The Transformation of Nightlife Districts in Guangzhou, 1995-2009

From the mid-1990s on, bar streets have become the most conspicuous sights of nightlife in China's major cities. Understanding and exploring the structural mechanisms of these bar streets is of significance for understanding present-day China. Based on approximately twelve years of tracking studies, this article shows the spontaneous build-up of Guangzhou's bar streets/clusters starting in the mid-1990s and the government-guided process of homogenization (tongyi hua) since the beginning of this century. The author tries to show the dynamics and mechanisms of present-day China, that is, the constant shaping of social living space by means of complex negotiations among the dynamics of globalization, government mechanisms, relatively spontaneous commercial forces, and the requirements of urban dwellers.