Modernised minds

Zhengzhou's modernisation drive is not just relegated to the Zhengdong central business district (CBD) or to other infrastructure improvements in and around the city. The improvements are not the end, but merely the means to the real goal of the local administration: a modernisation of the people in how they act, dress, buy, think and play. It will take time for the real changes to come. 

However, the transformation is slowly taking place. Changing tastes in Zhengzhou, especially among the younger crowd, has led to an increase in international-themed restaurants, bars and cafes around town. Most of the bars and cafes are located inside the many new luxury hotels in the city such as the Marriott and Sofitel, but there are also a number of establishments spilling out of the grand hotels that attract the new jet-setting, ambitious crowd of local Henanese looking to network and get ahead. 

An old standby in the city is the Target Pub. Even after all these years, the Target is still the top place for locals to mix in with an international crowd. The pub is laced with international flags, and the decor is built for drink and revelry, a place to meet and rejoice rather than sit and observe. 

But the Target isn't alone at the top of the international bar scene. Reggae-themed bars join clubs such as Coco and Hong La Fang; and hangout joints such as the Wheat and C'est La Vie cafes are the first wave of fusion spots for locals to get their taste of the outside world without leaving Zhengzhou.

Many of the new bars and clubs will last a year or more, and be replaced with newer, ever-edgier renditions of the world-style meet-up place. 

With each wave of openings, a few more are added to the growing list of spots that can help Zhengzhou modernise not just the skyline, but the average mind.