By early evening the streets around the Dashizi crossroads and the Penshuichi intersection fill with people heading to dinner, and the smell of sour fish soup and chili drifts out of the restaurants along the main roads. Later, the crowds thin out and shift toward the bar streets, where the pace is unhurried and the drinking is steady rather than loud.
Guiyang's nightlife is local and low-key rather than polished. The city's Miao and Bouyei minority culture shapes both the food and the drinking, and much of an evening here revolves around a long, spicy meal and rice wine rather than a sequence of clubs. It suits visitors who want to eat well, drink with the table, and stay close to where locals actually go, rather than those looking for a large, internationally styled club district.
Where to go out in Guiyang
1. Shengfu Lu near Fushui Lu
This stretch, near the intersection with Fushui Lu and close to the Beijing Hualian supermarket, holds a row of reasonably priced restaurants specializing in suan tang yu, the sour fish soup associated with the Miao. It is the kind of night that starts with a shared pot of soup and a bottle of mi jiu, the sweet, slightly vinegary rice wine that is the standard drink at minority restaurants and festivals.
If you buy a bottle of rice wine, you can request the traditional Miao drinking ceremony for an additional charge. Several women surround the table, sing, and pour rice wine from a hollowed horn into the diners' mouths, and they also lift pieces of fish with chopsticks and tease diners into trying to catch a bite. It is a playful tradition built around female singers and male diners, but anyone at the table can take part.
2. Qianling Dong Lu
Qianling dong lu is the main concentration of bars in the city, even though bars are scattered in hundreds across Guiyang, many of them tucked away inside large buildings. The bars along this street are very local in character, and the beer options are generally limited to Snow and Budweiser.
This suits a simple, unpretentious evening of drinking with friends rather than a night of cocktail menus or late dancing. Because the scene is local, it is also a good place to sit and watch how people here spend an ordinary night out.
3. Minority restaurants across the city
Beyond the Shengfu Lu cluster, Miao and Dong minority restaurants are where mi jiu is most reliably available, and the rice wine is the go-to drink at these tables. Expect it in villages across the province as well as in the city, and expect it to go down easily alongside spicy and sour dishes.
This is the best kind of night for a group: order a spread, share a bottle, and let the meal run long. The alcohol content of mi jiu varies by variety, so pace yourself accordingly.
4. Coffee houses for an early, quiet evening
Guiyang also has a cafe culture that runs into the evening. Highlands Coffee serves espresso-based drinks, tea, smoothies, chai, cheesecake and other American pastries, and paninis, with bilingual service in Mandarin and English and WiFi available. Its south location is on Liudong Street off Bo'ai Road in Nanming District, a short walk from the Walmart at People's Square and behind the Customs Building, and there is a north location on You Yi Lu Ping Zi Xiang.
This suits a low-key start to the night, a place to work or meet before dinner, or an alternative for anyone not drinking. Note that the south location is the one with the address given here; the north location is listed separately.
How a night out unfolds
The sources describe the evening mainly through food and drink rather than fixed hours. Dinner is the anchor, with suan tang yu restaurants and minority tables serving rice wine alongside the meal, and the Miao drinking ceremony taking place at the table during or after eating. Bars are concentrated on Qianling dong lu and stay local in style, with Snow and Budweiser as the usual beers. The sources do not give closing times for the bar streets or restaurants, so plan around dinner and let the rest of the evening follow from there.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- National Day and the National Day Golden Week holiday, early October.
- Double Ninth Festival, October.
- Christmas Day, December.
- New Year's Day, January.
- Spring Festival Eve and Chinese New Year, February.
Frequently asked questions
What is the local drink to try in Guiyang?
Mi jiu, a rice wine with an alcohol content between roughly 10 and 30 percent depending on the variety. It is slightly vinegary and very sweet, and it is the standard drink at local minority restaurants and festivals.
Where do people go for bars?
The main concentration is on Qianling dong lu, though bars are spread across the city, many of them inside large buildings. The bars there are very local and generally offer only Snow beer and Budweiser.
Can I see a traditional drinking ceremony?
Yes, at restaurants specializing in suan tang yu, such as the row on Shengfu Lu near the intersection with Fushui Lu. Buy a bottle of rice wine and request the ceremony, which carries an additional charge.
Is there anywhere to go that does not involve drinking?
Highlands Coffee serves espresso drinks, tea, smoothies, chai, pastries and paninis, with WiFi and bilingual service, and has locations in Nanming District and on You Yi Lu Ping Zi Xiang. It opens earlier in the day than the bar streets and closes in the evening.
Decide whether your night is a long minority dinner with rice wine or a simple round of beers on Qianling dong lu, then plan the rest of your evening around that choice.