i've been in bangkok the last month or so. a friend of mine had business in shanghai so i decided to make a trip there and see how the scene is. i'd been to shanghai once before (two years ago) but it was with mom and dad so i didn't get to some of the "better" spots.

i got some intel from some guys on this board and my friend has lived on and off in HK for the last 20 yrs. His network of friends in china is pretty wide, including a few who live in shanghai. my two primary goals were (i) red rope massage and (ii) freelancer to my hotel. if these didn't pan out, our fallback was the KTV's.
we had 3 nights to achieve the goals.

GETTING THERE:
i used 30,000 UA miles to fly business class on thai airways. a 4 hour flight. i thought 30,000 for bkk-hkg was a steal but this one beat that as the flight is 1+ hrs longer.

LODGING/TRANSPORT:
i stayed where my buddy's company had him set up, the sheraton hong qiao. roughly $150/nt when you add in the taxes and internet (no breakfast). i noticed it was very close to yu ping hotel so i figured that was a plus (although i had read that the red rope was shut down there). the city is so spread out that i'm not sure it really matters where you stay. you have to taxi every where (or take the subway). taxi's are cheap, we had a couple 30+ minute rides due to traffic and i don't think the fare was ever more than 50 rmb (less than $10usd). almost free with two guys paying.

MASSAGE/RED ROPE:
this was a complete failure. i don't think they have the red rope deal anywhere but maybe someone can provide an update.

shanghai hotel (505 wulumuxi rd). 2nd floor massage is shut down. my friend's contacts said this was the spot and they were shocked to hear it was closed. there were a couple gals hanging in the lobby and a couple pimps out front but we took a pass.

we got a lead on another place but we couldn't find it and our contact didn't answer his phone when we needed it most.

maybe someone can update us on the status of red rope. we've already asked our other local contacts to please advise on what they encounter in the next few months (and i'll update the board if i get anything).

BAR GIRLS/FREELANCERS:

tongren lu - we hit this area twice (one block stretch of 12-15 bars). went to half the bars and none of the ladies were available for anything but drinks and pool. again, our local contacts were shocked. maybe there was a crackdown. maybe we didn't go to the right bars but we made it to quite a few. still, we enjoyed it, we told the ladies we'd buy drinks if they won at pool. we won every time, my friend has a pool table in his house......

xin tian di - the HK guys call this the lan kwai fong of shanghai. and we were told freelancers could be had in this area. good outside seating for viewing all the pedestrians, etc... we did get a few waves from some ladies but they wouldn't approach us at the tables. you need to walk around and make the pick up that way. we connected with a couple gals when we were strolling but they wanted 1,500rmb and they were not that hot. so we passed on that.

bar rouge - i guess this is the "best bar" in shanghai. roof top terrace overlooking the river with views of the pudong side. supposedly has freelancers. we went on a thurs and hung out from 10 to 12. again, talked with a couple gals but they were not quite in the ballpark on the looks front and we didn't get to pricing. on our way out, there was a stream of some real hotties on their way in, we may have left too early......
i should also mention there were pimps out front but we weren't ready for that scene.

KTV:
by the time we realized we were shut out on the red rope and the freelancer/bar girls, we were too drunk to attempt a KTV (more drinks would just destroy our bodies and our wallets). i'm heading back to bangkok and my buddy is in monger friendly areas several times each month. so we just had to call it a night every night.

SUMMARY:
i really enjoyed the city, xin tian di and the "high end" spots on the bund (we had lunch at new heights one day, roof top, roughly $50/person with a couple drinks) are great places to hang out for a few drinks and discuss the good ol days (my friend and i went to college together so we had many memories to go through during the three days).

but it seems like the action on the lady front changes from time to time so very current info is super critical. or just do the KTV's.

my friend is going to be in shanghai every other month for quite some time so i'll provide updates on what he finds on his future trips.

thanks for the low down Buick! different spots in China are on my hit list! i can't wait to taste the talent there! bummer that the action was slow on your trip but i look forward to the updates! cheers!

Too bad about the failure to find any "red rope" massages in Shanghai. Unless things have changed, Zhuhai is probably the best place for this though (and the prices there are quite reasonable).

i will definitely have more to add to the shanghai scene. sadly, i'm sure most updates will involve amounts of money that none of us are real excited about spending on the ladies. but we'll see.

my next asia trip is oct-feb and that might include visiting the real monger spots in china as well.

2 bars on TongRen Lu are full of freelance whores - Manhattan and Judys.

Do not go to either before 11pm - watch out for lady boys near to entrance.

ALL girls in these bars are freelance whores - up to 100 in each bar from midnight on

DO NOT go to any other bar on TongRen Lu except these 2

Bar Rouge definitely a whore pick up place - Chinese, Mongolian, Ruskies etc.

Prices for LT from RMB2,000 upwards

Shanghai is NOT a cheap place for whores - it is THE money town in China and the whores know it

At Xin Tian Di you can find whores in Luna, Paulaner and Revolution - once again prices are not cheap

Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and indeed ALL major Chinese cities are currently in lock down / wind down mode.

The 6oth annual Communist Party Congress is on in Beijing in October. Beijing never has recovered from the pre-Olympic crackdown and will now get even worse.

Shanghai has seen the closing of many massage centrs including Shanghai Hotel in preperation for World Expo next year.

Guangzhou will experience same as Asian games approach next year.

Apart from Zhu Hai and Dongguan - China is basically fucked as a whoring destination over next year or so.

Go there if you must - BUT - if you have a choice head to Phils, LOS, or Indo

thanks BBB, i'll be back in shanghai later this year. i can't remember which bars i went to on tongren lu but it sounds like it wasn't judy's or manhattan.

my buddy is married and i meet him on his business trips every now and then. we went to college together so spending alot of $$ over a couple days to really enjoy is not a horrible thing.

Been to China maybe a dozen times and almost as many different cities but the last time was a while ago now - a few months before the olympics. At the time, as BBB says BJ was definitely in lock down mode. In my experience, however, even at the best of times mainland China has never been on par with most other well-known mongering destinations in Asia. The only exception might be Shenzhen but, again, I haven't been there for a while now.

Regarding Shanghai, I had a very nice experience about 4 years ago. I was staying at the Hotel Equatorial for a couple of days before heading off to Hangzhou. I chose this hotel because it was close to a main nightlife area. After eating some dinner and before heading out to said nightlife area, out of curiosity I wandered up to the hotel bar at the Equatorial. When I got there the bar was empty except for 1-2 other guys and maybe about 5-6 serious-looking hotel employees plus one table with 4 very attractive young girls and a slightly older woman who turned out to be their "handler".

The handler came over to my table and introduced herself shortly after my drink arrived. She spoke very good English and after a little small-talk she asked me what I thought of her friends. Well, I allowed that they were all quite attractive and very classy to boot. Long story short, I was subsequently introduced to one of her friends who spoke decent English and said she was a "student" and for about $150 I had the best session in all my various experiences in China, before or since. It's amazing how random our hobby can be at times, isn't it??