By Chen Liang (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-10 08:33

CHENGDU: Loud music, dim lighting, exquisitely dressed men and women, and a dance floor packed with writhing bodies - surely, this disco in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, looks quite different from how it, and the rest of the city, appeared in the days following the May 12 earthquake.

People play Chinese chess outside a teahouse in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, earlier this month. Life in this city of leisure is gradually returning to normal after the earthquake. [China Daily]

However, the DJ would still grab every opportunity between sets to seize the microphone and issue a plea in the thick drawl of his local dialect: "Friends, our club is a building with a solid frame and structure, which withstood the tests of earthquakes and aftershocks. So if another aftershock shakes the building, don't panic; just keep dancing."

A month after the disaster, the city, which is known for its laid-back demeanor and slow pace of life, is struggling to reclaim its pre-quake prosperity and tempo. The metropolis' residents, known for being self-centered, slack and almost hedonistically indulgent in life's pleasures, are now licking their wounds - and doing so in their own way.

While many tourist-oriented bars and cafs have yet to reopen their doors, those discos, dance clubs and karaoke bars targeting the local market are beginning to recover. Teahouses, which are the primary venues of Chengdu-ers' social lives, are again seething with people.

"But not all of them," says Gu Jian, a civil servant with Chengdu's Qingyang district. "Since the quake, people have been avoiding teahouses in high-rises or underground air shelters (most of which were built in the 1960s). People are more prone to go to open spaces, areas such as parks, riverbanks and squares."

The consequence is that mahjong and card games, which are known as staples of the Chengdu lifestyle, are back in full swing.

"To be honest, these games never left our lives," Gu says. "I'm a civil servant, and personally, I have never played mahjong or any card games since May 12, and won't play in the near future."

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