By evening the riverside parks along the Dadu and Min rivers fill with people lingering over tea, while the streets of the old city start to smell of skewers and chilli. Leshan's night out is a slow, food-led affair rather than a club-driven one.
The city is known above all for its street food, and much of an evening here is built around eating your way through it. Nightlife in the conventional sense is limited, so Leshan suits visitors who want markets, teahouses, riverside walks and long meals more than those looking for a late, loud bar scene.
Where to go out in Leshan
1. Wuyan Street and Xingfa Street
These two streets are known for their markets, which are the closest thing here to a browsing-and-grazing night out. Come hungry and work through the stalls rather than settling on one place.
Suits an early, unhurried evening of snacking and people-watching.
2. The teahouses
Leshan has hundreds of teahouses, and the ones held to be best are outdoors, particularly along the banks of the Dadu and Min rivers and in the city's parks. They are places to sit for a long time, play Majiang or the local erqishi card game, and let the evening pass.
This is the most characteristic way to spend a night in Leshan, and it suits anyone happy to trade a bar for a table by the water.
3. Yangjia Laozhai Teahouse
One named teahouse, on Gulou Street, sits within a cluster of old buildings and is decorated with old photographs of Leshan and the Giant Buddha. It is open every day of the week.
Suits a quieter, more atmospheric stop, and is a reasonable choice if you want a teahouse with a specific address rather than picking one at random.
4. Haitang Park
A park in the Shizhong District, bounded by Xian Street to the west, Fu Street to the south and Dingdong Street to the east, with a bus stop of the same name on its eastern side. It is free to enter and open from 08:00 to 20:00.
Suits an early part of the evening, before the park closes, rather than a late one.
5. Laoxiaoding
The tallest hill within the old city limits, now a park with pavilions and tea houses. It sits roughly 200 metres southwest of the junction of Dingdong Street and Haitang Road, reached by taking the road north from Moruo Square to its end and following the winding path uphill.
Suits a late-afternoon or early-evening walk with tea, and note that it closes at 17:00.
6. Banana Club
One of two night clubs in Leshan, and by its own description not much to look at. It is busy on Saturdays but quietens by 23:00 on weekdays. Zero Beer is the drink to try, at around ¥30 a bottle.
Suits a Saturday night if you specifically want a club, and is a poor bet on a weekday.
How a night out unfolds
The sources do not describe a fixed local timetable for dinner and going out. What they do show is that the conventional nightlife window is short: the one club named is busy on Saturdays but dies down by 23:00 on weekdays, and the parks and hilltop teahouses close well before that, at 20:00 and 17:00 respectively. Plan the eating and riverside part of your evening first and treat any clubbing as a Saturday-only option.
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 — early February
Frequently asked questions
Is there much of a club scene in Leshan?
No. The sources describe only two night clubs in the city, one of which is Banana Club.
What should I drink in Leshan?
Tea is the main event, with hundreds of teahouses across the city and the best ones outdoors along the Dadu and Min rivers and in the parks. If you want beer, Zero Beer is the one named, at roughly ¥30 a bottle.
How late do things run?
Not very late by big-city standards. The named club quietens by 23:00 on weekdays, Haitang Park closes at 20:00 and Laoxiaoding at 17:00.
What is there to do in the evening besides drink?
Browse the markets on Wuyan Street and Xingfa Street, sit in a riverside or park teahouse, or walk the parks and hilltop pavilions of the old city.
Decide whether your evening is a market crawl, a long teahouse session or a Saturday at the club, and build the rest of your night around it.