When Paul Crowney came to Beijing in August on a year-long contract, he knew the nightscape would not be like London's. 'I didn't expect so much before I came out here,' he said.
But Mr Crowney and his mates have been dazzled by Beijing's 10-yuan (HK$9.45) beers, wild dance crowds, lakeside bar seating and the fleet of cheap cabs that shuttles them from one lush bar to another.
Mr Crowney and three or four friends - some of the estimated 100,000 foreigners living in Beijing - go somewhere different every weekend night out, a departure from his London habits.
By the time his contract expires, he should have encountered tea ceremonies, Cuban cigars, punk rock, karaoke dens, cage dancers, belly dancers, Russian singers, bogus beach parties and raves on the Great Wall. 'There are a million things, something for everyone. You can stay out all night,' Mr Crowney said.
Beijing is not London, but its nightlife is better now than it has ever been. Less than a decade ago, foreign exchange students had to go to foreign-owned hotel bars for nights out. Now bars awash in neon or Christmas lights rim every campus; the embassy district is peppered with cool bars, and every neighbourhood has a disco or a karaoke bar.
Beijing's nightlife boom reflects the city's growing sophistication. Pool halls serve the workers, karaoke clubs cater to white-collar crowds, coffeehouses quench students' thirst and teahouses catered by professional water-pourers and leaf-dispensers relax harassed business people.