A stark contrast is Laowaijie in Hongqiao area which offers the city's most diverse foreign food and beverage options and is thus frequented by expats in town. (Photos: Yang Hui/GT)
The sudden closure of Yongkang Road, Shanghai's most popular drinking venue for expats, will be talked about for years to come
Yongkang Road is virtually empty, with no vehicles, no pedestrians and only a smattering of unaware tourists seeking a place to sit and have a beer but finding none. Nobody told these new arrivals that, just last month, Shanghai's most popular bar street was officially closed down. Now, the bars are either cordoned off with yellow "Do Not Enter" tape or completely sealed in cement.
Despite the recent wide-scale crackdown of Yongkang Road's unlicensed bars and restaurants, a few legally operating cafes and a sushi shop are still open to customers.
However, there wasn't a single customer seen at their tables, sharp contrast to just this past summer when foreign foodies were forced to queue up before being seated and bar stools were spilling into the street.
Even the few bars and restaurants that were operating with licenses have decided to close up shop now that all of Yongkang's foot traffic is gone.
There's no point, those owners said, in continuing paying rent and operational costs for a venue that will not see a single customer all week long.
Instead, fans of Yongkang have dispersed to other areas around Shanghai where new bars are slowly but surely popping up.
Just as the closure of Shanghai's former famous bar street, Maoming Road, lead to the birth of Yongkang Road, foreign boozers will inevitably decide on a new favorite destination.
Xintiandi remains a very popular albeit upscale walking street where tourists can grab a pint and a burger. Datong Mill, an underground venue with Greek-style columns near Huangpi South Road metro station, was, just a few years ago, a seedy red light district. But after a crackdown on those illicit enterprises, new legitimate bars and clubs have opened up.
For the Hongqiao crowd, Hongmei Pedestrian Street aka Laowaijie (Foreigner Road), is always a reliable standby for Western-style breweries, eateries and nightlife.
Jing'an expats will unlikely want to travel 2 hours just to drink, but for those already living in Hongqiao part of Shanghai, Laowaijie offers the city's most diverse foreign food and beverage options.
The 500-meter-long strip is bursting with over 10 themed restaurants from Japan, Thailand, India, Indonesian, Iran, Mexico, the US, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Greece.
At least half are operated by actual foreigners, who ensure that the liquor is legit and the cuisine cooked to their home country's highest standards.
For those foreigners already missing their beloved Yongkang Road - don't despair! Shanghai may be in the midst of an unprecedented development boom, but the city and its residents always rebound better and more successful than before.
So catch a taxi and start exploring these other popular bar streets.
