The Color Bar

Whilst the British English user in me stops me from ever accepting Color’s name, as a watering hole, I’ve found a true favourite here.  Run by the gently giant Max Guo and his consistently charming Maureen, Color was opened last year as a kind of ‘Western-Chinese’ hybrid, a Hard Rock-esque western style bar for the hipper and more alternatively inclined local Chinese youngsters.

Popular with younger local expats, the place has become something of a hub for the local music scene, across all genres, Chinese and international.  Enter on any evening and you’ll often find hip-hop fans showing off their latest dance routines and bling, Max smashing out a few tunes on his guitar or drum kit with pals, or Maureen soothing the clientele with a soaring Chinese ballad from behind what must be one of the longest bars in Nantong.

Consciously hip, Color is decked out in wacky art work and photography, musical instruments and only occasionally ironic Communist paraphernalia.  Wireless Internet and a well-appointed Western bathroom help show that being down with the kids needn’t mean roughing it.  Its clientele is unpredictable to say the least, but are generally young, and its drinks reasonably priced and varied.

Color opens daily, from early evening until the tunes run out.  It can be found just south of the junction between Chengshan Lu and Hong Qiao Lu, on the way to Su Guo supermarket and Wolf Hill.