I never really go to a karaoke night back in the UK but in China they tend to promote it a lot and are a very popular way to spend social time with friends and family. Karaoke nights here in Beijing are something to not miss out on when you are in China and to find these places I would definitley recommend China travel for destinations. Also for the best hotels in China I would recommend China Hotels so you’re sure of all your personal comforts when in China.
I went to a karaoke bar in Beijing and in China it is formally known as a ‘KTV’ night. I didn’t know what to expect of the karaoke night at first as karaoke back in the UK is either promoted on a black board outside a pub where anyone can just walk in or it can be an event around someone’s home.
KTV images
We went in a large group to ‘KTV’ because that way it felt much more social and obviously there would be a lot more ideas for the choice of songs. All KTV’s are designed differently but the one I went to gave me my first insight into what a KTV karaoke bar looks like. When you walk in through the glazed double doors there is a huge seating area to the left and a cloak room for your coat. Further along the hall way there is a shop that sells bottled beer and snacks to take in to the private room.
The karaoke bar or ‘KTV’ as they call it here in Beijing reminded me of a night club back in the UK. It kind of had a retro interior design or kind of looked like a London movie theatre as the sofas in the entrance were different colours and as you walk in to the private room the couches were red lining the walls.
In ‘KTV’ karaoke we hired a private insulated room. The room had two wide screen TV’s, two large central tables and the room was shaped in a rectangle. The karaoke song selection screen was in digital to the left corner of the room opposite to the entrance. The two wide screens were placed to the right of the room embedded in the walls. The room had about 4 – 5 microphones all resting on the tables as you sit down and when we were waiting for the karaoke machine to work there was a short heavy duty delay on the vocal tracks, but after tapping the microphone on the tables a few times it eventually worked, mind you it might of helped a little if the microphones were switched on.
The song selection was a mixture of American songs, British and Chinese songs. There weren’t many Chinese people in our group but there was a song book in the room in Chinese and if you are in a group with a Chinese they will insist that you sing. If you can’t sing then just say no and that you can’t sing. In Mandarin its ‘Wo bu hui chang ge’ (I cannot sing). If you are not shy to sing just sing whatever is playing on the screen at the time.
I would advise that you go prepared when you go to a karaoke night in China as the speakers are turned up really loud so I suggest you carry some ear plugs with you and not to ask to turn the volume down. I wouldn’t worry too much about it though as you can leave the room, however the rooms are designed to decrease the distortion. At the end of the night people in our group were dancing to the karaoke songs on the tables and used the space for a dance floor in the room. The best part about the room is that there is a button you can press for more alcohol and an attendant comes in to the room almost immediately, ready to assist you.
In China smoking is not forbidden in bars, clubs or even public areas so there will be people in the room smoking and playing drinking games slamming dice down on the table. There is no ventilation in the room so if you need fresh air you are allowed to go outside.
Please see China travel Depot for more information on China Tours and night life in Beijing.
Related posts:
