Yongkang Lu Closure Date Has Been Set

The appointed hour of death is upon Yongkang Lu.

(Well, some of it.)

According to our sources, 100 percent of unlicensed venues will be shuttered by *drum roll* August 26.

Tenants will be having meetings with the government Wednesday through Friday, and from that same August 26 date venues must stick to their licenses. As in, you can only serve alcohol if you have an alcohol license. You might be surprised to find out how few of the joints do. Just 10 was the guesstimate of our YKL mole. And some big names do not have them.

Earlier this month the news broke that Mayor of Xuhui, Bao Bingzhang, had vowed to close down all the bars, especially those close to nearby schools. We then learned that only those without the proper licensing must go. That seems to be where we are getting to in this most Shanghai of sagas.

So it looks like the street with a rich history of being a right old mess has just one month left before civilization rears its ugly head.