Hey,

I have been reading parts of the forum and keep seeing 'KTV' but have no idea what it is. Can anyone explain it to me?

KTVs are karaoke bars consisting entirely of private rooms.

Many of them are fronts for prostitution. Others are more family-oriented.

how do they work?
is it sort of a reception area and you and your friends get taken to a room?
are these popular?

They are not really front for prostitution, more like a place where you can meet/hire prostitutes.

Ok I know it sounds the same LOL, but here is the 411:

1) You can go there to sing and drink, just like a clean family-oriented KTV.
2) The setup is just like a real KTV place except it's much more luxurious, with large private rooms.
3) Instead of paying hourly, it's a lot more expensive, usually 3-4k for the room, that is not the price for the room, it just means you have to consume 3-4k worth of liquor/food, think of "minimum spending".
4) If you do not want girls, no one will bother you, just enjoy the room, sing and drink with your friends.
5) If you want girls, there are mama-san's, who will bring out line up's of girls. You can pick anyone you like, they will sing, drink, chat, play games with you, all that for a fee.
6) If you like a particular girl, and would like to take them out, it's entirely up to you and the girl, the establishments are not involved, you might or might not have to pay a fee to the establishments.
7) Not every girl will "go out" with you, some of them purely earn a living by being your companion, not selling sex. Of course some are prostitutes that will happily "go out" with you.

If your purpose is girls, go there early, get there by 9pm, don't roll in like it's a night club at 11:30, because all the good looking girls would have been picked by other customers.
Also, ask for all pricing before you proceed. Those place are quite legit, do not rip you off, all price is published, just ask, you will have a minimum spending amount for the room, there is a set fee for each girl that you pick to accompany you, you also need to pay a set tip to the waitress, and the mama-san. That's all.

ahh ok, i understand now. Thanks

Is Shanghai generally expensive for a night out? drink prices, entrance fees etc. I am moving there in September to study mandarin for a year and am keen to find out as much info as possible.

You are a student and dont have a job (I assume), then yeah, it will be expensive.
Also, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karaoke.

MWat wrote:ahh ok, i understand now. Thanks

Is Shanghai generally expensive for a night out? drink prices, entrance fees etc. I am moving there in September to study mandarin for a year and am keen to find out as much info as possible.

As I said somewhere else, the beauty of Shanghai is that you have options.
It can go as cheap as you want, or as expensive as you want.

Most of places do not charge entrance fees, the hot spots only charge entrance fees on weekends or special event nights, sometime those entrance fee will include a drink or two.
Drink price, cocktail and liquor(Scotch, Vodka etc) ranges 70-110RMB at a decent place.

If you like to party it up properly with table service, it can run from few hundred to thousands.
Hot spots will have a minimum spending for their table service on weekends, it can range from 2500-6000rmb. On week days, some places run specials for example 2 bottles for 980RMB.

Ip Man wrote:^ You must be very experience and a regular in ktv. But this is a norm in china, the chinese will always entertain their business partners or their customers in a ktv. I believed the twin chicks on your avatar are harlot you've scored in a ktv. Looks like those drag queen on the street of bangkok though.

Actually I do not go there often.
I do not conduct business in KTV, I don't need to go to KTV to pick up girls, I usually go when I have oversea friends in town who want to check out "China KTV's" Or good friends here really twist my arms.

The girls in my avatar, are rich girls grew up in Aussie.
Yes they have gone under knife, so that explains the "artificial" look that can resemble Bangkok tranny.

what is KTV without girls called?

neomanxl wrote:what is KTV without girls called?

KTV
If you want a clean KTV just for singing, go to either Shanghaigecheng (上海歌城)or Haoledi (好乐迪).

Are you mean, there are some dirty kTV in Shanghai?

I think this forum needs a new feature, under you screen name, it should list every other screen name that has also used the same IP address, it will be a very interesting place here
Michael should work on that.

Bobchina wrote:Are you mean, there are some dirty kTV in Shanghai?

