Shanghai transforms after dark into a sparkling seductress. This is a party town from way back. Yesterday’s opium halls and Somerset Maughams are today’s underground clubs and Giorgio Armanis. Shanghai has returned to its rightful place as one of the world’s great cities.

The Bund and the Beauty

After a half-century of neglect, Shanghai's iconic waterfront promenade, the Bund, is being dusted off and transformed into a luxury lifestyle destination, the epicentre of Shanghai nightlife. High-end restaurants, cocktail lounges, boutique breweries, fashion flagships, art galleries and spas are dotted between old banking headquarters along the main stretch of Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu as well as in the atmospheric backstreets, with more dilapidated heritage gems set to be gussied up by top global brands.

Pudong Action on the Far Side

In general, Pudong is much more impressive to gaze at across the Huangpu River than it is to actually visit. The new financial district has wide-open streets and space-age skyscrapers but lacks real soul. A few standout venues make it worthy of crossing the river.

Playtime in People’s Park

Constructing an Arabian palace on historic green space in the heart of the city was a questionable move by Shanghai’s town planners – but the party people aren’t complaining. Deep in People’s Park, on the edge of a still lake, candlelit Barbarossa (tel: 6318-0220, 231 Nanjing Lu) glimmers like a mirage. Step inside to find three storeys of maharajah chic filled with North African antiques and the European trip-hop beats. Food and service can be lacklustre but you won’t much care after a cappuccino-flavoured sheesha pipe on the terracotta rooftop.

Shikumen Chic: Xintiandi Bars and Clubs

Site of the Communist Party’s first clandestine meeting in 1921, the 19th-century shikumen neighbourhood of Xintiandi (Lane 181, Taicang Lu) is now a hub for all manner of glamorous delights. If you have the cash, you can’t really go wrong with the dining and drinking venues here, but some are more memorable than others.

A Walk on the Wild Side

Julu Lu caters to all tastes. Near the junction of Changshu Lu is a row of down-at-heel girly bars with names like Goodfellas and Badlands. However, the Fumin Lu end is infinitely classier. For its jaw-dropping industrial-chic interior and nouvelle Japanese cuisine, book one of the mezzanine tables at Shintori Null II (tel: 5404 5252, 803 Julu Lu). The same group also owns bar/restaurant People 7 (tel: 5404-0707) next door, known for its fun password-protected entrance and trick toilets.

Shanghai Clubbing - Dance until Dawn

Packed to the gills and reeking of parfum and pretension, the enormously popular Baby Face (tel: 6375-6667, Unit 101, 138 Huaihai Zhong Lu) consists of two separate dance areas, a central bar that you’ll be lucky to get to, and exclusive mezzanine lounges requiring a Rmb2,500-3,500 minimum order. There’s a cover charge on weekends, bullish bouncers manning the door and floor and a largely local crowd. If you know the right people and moves there’s lots of fun to be had in this club. If not, enter at your own risk.

Mellow Mood - All that Jazz

Shanghai and jazz are synonymous and the city’s two most outstanding live jazz clubs are within a stone’s throw of each other on Fuxing Lu. The plush JZ Club (tel: 6431-0269, 46 Fuxing Xi Lu) features players on the international circuit and superb late-night jam sessions, while the long-running Cotton Club (tel: 6437-71108, Fuxing Xi Lu) is a much rawer venue with a dark, smoky interior and righteous blues. Recommended by our readers is the Blues Room, a new late night venue at 146 Tongren Lu, right off Nanjing West. Watch for the late-night jam sessions.