Dominique Preston

If you think your evenings in China are going to be quiet, think again. Even if there are no firework celebrations that day the shops dont close till around 10pm. Everyone is going out to eat and every evening you can go and join in with the traditional group dancing in the local community area. If you are based in Wuxi like me, that will be in the big square outside holiday plaza, it is buzzing with life from around 6:30pm till nearly 9pm where people are enjoying dancing together and eating delicious street food. If you dont want to join in with dancing then the lotus caf has a bar on the top floor with a rooftop terrace where you are able to sit and observe young and old alike fulfilling this Chinese tradition.

If you are interested in dancing, on a Tuesday and a Friday night you also have the opportunity to go to the local Mexican and join their free salsa dance classes! Helped with 50% off all drinks, including some lovely frozen margaritas. This is also a good way to meet other expats with similar interests. If dancing isnt you scene The Red Lion bar in Nanchangjie has different themed nights, on Tuesday they have an open mike night where if you perform you get a free drink. On a Friday they do a deal on Fish and Chips and are known for their home foreign cooking. There are also a lot of different foreign food places to eat if you are missing home, in Holiday Plaza opposite where we live there are at least 4 places to go and get pizza! The American bar that sells good salads, chips (fries), and chicken wings! All good places to go for a meal with friends or a few drinks. The local bar we usually attend is called A plus, there have good beers and cocktails, a pool table and a wide selection of music that you can choose whats playing.

Whenever discussing nights out, everyone ends up in Ellens, either to start your night, or for a cheap drink during the week. Ellens seems to be the place to go for foreigners, it is highly aimed at foreigners with cheap drink deals, cocktail buckets and western music, I even ended up doing the Macarena last time I went. People will then usually make there way to the 1912 district in the early morning, where Wuxis nightclubs are! As someone who mainly went out to oceana and Vodka Revolution in the UK, my experiences of clubs here are very different, they have a variety of performers, usually with minimal clothing on (men and women), and ticker tape everywhere!

No matter what you are interested in you will always find somewhere to go in Wuxi!