★ Classic Bund glamour
Heritage cocktail bar at the Waldorf Astoria on the Bund, built around a restored 34-metre mahogany bar once called the longest in the Far East. An elegant old-Shanghai stop, not a gay venue.
The Long Bar revives the original Shanghai Club — a building from the 1860s whose bar, when it opened in 1911, was famous as the longest in the Far East. The restored 34-metre raw-mahogany counter is the centrepiece, surrounded by plush sofas and armchairs, an oyster bar, classic cocktails and specialty martinis, a deep wine list and nightly live music. It's pure tai-pan, colonial-era theatre, and one of the more atmospheric heritage drinking rooms on the Bund.
To set expectations: this is a polished, grown-up hotel bar rather than part of the gay scene — no source links it to the city's LGBTQ nightlife. Think of it as the place for a beautifully made martini in a room dripping with history, perhaps after a Bund architecture walk, before you head off to where the dancing happens. Worth a look inside even if you only stay for one.