Manhattan's

Manhattan's bar on Maoming South Road

The Manhattan Club is the best-known place in Shanghai to pick up working girls. Most of the girls are Vietnamese, with a few Chinese girls mainly at the weekend. From time to time there are go-go dance shows on the bar, and the belly dancers are a fixture — though ever since regulations tightened, the outfits on stage are considerably tamer than they once were. There is no table fee, drink prices are reasonable — not cheap, but not inflated — and the staff are friendly and will not pad your bill, which makes it a genuinely relaxed place to spend an evening. Live music plays until 11 PM, after which a DJ takes over.

Making contact works by eye: walk around, and hold eye contact with a girl you like. If she is interested, she will come over and strike up a conversation within seconds.

Opening hours and rates

Manhattan's is open daily from 7 PM until around 6 AM the next morning. The best time to show up is around 23:45 — most girls are there by then and the selection is still good.

Avoid the pushiest girls: they tend to be the most practised at overcharging, and the most likely to leave after a short session. As an indication of the going rates: a short-time deal is typically agreed around 1,000 RMB, an overnight around 3,500 RMB. Most girls open higher, but at 2,000 RMB you can normally take out the large majority. Depending on your negotiation skills, the girl's popularity and how busy the night is, short time can start as low as 1,500 RMB — or an overnight can run to 4,000 RMB.

Location

茂名南路56号 — 56 Màomíng Nánlù

A warning about the taxis lined up in front of the bar: the first two to four cars are usually unlicensed and will overcharge you. Walk a few meters up the street and call a Didi instead.