Who is that freak? I hate him stalking me. Is it Blooey?

Anyway, KTVs are fun, even for girls. I once had a great time, our bosses in Taiwan took the entire staff there (around 50 of us), we had a huge room, and then the girls walked in. They loved me because I could speak Chinese, so we had fun and played dice games while they topped up my drinks and treated me like a princess. It was a blast.

fWerrF wrote:I think this forum needs a new feature, under you screen name, it should list every other screen name that has also used the same IP address, it will be a very interesting place here
Michael should work on that.

Same IP address in my account, is not my account been stolen?

KTV

this is where we released all our stress and depressions because we can sing whatever song we want to sing together with our families and friends..


we can also drink and eat inside the KTV bars..

even if you are not a good singer its ok all you have to bring is your guts.. =)

This is a fairly long thread for something that could've been answered via a quick google search. Here's a pretty good list of the standards around Shanghai:

http://www.urbanatomy.com/index.php/cit ... -/3583-ktv

KTV is simply what Chinese people call Karaoke (Karaoke TV). Some are legitimate and are just places friends go to unwind. Others have more on offer.

fWerrF wrote:They are not really front for prostitution, more like a place where you can meet/hire prostitutes.

Ok I know it sounds the same LOL, but here is the 411:

1) You can go there to sing and drink, just like a clean family-oriented KTV.
2) The setup is just like a real KTV place except it's much more luxurious, with large private rooms.
3) Instead of paying hourly, it's a lot more expensive, usually 3-4k for the room, that is not the price for the room, it just means you have to consume 3-4k worth of liquor/food, think of "minimum spending".
4) If you do not want girls, no one will bother you, just enjoy the room, sing and drink with your friends.
5) If you want girls, there are mama-san's, who will bring out line up's of girls. You can pick anyone you like, they will sing, drink, chat, play games with you, all that for a fee.
6) If you like a particular girl, and would like to take them out, it's entirely up to you and the girl, the establishments are not involved, you might or might not have to pay a fee to the establishments.
7) Not every girl will "go out" with you, some of them purely earn a living by being your companion, not selling sex. Of course some are prostitutes that will happily "go out" with you.

If your purpose is girls, go there early, get there by 9pm, don't roll in like it's a night club at 11:30, because all the good looking girls would have been picked by other customers.
Also, ask for all pricing before you proceed. Those place are quite legit, do not rip you off, all price is published, just ask, you will have a minimum spending amount for the room, there is a set fee for each girl that you pick to accompany you, you also need to pay a set tip to the waitress, and the mama-san. That's all.

fWerrF, that is actually the best description, or call it 'guide', I have seen on this board.
Cheers!

Andreas wrote:

fWerrF wrote:They are not really front for prostitution, more like a place where you can meet/hire prostitutes.

Ok I know it sounds the same LOL, but here is the 411:

1) You can go there to sing and drink, just like a clean family-oriented KTV.
2) The setup is just like a real KTV place except it's much more luxurious, with large private rooms.
3) Instead of paying hourly, it's a lot more expensive, usually 3-4k for the room, that is not the price for the room, it just means you have to consume 3-4k worth of liquor/food, think of "minimum spending".
4) If you do not want girls, no one will bother you, just enjoy the room, sing and drink with your friends.
5) If you want girls, there are mama-san's, who will bring out line up's of girls. You can pick anyone you like, they will sing, drink, chat, play games with you, all that for a fee.
6) If you like a particular girl, and would like to take them out, it's entirely up to you and the girl, the establishments are not involved, you might or might not have to pay a fee to the establishments.
7) Not every girl will "go out" with you, some of them purely earn a living by being your companion, not selling sex. Of course some are prostitutes that will happily "go out" with you.

