Cool! Shanghai bomb shelter turned night club

These days, restaurants and bars are always looking for new, edgy ways to attract customers. How’s this for a creative concept - a historic bomb shelter-turned-night club? Shanghai’s literal "underground" music club offers a unique night out.
It may look like any other building, but the simple entrance disguises one of Shanghai’s newest trends -- transforming disused bomb shelters into imaginative new spaces. Once through the door, guests are led through a labyrinth of tunnels down to the dance floor of "The Shelter," an underground music haven popular with Chinese and foreigners alike. The club, six metres below ground, is now one of the city’s most popular hot spots, luring the likes of DJ Premier, who produces music for US rapper Jay-Z.
Gary Wang, Founder And Co-Owner of "The Shelter" Club, said, "The most important thing is that we can play the music we like in this place. Of course we were lucky that it is a bomb shelter and it fits the kind of music we play and the mood we want."

 guests are led through a
labyrinth of tunnels down to the dance floor of
"The Shelter," 

The club plays a mix of Reggae, Drum ’n Bass and Soul spinning on the turntables. The windowless venue sometimes even throws "pitch-dark" parties, shutting down all the lights and even Wi-Fi connections, leaving only the music on.
Barry LU, Shanghai resident, said, "I had wanted to come here last week because I was attracted to the music here. When I was walking through the tunnel, the place was already rocking."


Hundreds of thousands of bomb shelters were built across China in the 1960s and 1970s to prepare for possible air raids from the Soviet Union. The shelters were rented out by the government after tensions with the Soviet Union eased in the mid 1970s.
Jin Dalu, Professor of Shanghai Academy Of Social Sciences, said, "Of course, for the five, six percent of the shelters that are still usable today, they have to be of a certain standard. They must have electricity and water supply, as well as proper ventilation."
Most of the bomb shelters in the city have been torn down to make way for the city’s sprawling subway network. The Shelter is one, however, that lives on with a new purpose.  (http://english.cntv.cn)