They did not reopen properly until August. Yet many electronic-music clubs have weathered the disruption, in part because punters freed from lockdown have flocked back to them. A bouncer eyeing the crowd at Zhao Dai says it is as busy as it was before the closures.
Michael Ohlsson, the American owner of Dada, another Beijing club, says his business will probably break even this year, despite being closed for much of its first half.
The pandemic has wrought changes, nonetheless. Nightspots have long felt it necessary to fly in fashionable foreign DJs to help them draw crowds.
As a result Chinese performers have always had to make do with supporting slots, says Huang Hongli, a DJ who uses the stage name of Hotwill. Now they have no choice but to give locals a chance to shine.