If your purpose is girls, go there early, get there by 9pm, don't roll in like it's a night club at 11:30, because all the good looking girls would have been picked by other customers.
Also, ask for all pricing before you proceed. Those place are quite legit, do not rip you off, all price is published, just ask, you will have a minimum spending amount for the room, there is a set fee for each girl that you pick to accompany you, you also need to pay a set tip to the waitress, and the mama-san. That's all.

fWerrF, that is actually the best description, or call it 'guide', I have seen on this board.
Cheers!

I agree, well done fWerrF.

I would like to add a pointer about picking a KTV girl.

Picking the most beautiful girl may not give you the expected results as she is in high demand and knows it and there is a good chance of you paying more and getting less. That is unless of course you are loaded and WANT to show this off then she will be all over you like sh1t on a blanket.

If you want more bang for the buck pick a midrange girl.

Andreas wrote:fWerrF, that is actually the best description, or call it 'guide', I have seen on this board.
Cheers!

My pleasure, Andreas, thank you.

tihZ_hO wrote:

Andreas wrote:

fWerrF wrote:They are not really front for prostitution, more like a place where you can meet/hire prostitutes.

Ok I know it sounds the same LOL, but here is the 411:

1) You can go there to sing and drink, just like a clean family-oriented KTV.
2) The setup is just like a real KTV place except it's much more luxurious, with large private rooms.
3) Instead of paying hourly, it's a lot more expensive, usually 3-4k for the room, that is not the price for the room, it just means you have to consume 3-4k worth of liquor/food, think of "minimum spending".
4) If you do not want girls, no one will bother you, just enjoy the room, sing and drink with your friends.
5) If you want girls, there are mama-san's, who will bring out line up's of girls. You can pick anyone you like, they will sing, drink, chat, play games with you, all that for a fee.
6) If you like a particular girl, and would like to take them out, it's entirely up to you and the girl, the establishments are not involved, you might or might not have to pay a fee to the establishments.
7) Not every girl will "go out" with you, some of them purely earn a living by being your companion, not selling sex. Of course some are prostitutes that will happily "go out" with you.

If your purpose is girls, go there early, get there by 9pm, don't roll in like it's a night club at 11:30, because all the good looking girls would have been picked by other customers.
Also, ask for all pricing before you proceed. Those place are quite legit, do not rip you off, all price is published, just ask, you will have a minimum spending amount for the room, there is a set fee for each girl that you pick to accompany you, you also need to pay a set tip to the waitress, and the mama-san. That's all.

fWerrF, that is actually the best description, or call it 'guide', I have seen on this board.
Cheers!

I agree, well done fWerrF.

I would like to add a pointer about picking a KTV girl.

Picking the most beautiful girl may not give you the expected results as she is in high demand and knows it and there is a good chance of you paying more and getting less. That is unless of course you are loaded and WANT to show this off then she will be all over you like sh1t on a blanket.

If you want more bang for the buck pick a midrange girl.

Its actually all chances. You can pick a mid range girl and she can be this lazy bitch that hides in the corner SMSing with her phone all night. There really are these girls that just give bad service or don't want to participate in activities, not even talking. But i learnt the method of just giving them 100 rmb and telling them to F off if they don't deliver any results. And pick a new girl. Considering the service ain't cheap I do want to get some worth out of it.

But throughout the whole entire service industry in China, KTVs are no.1 in service attitude and manners!

Moroes wrote:

tihZ_hO wrote:

Andreas wrote:

fWerrF wrote:They are not really front for prostitution, more like a place where you can meet/hire prostitutes.

Ok I know it sounds the same LOL, but here is the 411:

1) You can go there to sing and drink, just like a clean family-oriented KTV.
2) The setup is just like a real KTV place except it's much more luxurious, with large private rooms.
3) Instead of paying hourly, it's a lot more expensive, usually 3-4k for the room, that is not the price for the room, it just means you have to consume 3-4k worth of liquor/food, think of "minimum spending".
4) If you do not want girls, no one will bother you, just enjoy the room, sing and drink with your friends.
5) If you want girls, there are mama-san's, who will bring out line up's of girls. You can pick anyone you like, they will sing, drink, chat, play games with you, all that for a fee.
6) If you like a particular girl, and would like to take them out, it's entirely up to you and the girl, the establishments are not involved, you might or might not have to pay a fee to the establishments.
7) Not every girl will "go out" with you, some of them purely earn a living by being your companion, not selling sex. Of course some are prostitutes that will happily "go out" with you.

