Red Lantern: Shanghai story

Pre-prequel to Hong Kong story.

How it began.

It’s Friday early afternoon when I finish work. My friend G, who has come from Guiyang to Shanghai to visit me for a few days, is out in town with two students we met yesterday in the lobby of the guesthouse where I live. They are new in town and were looking for a shop to buy SIM cards. We took them to the shop nearby where I bought mine a while ago and then exchanged WeChat contacts. G, also known as Jerry, sent me some text messages earlier on to let me know where they were and what they’re up to and asked me to join them, but since this is my longest day at work, I feel very tired and need a nap.

I say goodbye to my students, wish them a good weekend and walk a few minutes to the guesthouse. It is quite warm today, which is unusual for this time of year. The short walk in the heat, the shadow of the trees, the rustling of the leaves in the wind, do me well after having spent most of the day indoors in air conditioned environments. A message from one of the local promoters arrives, with the club info for tonight. I have a look and send it to G, Natalia and Hannah, the two students. When I reach the 16^th floor of the guesthouse, a message from Natalia arrives. ‘Let’s start with M2’ she says. Why not? Sounds good to me. M2 stands for ‘Muse 2’ and is a branch of the club chain ‘Muse’.

I go to bed and fall into a very deep sleep. It’s dark outside when the noise of incoming messages wakes me. It’s the girls saying that they’re having dinner downtown and will return later than expected. So, instead of 8pm, we’ll meet at 9pm. Good for me, I need some time to get fit. My head feels like exploding and I feel very tired and would rather go back to sleep than clubbing all night. Should I call it off? My gut feeling says no. It tells me to go out. Why, I wonder. It must know more than I do.

A few more messages from G and the girls arrive, saying that they need more time to get back. Meanwhile, the promoter is asking if I know how many people we’ll be, so she can put my name and a number on the list. As I don’t know, I tell her between four and six. She answers that we have to be at the club no later than 10.45pm. There are a few promoters in town, who work with several clubs and have the deal to get foreigners in for free and drinks are for free as well. They send you a list of clubs and events every day, you choose the one you want to go, state a number of guests, arrive there before the time you’re told and go to a special table where the drinks are. The drinks are alcoholic and can be anything from champagne, to vodka, to whisky and beer. Usually there are two or three kinds of juice and coke to mix your drinks. Unfortunately, water is not offered. You get a wristband at the entrance, sign your name on the list and have fun all night. Sometime around 1am, you have the possibility to move to another club with the same package and conditions. This doesn’t only happen here, but more or less everywhere in China. It is said, that many clubs invite foreigners and give them drinks for free, in order to attract Chinese customers who, spend a lot of money on a night out. The truth is that it works in smaller places, but I don’t think people in Shanghai actually care about foreigners, because it’s so many around and it’s not an unusual sight. The other thing is, that Chinese clubbers spend an awful lot of money anyway. They book a table with a private waiter, buy lots of champagne and hard booze, eat fruit, play dice and play with their mobile phones, sleep on the couches when they’re drunk and tired. They don’t mix with other people, let’s say the neighbouring table and only very few of them dance. They don’t even pay attention to the various performances and to the rest of the club visitors.

My thoughts carry me away and I forget time and space, but a knock on my door brings me back to reality. It’s G, they are finally here. We get ready and go downstairs to meet the girls. The girls are already in the lobby with a few other people. So, it’s more than six of us. I contact the promoter and let her know. Since it’s too late to get to the club by public transport, we decide to take taxis. The ladies in the lobby say that they can’t order any for us and it’s best to hail some at the street. We try our luck, but unfortunately none stop. Natalia and Hannah have the idea to use the WeChat feature and book one from there. It takes them a bit to find out how the feature works, register and place the order. Many minutes later, the private drivers arrive. We show them the address of M2, but they don’t seem to have a clue where it is. Half an hour later, we’re dropped off somewhere, because we are unable to find the club. To our misfortune, it starts to rain. The promoter has been asking where we are and how long we still need to get there. She shares real-time location in order to find the place, but due to the heavy rain, we are not able to walk and seek shelter under a small canopy. There are some people going in and out through the entrance next to us and we wonder what’s inside. We are told that it’s the entrance to the S2 club. M2, S2, numerology at its best. We decide to pay this place a visit. We go inside, take the lift and when the doors open, we’re inside the club. It’s not very busy to our surprise. The club looks like most clubs in this country. Quite posh, dark colours, sofas, stools and tables, a main and some smaller bars, a tiny dancefloor, and some platforms for the dancers and performers. We walk towards the centre of the club from where we have a view over the tiny dancefloor, the DJ and most of the club. The Chinese are busy drinking and playing dice and only very few notice us. Soon a show starts and some Ukrainians hit the platforms and try to act cool. We’ve seen this kind of show million times before and are not impressed. The Chinese continue to play dice, drink and eat fruit. One of them even sleeps.

I notice a lady, possibly in her late 20s, behind the bar, who doesn’t seem to fit there. She seems out of place, I can’t say why. Is it due to her sophisticated look? She looks more of a teacher and mother and I’m sure that she shouldn’t be there. The only women working in clubs are either cleaners, dancers, DJs and cloakroom personnel. She is polishing some glasses, but her mind and eyes seem to focus on us. There seems to be a mental connection between us and my gut feeling tells me that she’ll play a role in my life.

