“I started 021 because I love rock music and I wanted to have a place where my band and my friends’ bands could play. When I first came to Shanghai [from Xiamen] there was hardly anywhere to play,” says Guang Hui, owner and manager of 021 Bar. “I found the [building] by coincidence, but I was looking for an old factory space.” The bar occupies a second story room in a renovated factory building that Guang says was once owned and run by the Japanese in the 1930s.

Visitors must navigate a long hallway past several red light parlors before reaching the high-ceilinged loft space. Hui has poured his heart and savings into creating a venue he believes is perfect for live music. “We offer a free atmosphere where people who love music can communicate,” says Guang.