Nightlife in Hangzhou compared with Shanghai

[doviende]

I was in Hangzhou from April 2007 until December 2007, and i enjoyed my stay there. I was studying chinese at Zhejiang university (yuquan campus) and i thought most of the teachers were quite good.

Hangzhou has nightclubs and stuff like that, maybe not as many as Shanghai, but there's plenty to do. It's also considerably less polluted than Shanghai (although still more polluted than Canadian cities i'm familiar with). I'd say that having less pollution than Shanghai is already reason enough to go to Hangzhou instead. You can always go for some weekend trips to Shanghai if you're curious...it's quite easy to get between them on the bus or the train. i went several times and stayed in hostels in shanghai.

If you're going to the Yuquan (玉泉) campus (which is where the international student college is), then you'll be right beside the botanical gardens, and right beside a bunch of mountains covered in trees. you can hike up the mountain behind campus quite easily and get a great view of the city, and the botanical gardens (植物园) have beautiful scenery and lots of birds. The campus is on the west side of the lake, but it's easy to ride a bike over to the east side of the lake where all the downtown action is.

[Loriquero]

I've been in hangzhou just once, nothing related to clubbing, just normal travel... and I loved it, now I blame myself for beign in Shanghai because I have almost not chinese friends at all, I just use to hangout with foreigners speaking english or spanish...

Anyway, the Shanghai experience is nice because sometimes I don't even feel like in China... has all kind of restaurants, amazing nightlife...

I feel pretty good in Shanghai, and I think I will be here for long time because I love my university and right now a pretty strong relationship (with a foreigner girl )

If you are a caucasic guy (I'm not) You will have pretty strong chances of getting gigs in tv commercials, movie extra, really well-payed, thing that I think would be hard to find in hangzhou...

Right now I would recommend a second tier city... Shanghai is getting quite expensive and with many foreigners... this could be good or bad, just you will now

[almondblight]

Honestly...plenty of nightlife, especially on the weekends, nature, which is wonderful, and all around a great city. I like it much, much better than Shanghai, and if you really want ot party in Shanghai it's a 2 1/2 hour train ride away, so no worries.

[LaoLiang]

I've been living in Hangzhou for about a year and a half now, in general it's OK. The air quality in the greener areas is much better than in Shanghai and there are a few hills around which are easily accessible for a quick tour. Other than that Hangzhou is a good starting point to take a train or a bus to nearby locations. There are a few bars near the university where you'll find many students and expats as well as other bars/clubs area around Hangzhou - no doubt though that Shanghai has far more to offer as far as night life/restaurants etc.

[g1izmo]

People talk about greener cities, cleaner air and generaly more pleasent environments in which to live/work or study.. But im 21 years old, I couldnt care less about how many trees there are in my back garden, I want to know where the nearest good club is and how to get there! Im sure im not alone. Obviously I mean no disrespect but if your young, lively and looking for a good time... but are still willing to work hard, then its Shanghai all the way!

Ruan.

[faluang]

I never been to Hangzhou but have been to quite a few places around Asia, Europe and the USA and I can tell you that Shanghai is a place on it's own. You can't compare Shanghai to any other city. It really has everything and the nightlife is at a decent price because you basicly got everything you need around you. I only stayed there for a few weeks but my main problem was that everything was far away. Going from one particular area to another seemed to be like going from the Netherlands border to Antwerp city. I wouldn't study the Chinese language in Shanghai but it definately is a good place when it comes to nightlife. I remember spending about 20 minutes in a taxi driving as fast as he could to arrive in an area that looked just the same as the one I was before.

[Korat28]

Hi, I'm in the same boat as you were. I'm in Shanghai now for training and I'll be shipped out to Hangzhou next month. I was going to teach in Nanjing, but the center was overstaffed, so I'm being relocated to Hangzhou. Shanghai is cool and all, but it's so crowded and fast paced and informal like many big cities (stating the obvious). I always say nihao to people here and sometimes they say it back, other times they just grunt or stare. My point is, I like the smaller city feel where people smile and are more cheerful. The Shanghaiese aren't rude or that, but they're not overly friendly since it's a big city attitude. Bottom line, I am happy for the outdoors and a mid sized city environment. And if need be, SHA is an hour away!

[hannafit]

Yesterday I met I Chinese guy my age, just about to start college at my university here in Washington DC. He had just gotten back from 6 weeks in Shanghai and had been going to Shanghai every year for some allotted amount of time. He was SUPER cocky about Shanghai like it was the greatest place ever and Hangzhou couldn't compete. His dad told me however that they would go to Hangzhou for vacations and it was a very beautiful city. I am happy that I've chosen to study at Zhejiang University for this next year because I am really into nature and would be unable to handle the polluted conditions of Beijing or Shanghai. I am trying to learn the Chinese language as best I can and totally immerse myself in the culture. There are TONS of foreigners in Shanghai and not so much in Hangzhou which will be to my advantage. I know this topic is really old but I hope you enjoyed your time in Hangzhou. I am surely looking forward to mine. 

[Bao]

On the contrary, the only nightlife I ever had in China was in Hangzhou (and I had extended stays in both SH and BJ). For anyone interested, Club Queen is a big thing (Baidu map this address: 中国浙江省杭州市西湖区保俶路2号) and I actually met a girl there who said it was more fun than the SH clubs. There's a bar next door too tho I never went in. I'm sure there's more out there... you can find clubs in any big city.