★ Neon cocktail bar
Low-key, bear-leaning gay bar off an alley on the Huaihai strip in Changning — neon-rainbow nooks, easy cocktails around ¥70 and a relaxed crowd happy to chat and swap WeChat.
Tucked down a lane behind the old Xingguo Mansion off Huaihai Zhong Lu in Changning, Moon Bar (also listed as Moon Cafe & Bar) is the relaxed, neighbourly end of the Shanghai scene. It's a bi-level concrete-and-steel 'cave' with moon-and-stars touches and neon-rainbow lighting glowing in the darker nooks — intimate rather than flashy. It reads as a genuine gay bar with a bear lean, the kind of spot where Chinese bears and their admirers come to drink, chat and add each other on WeChat. A good low-key opener or pre-party stop on the Huaihai strip.
Classic cocktails and simple mixes run around ¥70, alongside beer, shooters and a signature 'Lollipop' cocktail. It's open daily from the evening — sources list roughly 7pm or 8pm until late, around 2am. One thing to know: there's a second, different bar also called Moon Bar over on Zhaojiabang Road (a cute local-artist-painting place popular with gay locals), so make sure you're heading to the Lane 1950 Huaihai address in Changning if it's this one you want.