Guangzhou has an up-and-coming social scene, though venues habitually open and close without notice. For the latest, pick up a copy of Clueless in Giangzhou or South China City Life, free monthly magazines aimed at Western residents, with limited listings and reviews - upmarket hotels, and a few of the places below, should have them if you ask. All clubs have a ¥10-50 cover charge.

 

Cave , Huanshi Dong Lu, west from the Garden Hotel. Increasingly popular Tex-Mex cantina and sports' bar, hidden down in a basement.

Elephant and Castle , Huanshi Dong Lu. Current foreign residents' favourite hang-out, with big range of beers, inexpensive, nostalgic pub food (tinned tomato soup and toast, for instance), and rambling conversations with sports-shoe executives. Opens late afternoon.

Hard Rock Café , China Hotel, Liuhua Lu. Late-night disco with expensive cover charge and beer, the music either DJ-driven or live - the latter more likely at weekends.

Harley Disco Bar , Yuexiu Lu, across from the Provincial Museum. You can't miss the screaming eagle over the door here, but once inside the music is mostly bland Western pop.

Hill Bar , Hanshi Dong Lu, across from the Garden Hotel. Variable reports for this one-time favoured haunt of Guangzhou's large and jaded expat community - foreign beer, spirits and passable "pub meals" are on hand, but the atmosphere often slips to little better than a pick-up joint.

L'Africain , cnr of Dongfeng Dong Lu and Nonglin Xia Lu. Popular dance venue, vying with One Love, below, as Guangzhou's best place for a night's rave.

One Love Bar , eastern end of Dongfeng Dong Lu. Hardcore late-night dance spot, widely regarded as a den of iniquity. Actually good fun.

Unplugged , 542 Guangzhou Dadao Bei Lu. Variable live-music venue (and cinema) founded by veteran Chinese rocker Wang Lei, who occasionally plays here if local bands fail to show - this is where to catch the likes of Canto-punk bands Pang Gu and No (the latter also available on the Modern Sky record label).