Here's what it's like inside the new Arkham

It’s a time of nightlife resurrections. After the city's two biggest alternative clubs, The Shelter and Arkham, were forced to close at the back end of 2016, the pair are soon to be back at large (sort of). The Shelter’s Gaz Williams and co are opening new club ALL next month, details of which are still shrouded in mystery, and Arkham has already reopened under the same name at flashy new digs next to Found 158 on Julu Lu.

Here's how its opening night with A$AP Mob's Cozy Boys went down:

Fans of the old Arkham will likely be happy with the new incarnation. It’s technically underground, has a very similar layout and vibe to the original and has a similarly decent soundsystem. Not much has changed on the drinks side either, albeit now with one bar rather than two. Standard mixers are 55-60RMB, with bottles of Tsingtao for 40RMB.

But they’re making more of an effort to court Shanghai’s high rollers as well as the cool kids. There are four VIP rooms (still to be completed), one with its own DJ booth and soundsystem, and there’s a bigger area of raised tables at the back of the club for those willing to fork out on a four-figure drinks package. On the downside, Arkham told us the new location is more expensive than the old Wulumuqi Lu spot, so don’t be surprised to see higher cover charges.

Smoking ban being strictly enforced..

It’s also kept some of the oddities of the old place, such as its tendency to have the crowd staring at the DJ rather than dancing and its near-Adidas-only dress code. But with it being pretty close to a carbon copy of the old spot, as well as promoters like SHFT., STD and Yeti moving back in, we couldn't have hoped for much more from Arkham's return, and we're glad to have it back.

Arkham Found 158, 168 Julu Lu, near Chengdu Nan Lu, Huangpu district.

More from Time Out Shanghai

Click below for more from nightlife