The best place to eat is the night market on Shudian Jie, where the food as well as the ambience is much better than in the few sit-down canteens. You'll find not just the usual staples such as jiaozi, made in front of you, and skewers of mutton cooked by Uigur pedlars, but a local delicacy consisting of hot liquid jelly , into which nuts, berries, flowers and fruit are poured. You can spot jelly stalls by the huge bronze kettle they all have with a spout in the form of a dragon's head. Another delicious sweet on sale here is slices of banana covered with pancake mix then deep-fried.

On the south side of Gulou Jie are a couple of fast-food places frequented by the town's trendier set who probably come here to be conspicuous in the glare of the lighting rather than for the food. The restaurant in the Kaifeng Hotel is pretty good, and opposite the hotel, a little farther west on Ziyou Lu, the Number One Restaurant is fairly inexpensive with reasonable food, but the decor, with chickens trussed up just inside the door and empty aquariums, could be improved. The swanky Shao'e Huang Restaurant, at 214 Zhongshan Lu, is where the local elite hang out. There's no English menu, but you can select a variety of vegetable, fish and meat dishes from the display downstairs; expect to pay ¥80 for a meal for two. The Diyi Lou Restaurant, 43 Sihou Jie, is a vibrant place, with a live band nightly; dinner for two with drinks should come to around ¥60.

Evening entertainment prospects, aside from the night market, are poor. Try the Dazhong Cinema at the eastern end of Gulou Jie, or the Menghua Dancehall, on the south side of Dong Dajie, which is very popular with the students, though they only play slow numbers - the only repetitive beats you'll hear are from the music stalls around Sihou Jie. You could try hanging around the university south of the Iron Pagoda Park, hoping something bohemian happens, but it's a long shot.