Nightlife in Shanghai: where Australians go out

Shanghai can do a ¥20 beer on a plastic stool and a ¥200 cocktail 58 floors up on the same night. The trick is knowing which part of town you're in.

The short version

Carry your actual passport, not a copy. Police can check ID at random, and printed copies aren't accepted [1].
Drug laws are severe, police can test foreigners at random, and you can be prosecuted no matter where you took the drugs [1].
Most bars close around 2 am, clubs run until about 6 am, and many metro lines stop running between about 10:30 and 11:30 pm [4][6].
Beer runs from about ¥20 in a local bar to ¥150 at a hotel rooftop. Cocktails cost about ¥40–250 depending on the venue [6].
Use metered taxis or DiDi, never unmarked cars [1][3].

The main nightlife areas

Shanghai's nightlife is split between Puxi, west of the Huangpu River, and the towers of Pudong to the east.

Area	What it's like	Good for
The Bund	Historic waterfront buildings with hotel and rooftop bars looking across at Pudong [6]	Views, a dressy first drink
Former French Concession (Yongkang Road, Julu Road, Fuxing Road)	Plane trees, laneway cocktail bars, small live music venues [6]	Bar-hopping, jazz, a long night
Jing'an	Dive bars, pubs and a big expat crowd [6]	Casual drinks, after-work beers
Xintiandi and West Bund	The main club areas [6]	Dancing until sunrise
Lujiazui, Pudong	High-floor hotel bars in the skyscrapers [6]	The postcard view of the Bund

The Bund and Pudong

This is where visitors go first, and with good reason. The hotel bars on the Bund look across the river to the Pudong skyline, while the bars high in Pudong's towers look back at the old waterfront. Expect a dress code, a minimum spend and hotel prices [6].

The Former French Concession

The tree-lined streets around Yongkang Road, Julu Road and Fuxing Road are the heart of Shanghai's bar scene. Many cocktail bars hide behind unmarked doors. Live music venues, including jazz bars and small rock venues, are clustered here too, with covers of roughly ¥50–150 [6].

Jing'an

Jing'an is where many expats live and drink. Dive bars here charge about ¥30–60 a drink [6], and it's an easy place to find a pub showing the footy.

Bars, clubs and live music

Shanghai venues open and close quickly, so we've only named places we could confirm for 2026 with an official site.

Cocktail bars

Pony Up, Jinxian Road, Huangpu. A cosy, diner-inspired bar with a cartoon theme-park menu, daytime cocktails with Chinese flavours and American diner food. It ranked 19th on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026 [5].

Jinxian Road itself is a good place to start a night, with several small bars along one street. For more award-winning bars, check the latest Asia's 50 Best Bars list before you go [5].

Clubs

Clubs in Xintiandi and West Bund typically open around 10 or 11 pm and keep going until about 6 am, with the peak between midnight and 3 am [6]. Cover charges in 2026 range from about ¥50 at smaller clubs to ¥500 at the flashiest [6]. Book a table and you'll be paying a minimum spend instead.

Live music and pubs

The Former French Concession is the place for jazz, indie and rock. Jazz clubs often waive the cover but set a minimum drink spend [6]. For Aussie-run bars, the footy and a taste of home, see our Australian restaurants, cafés and bars in Shanghai guide.

Rules that catch Australians out

Your passport, every time

The UK government's advice is blunt: always carry your passport. Police don't accept printed copies, and failing to produce ID can lead to a fine or detention [1]. That applies on a night out too.

Drugs: penalties include death

Possession, trafficking and manufacture of any illegal drug, including cannabis, are serious offences. Penalties include heavy fines, long prison sentences and the death penalty [1]. Police can carry out random drug tests on foreigners, including on arrival, and authorities can prosecute you regardless of where or when you took the drugs [1]. A cannabis edible in Thailand or Canada weeks earlier is not a defence.

Drinking age

Selling alcohol to minors has been banned nationally since 1 January 2006 [9]. Under Chinese law a minor is anyone under 18. Some clubs check ID at the door, which is another reason to carry your passport.

Drink-driving

Penalties are harsh, include detention and prison, and apply even at very low alcohol levels [1]. You also need a Chinese licence to drive at all [1].

What a night out costs

Prices depend almost entirely on where you drink. These ranges come from a March 2026 Shanghai bar guide and Numbeo [6][7].

Item	Local bar	Mid-range bar	Hotel or rooftop bar
Beer	¥20–40	¥40–60	¥80–150
Cocktail	¥40–60	¥60–100	¥150–250
Club entry	n/a	¥50–200	up to ¥500 at the top end

At the cheapest end, a pint of local draught beer in a restaurant can be under ¥10, according to Numbeo's December 2025 data [7]. For comparison, Finder's April 2026 price map put a pint in Sydney at about $10.35 [8], and Pubwatch estimates about A$13 a pint in Australian pubs in 2026 [10]. So a local bar in Shanghai is much cheaper than home, while a Bund rooftop costs about the same or more.

Happy hours are common in the early evening, so start early if you're on a budget. You'll pay with WeChat Pay or Alipay almost everywhere. Our daily life in China guide explains how to set them up.

Getting home safely

Check the metro time. Most lines finish before midnight. Line 2's regular last service, for example, is around 11:30 pm [4]. Lines run longer on some holidays, such as New Year [4].
Use DiDi or a metered taxi. DiDi, Xiangdao and Gaode (Amap) are the most popular ride-hailing platforms [3].
Know the fare. Standard taxis start at ¥14 for the first 3 km, then ¥2.7 per km. A 30% surcharge applies late at night [3].
Pay the way that works. All taxis take cash and the Shanghai Public Transportation Card. About 2,000 Dazhong taxis take international cards, including Visa and Mastercard [3].
Never take an unmarked car. Unlicensed taxis have been linked to assault and robbery of foreigners. Note the taxi number, tell someone where you are and ask for a receipt [1][3].
Don't flag cabs at intersections. Drivers can't stop within 50 metres of a crossroads [3].

Staying safe

Shanghai feels safe at night, but a few scams target foreigners.

The tea or bar scam. A friendly stranger invites you to a tea house or bar, and you're handed a huge bill, sometimes with threats or card fraud [1]. Choose your own venue.
Drink spiking. Don't leave drinks unattended or accept drinks from strangers [1].
Check the bill. Ask for the menu with prices before you order in unfamiliar places.

Emergency numbers: police 110; ambulance 120; fire 119 [2]. The Australian Government's 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre is on +61 2 6261 3305.

Finding people to go out with

Shanghai's best bars are the ones locals tell you about, and the best way to hear about them is from people already here. Join Cooee China, our Facebook group for Australians in China, to find people for a Bund sundowner, a jazz night or a big game. For the footy club, the chamber and cricket, see Aussie life in Shanghai.

Nightlife in Shanghai: Bund views, laneway bars and a DiDi home