Ask any local where to go at night and they'll probably tell you "Yāo Jiǔ Yāo èr" (1912). Nanjing's answer to gentrified food-and-bar districts like Shanghai's Xintiandi, much of the area consists of interchangeable Chinese dance clubs with loud dance music and crowded tables crammed in among narrow walkways and tiny dance floors. A number of chains like Starbucks are clustered on another end.

There's more to 1912 than the Chinese club experience, however. Diamonds in the rough exist, like Thai Spices (泰煌; 86-25－8445-2928) and the Blue Marlin (蓝枪鱼; 86-25-8453-7376), a western restaurant and bar chain whose location in 1912 offers Western and Asian food, a bar full of reasonably-priced alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink options and live music. If you start to miss bass-heavy dance music played at conversation-killing volume and gaudy colored-lights, head upstairs.

Easy to miss Rothenburg Bar (Shèng Kèlǔsī Déguó Cān Bā, 圣克鲁斯德国餐吧; 86-25-8454-8826) offers German brews and food along with their own in-house-made brew.

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