Article from ‘The Nanfang’ on rave culture and police interference 

Interesting read from an expat who’s been living in Shenzhen for over 6 years. He discusses his experience attending raves in Shenzhen, drug culture there, and the implications a recent police raid have left on the scene. Def worth your time!

In the early hours of February 21, 2016, there was a major drug raid at a Shenzhen rave party. It has since become international news, reported on by The NanfangThe Guardian and Vice. I was rounded up along with hundreds of other people, and this is my story.

One of the surprising things I discovered upon moving to China all those years ago was that illegal drugs are remarkably easy to come by.  One might assume that wouldn’t be the case in a pseudo-Communist country, yet the party scene introduced itself to me almost immediately and I saw that drugs among expats were no big deal. Perhaps it’s the chaos that comes with rapid economic expansion, but for whatever reason that’s the way it’s generally been.

Based upon my admittedly anecdotal evidence, among foreigners in big cities at least, it’s mostly a bit of MDMA at clubs and the usual marijuana hit if you are into that kind of thing. Not to mention, like almost everywhere else in the world, the main drug of choice is a certain legal narcotic which is definitely the most destructive of all: alcohol.

For the rest of the story, head on over to The Nanfang.