‘Let’s go and see if the rain has stopped’ says someone and I get a push. We walk out of the building into the warm and humid night in search of M2. We stop at a corner shop to get something to drink and when we queue up to pay, I notice a young lady, possibly in her early 20s, with curly hair and glasses in one of the aisles looking discreetly at us. I have the same feelings I had with the lady behind the bar in the club before. Bizarre. We walk around the block, down a few streets and finally we find the place. It’s too late to get in for free as it’s past midnight and the lady at the counter wants 180 RMB each. No way we’re going to pay that much. While we discuss what to do, Natalia negotiates with that woman and she allows us to get in for free. We get our wristbands and I text the promoter and let her know that we have finally made it. We find the table with the free drinks and have some champagne. Since it’s crowded around the table, I walk a few yards where fewer people are and from where I have a great view over the club. DJ Jason is at the decks and the masses dance to his beats. I have a few more drinks and then walk around the club. On my second round around the club I feel the urge to visit the loo, so I continue walking. When I’m back to where I started from and still haven’t found the toilet, a young lady appears out of nowhere and asks me to follow her.

“Follow you where, and why?”

“To the bathroom.”

“How do you know I’m looking for it?”

“I just know.”

“Hold on a second. Aren’t you …”

“No, I’m not.”

I could swear it’s the lady from the shop who was discreetly looking at us.

She takes me to the bathroom, points at the door and disappears the same way she appeared. I then go back to the table with the drinks to find my friends. I stay a bit with them, while DJ Jason says goodbye and FELGUK hit the stage. A top-notch lightshow starts immediately and the crowds get excited. I move to the back of the club where a platform is, climb on it and start dancing. I’m surrounded by many Chinese and some take photos while we dance.

Many songs later, G comes to me and says that we’re moving to another club, to Sky. I don’t really want to go, but follow them. We are waiting for the lift to go to the ground floor, and around us are many other people who are leaving. The lift comes, the doors open, some people in a good mood come out, we get in, and as the doors are almost closed, a young lady with long beautiful hair and a cute face jumps in and the doors close behind her. She looks underage to be out at this time of day. She gives us all an approving look and when the doors open, she jumps out and disappears.

We take out our mobile phones and fire up different map apps to find the Sky club. It takes us a bit of time to get there, we get lost at some point, because our apps can’t decide which way it is and then we make a stop at a corner shop.

We finally find it, but it’s the entrance to the VIP area, so we have to go around the building. We find the promoter, sign on the list, get the wristbands, we’re told where the drinks are and get in. The club is much smaller than M2 and S2, but it’s very crowded. We go to the drinks table where we have some champagne and then hit the dance floor. This club does actually have a proper dance floor! A small one, but it’s a bouncing one. It’s like being on a trampoline. You bounce up and down. Since it’s too crowded on the dance floor, I go back to the drinks table. There I meet a foreigner who introduces himself as the ‘dance floor manager’. Right! We have a small chat until someone approaches him and whispers something into his ear. He excuses himself and leaves. I go and sit at the table right in front of me and watch the Chinese play dice. One makes a gesture and invites me to play. Luckily, I know this game. Jiajia, a Chinese friend of mine, once tried to teach me two different dice games. I didn’t understand the rules of the first one, but understood the rules of the second. I accept the invitation and play. I win a few rounds, no idea how and why, though. Is it because I’m lucky, or because they let me win? I feel someone coming closer from behind and telling me into my ear: “Your friends are leaving and have been looking for you.” I turn around and see the young lady from the lift. She takes my hand and guides me out of the club. When I see my friends, she lets my hand go and when I turn around to thank her, she’s gone. What is happening tonight?

“Glad you’re here” says G.

“Why are we leaving?”

“Music isn’t good” says G.

I agree with that. Too much bass for my taste, but the girls seemed to love it.

“Where to?” I ask.

“Phebe” says Hannah.

“Sure, why not?” I say, and off we are. Since ‘Phebe’ is not nearby, we need some taxis to get there. We walk to the crossroad and wait a bit. After a few minutes, we see a green taxi light in the distance and raise our arms to stop it. We get in and to our and my surprise it is a female taxi driver. Since I’m sitting in front, I ask her after a while “Aren’t you the one from the bar in the S2 club?”

Before she can answer, one of my friends says from behind: “Do you have visions, my friend, or are you trying to pull a lady?”

I could swear it is the very same woman who was polishing glasses behind the bar. The driver just gives me a cheeky smile and doesn’t answer. We arrive, someone pays, we get off, walk through some street kitchens and enter the club. There’s no entrance fee and no list at this time at night. We manage to find the drinks table and then hit the dance floor. The music is surprisingly good. It’s more western style electronic music. I quite like it and spend a long time on the dance floor. My friends come and go and we mix with the Chinese and have a really good time.

G says at some point that he feels hungry and is going out to the street kitchens to have something to eat. I need some water and follow him. We inform the rest of our friends that we’ll be out, so they don’t look for us.

We find a spot to sit and G goes and orders food and water. While waiting for him to return, I notice that the street kitchen is run by three ladies. The exact three ladies that kept appearing and disappearing all night in all those various places we have been. G comes back and sits next to me. We chat a little until his phone rings. He picks it up, but since the reception isn’t good, he walks a few yards to get a better signal. One of the ladies comes with the food and places it on the table in front of me. The second lady brings me my water. I have a look at the label that reads μ³. Funny name, I think, and stare at it for a while.

“Is something wrong, sir?” asks the lady.

“No, nothing is wrong. Just an interesting name.”

“It’s refreshing, try it.”

I open the bottle, have a gulp and fall unconscious.

Sleeping in club