Beat goes on as China's club scene learns to livestream

A staff member in a nightclub on Shanghai's Huaihai Road works during a livestream so that followers can enjoy online disco dancing on Friday. WANG XIANG/XINHUA

CHANGSHA－At 10 pm, Lu Yiting in her pajamas turned off the lights at her Beijing home, tuned in a livestreaming music remix channel on her iPhone and danced to the disco beats.

"Online disco dancing, though not as intense as in nightclubs, offers an outlet for emotions, and adds some color to my dull, stay-at-home life," Lu says.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, Lu has been at home for over a month. Nightclubs, among other entertainment venues across China, have also been closed to prevent the gathering of crowds.

It was Lu's first "cloud disco dancing" experience. On her smartphone screen, participants sent their locations and comments, and some sent virtual presents to the DJ in order to let their profile pictures linger for a longer time.

At the same time, thousands of miles away in the eastern city of Yixing, Jiangsu province, Xia Yun, 26, purchased some gifts for the DJ.

"Online disco dancing is more about entertaining oneself than socializing with others. Drinking a beer or two and sweating a little bit while dancing really helped to release some pressure," he says.

On Feb 8, the Shanghai-based TAXX Bar launched an unprecedented "cloud disco dancing" session on TikTok, drawing tens of thousands to join. TAXX says the peak number of online participants stood at 71,000, and the club received total rewards of about 367,000 yuan ($52,893) after deduction of commission to Tik-Tok.

The livestreaming became an instant hit and was labeled "cloud disco dancing" on Sina Weibo the next day. Inspired by TAXX, many nightclubs in China have launched livestreaming sessions on various platforms.