held in March) draws famous authors like humorist David Sedaris. The Worm is also a great place to enjoy a pint of Guinness or decent imported wine as well as decent Western and Asian dishes.

The Kerry Hotel's microbrewery is tightly run and one of the best options for a drink in the Century Park neighborhood. The crisp cider is very good for those who don't love beer, while the Pilsner and IPA are the most popular among brew-heads. Shooting pool, tossing back peanuts from a tin pail, and sipping brewskies, you may well forget you're in China. On weekend afternoons, this is a family-friendly bar.

With its impressive selection of beers and spirits, The Brew also happens to serve excellent bar food, including steak, burgers, and pizza. Open until late, it's an excellent place for those seeking a quiet hangout.

Overlooking West Lake is this small expat haunt, owned by Belgian David Wilmots. This is where you'll find Wuhan's best selection of Belgian beer, with Vedett and De Koninck on tap alongside Krombacher Pils from Germany. Two dozen Belgian beers are available by the bottle, including La Choufe and Delirium Tremens. There's plenty for non-beer drinkers, including standard cocktails and well drinks. The small food menu is mostly burgers, fries, and their ilk, but there is one vegetarian-friendly dish—a Greek salad.

The Café Lounge has a mellow vibe, big comfortable bar stools, quiet tables for two, live music on weekends, and a fine selection of cigars.

This is Hong Kong's only old-school Scottish pub, decked out in timber and red-tartan furnishings. The bar serves an impressive collection of 180 single malts and 28 artisanal beers, alongside a roster of guest ales that changes regularly. In the basement of the nondescript Wharney Guang Dong Hotel, there's a dartboard, pool table, and live sports on the video screens. There's also a full menu that includes delicacies like haggis balls.

Book ahead for an outdoor table to enjoy stunning skyline views from this bar on the 45th-floor roof terrace of The Landmark. Cocktails are expensive and err on the sweet side, so stick to wine, beer, or mixed drinks and savor the city lights to a soundtrack of DJ beats.

Fierce promotions have attracted some top-name international DJs to this spot: in spite of the smallish dance floor, many expats consider Cargo the best mainstream club along Gongti Xilu. Perhaps it's the 1980s kitsch.

At this plush but friendly lounge you can play a game of pool or simply sip a cocktail, while listening to music from Africa, Portugal, Spain, and beyond.

This unique bar is set in the reporting room of a former police station, with three cells that used to hold pirates and smugglers now converted into private drinking rooms. The specialty here is whiskey, but they also have an interesting cocktail menu and tasty bar bites.

This Western-style bar attracts a largely Chinese clientele and offers a decent selection of drinks and snacks at very acceptable prices. It's very popular with locals in the evenings, when the outdoor terrace is packed to the brim. And there's an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet for Y40 every day at 11 am; although the Western food's quality can vary, as the cooks are still finding their way, the Chinese food is impeccable.

Though somewhat dated, Hotel Indigo's rooftop bar and steak house is still a prime place to take in unimpeded views of the Pudong skyline and Huangpu River while sipping drinks and snacking from a charcuterie board for two.

Perched atop the 65-story Park Hyatt, this upmarket cocktail bar offers bird's-eye views of the city, smog and all. Dark and sultry, the modern Asian decor is minimalist and doesn't distract from the views, or the drinks. Cocktails are expertly mixed; Scotch purists can choose from a 20-plus strong list of single malts.

This bohemian diamond-in-the-rough was named in tribute to July 1, 2003, when half a million Hong Kongers successfully rallied against looming threats to their freedom of speech. Tucked away on a terrace down a side street, the quirky, unpretentious bar is a mainstay of artists, journalists, and left-wing politicians. The outdoor area closes around midnight.