If your purpose is girls, go there early, get there by 9pm, don't roll in like it's a night club at 11:30, because all the good looking girls would have been picked by other customers.
Also, ask for all pricing before you proceed. Those place are quite legit, do not rip you off, all price is published, just ask, you will have a minimum spending amount for the room, there is a set fee for each girl that you pick to accompany you, you also need to pay a set tip to the waitress, and the mama-san. That's all.

fWerrF, that is actually the best description, or call it 'guide', I have seen on this board.
Cheers!

I agree, well done fWerrF.

I would like to add a pointer about picking a KTV girl.

Picking the most beautiful girl may not give you the expected results as she is in high demand and knows it and there is a good chance of you paying more and getting less. That is unless of course you are loaded and WANT to show this off then she will be all over you like sh1t on a blanket.

If you want more bang for the buck pick a midrange girl.

Its actually all chances. You can pick a mid range girl and she can be this lazy bitch that hides in the corner SMSing with her phone all night. There really are these girls that just give bad service or don't want to participate in activities, not even talking. But i learnt the method of just giving them 100 rmb and telling them to F off if they don't deliver any results. And pick a new girl. Considering the service ain't cheap I do want to get some worth out of it.

But throughout the whole entire service industry in China, KTVs are no.1 in service attitude and manners!

You could just cancel the booking and get another girl and don't have to give her anything. The "Mommie" will get you another as she looses her commission. If you get this too many times at your fave KTV go to another.

At you fave KTV how do they do the booking, by the hour with say a three hour minimum or a flat fee for the entire night or 10 hours which ever comes first? Also how much do you pay and what services do they offer?

Agreed, fWerrF, well done. But you got this part wrong:

"If you like to party it up properly with table service".

Table service, at any time, in any city, ain't no party! I don't have a problem with sitting down someplace nice and having a cocktail waitress/waiter take my drink order, but paying for some outrageously priced bottle of crap vodka for the pleasure of getting to act like a tool at a "VIP" booth is a load of BS invented by PDiddy.

Buzzd wrote:Agreed, fWerrF, well done. But you got this part wrong:

"If you like to party it up properly with table service".

Table service, at any time, in any city, ain't no party! I don't have a problem with sitting down someplace nice and having a cocktail waitress/waiter take my drink order, but paying for some outrageously priced bottle of crap vodka for the pleasure of getting to act like a tool at a "VIP" booth is a load of BS invented by PDiddy.

I agree, and LOL @ PDiddy comment

But let me clarify what I meant:
Outside of China, table service is not necessary. In Pacha NYC I can be on the dance floor for 4 hours straight, in Pink Elephant it's nice to have a table to rest when you don't like the beats they are playing, but not required because you can almost always find a seat to park for few minutes.
In China, it's a different game. Clubs don't have a real dance floor, so most of time you have to dance by your table. No seats around to take a rest. Most important, I personally HATE holding a drink and walking around. Therefore having a table so you can sit down is crucial, you get your personal space, you get your seats, you have waiter watch your stuff... All that for as little as price of 1 bottle in a NYC club, why not

good place, if I have chance, I will come.

Bobchina wrote:good place, if I have chance, I will come.

Be sure to pick a good girl

tihZ_hO wrote:

Bobchina wrote:good place, if I have chance, I will come.

Be sure to pick a good girl

You pick a good girl. I will pick a Bad Girl.
Remember good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere.

fWerrF wrote:I think this forum needs a new feature, under you screen name, it should list every other screen name that has also used the same IP address, it will be a very interesting place here
Michael should work on that.

Like Ichop. etc etc