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Hi all,

I came to China about a year ago, and spent my first year in Guiyang. Just last week, I moved here to Dalian. Its funny, I never really had much trouble adjusting to Guiyang, but here in Dalian I am having a much harder time.

My Chinese is pretty good(I studied Chinese in college and have now lived in China over a year), and I love being able to speak to people in Chinese. Currently, there are two things that I really miss about Guiyang:

One, Chinese style bars. In Guiyang, there are hundreds of bars that are all almost exactly the same. Get six bottles of snow for 50( or 60 or 70) yuan. Then you usually get some snacks as well. The bars are filled with Chinese people excited to meet new people (and especially excited to meet foreigners who can speak Chinese). It is easy to approach other people. Walking up and saying, "Gan bei!" or playing a round of dice or 15 20 (the hand game) works well. And since the beer is so cheap, its no big deal sharing and inviting whoever you want to your table.

To me, these bars are amazing. Its always a fun time, not too expensive, and its very easy to make new friends. Here in Dalian the bars that I have been to do not have anything close to this atmosphere. Do I have any hope of finding that kind of bar here?

Two, game bars. In Guiyang, there are a decent number of "zhouyouba" places. To the untrained eye, it looks just like a coffee shop. However, it is filled with table top and card games that customers can ask for. That being said, most people just play one game, "sanguosha". I became quite hooked on the game in Guiyang. Is there any way that I can meet people who play the game here in Dalian as well?

Sorry this post got a bit long, but I really wanted to just throw this out there. And to end on a positive note, I do love the food here! I love disanxian gaifan. And being able to get handmade dumplings is amazing.