China's Nightlife Industry Reopens, Navigates Long Phase to Recovery

China's nightlife industry has been hard-hit, but a new sense of optimism lingers in the air.

Nearly four months following the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, the country's nightlife scene has begun reopening and operating in a post-lockdown environment.

Despite the fact that live music venues still have not opened for operations, nightclubs in major provinces have started their return to form, according to an in-depth report from Resident Advisor. The shortlist of clubs includes OIL Club in Shenzhen, Loopy in Hangzhou, and TAG in Chengdu, which were among the earliest to return in late March.

The return has club owners cautiously optimistic, although there remains a long way to go. China continues to report low numbers of new cases and at the time of writing they have not reported a single COVID-19 death for ten days straight, according to the Associated Press.

Despite broadening optimism that the worst may be over for the country, demand has been slow to return. "Around 10 to 15 percent of our customers are still hesitant to come out," says TAG booker Aymen Hajlaoui. "I can't say for sure that we can recoup our losses, but if it continues like this, the outlook doesn't look bad."

China's nightlife scene quintupled between the years of 2010 to 2018, flourishing into a staggering $7.2 billion industry prior to the onset of the pandemic.

H/T: Resident Advisor

source https://edm.com/news/china-nightlife-industry-navigates-recovery-phase