When we arrived at Cotton's on Tuesday afternoon to conduct this interview, not one, not two, but three trees had fallen into their garden, uprooted by the force of Typhoon Bebinca.
They were big trees, too...
"Would the 21 Year Anniversary Party still be going ahead this Saturday?" we tentatively asked.
"Of course!" cried establishment owner and eponymous heroine Cotton Ding, "Not even a typhoon can stop a Cotton's party. Nothing can stop a Cotton's party!"
It's not even the first one she has survived this year; the new Cotton's in Shimei Bay on South China's Hainan Island has already felt the full force of a couple, taking a direct hit from one June.
So we sat down with the resilient, indefatigable Ms Ding to learn the secrets of her survival, hear more about her new Hainan venture, and find out what we can expect from today's big bash.
How did the new Hainan Cotton's come about?
It was very spontaneous; I went to Hainan for a holiday last year, and fell in love with the place. It was destiny; I never really planned for it, but I was ready and it happened. This is life.
I started looking into the project in November, signed the contracts in January, started the renovation in March, and we were open for business less than six weeks after that.
We are located on Shimei Bay, Wanning, about halfway between Sanya and Haikou, roughly an hour-and-a-half from each.
Wanning started becoming popular a few years ago when a group of young people started surfing there. It is the surf capital of China now.
So it's got a good vibe: surfers, artists, jewelry sellers, digital nomads who have moved down from Beijing and Shanghai – you can find a nice apartment for RMB4,000 a month.
There is a laid back hippy feel to it all. Most places in Hainan have now become commercialized, so there is no interesting community, but what I love about this area is that it has this interesting community.
You can walk straight out onto a six-kilometer-long private white sandy beach. Have a coffee and then jump straight into the surf. See a good wave? Grab your board!
It is part of a national park, where the forest meets the sea. You have the ocean and the mountains, hiking and wildlife. It's a very, very beautiful area – a tropical paradise.
And when it is low season in Shanghai, it is high season in Hainan – and vice versa – so I am aiming to split my time 50/50 between the two.
Not a bad life plan! What from the Cotton's DNA have you taken south with you?
The menu is a stripped down version of Shanghai, full of Cotton's classics, with an emphasis on seafood.
We have our famous cocktails, and plenty of coffee options – there is a big coffee culture down in Hainan. It is a healthy way of life.
People spend the whole day with us; they come in the morning for coffee, spend the day on beach with their kids, have lunch with us, play on the sand, go in the water, then come back to us for dinner.
We also have live music, of course; that's another reason we thought it was fate – Shimei Bay means Stone Bay, so Dave Stone is convinced it is destiny!
Speaking of Mr Dave Stone, what can people expect at this evening's party?
It kicks off at 6pm with live music from the great Dave Stone himself and his Stone Band, who play psychedelic blues, classic rock and more. Then from 9pm we have DJ Tag.
Despite so many people leaving Shanghai in recent years, a lot of the old-timers have stayed, so expect to see plenty of familiar, friendly faces. It's going to be a very cool party.
The place will be ready, the fallen trees from the typhoon cleared, and the drinks pouring. We've been through shit in the last few years, but we're still partying. That's the Cotton's spirit!
21 Year Anniversary @ Cotton's
Sat Sep 21, 6pm-Late; Free Entry
Cotton's, 294 Xinhua Lu, by Panyu Lu 新华路294 号, 近番禺路
The Cotton's Story
To mark their 20th anniversary last year, we sat down for a video interview with Cotton Ding to hear the full Cotton's story, from humble beginnings to Shanghai institution.
Scroll down to watch the video, but before you do, allow us to whet your whistle with 10 things we learned from our sit down with the billion-megawatt smile hostess with the mostest...
1. She was sacked from her first job in a factory for being a self-confessed 'troublemaker.'
2. Her first business was as a shoeshine girl in her home town - she was so popular that she ended up making more money that her mother.
3. Her F&B career began in Guangzhou working for Kathleen, of Kathleen's 5 and Kathleen's Waitan fame.
4. She couldn't yet speak English at that point, but her beautiful smile won everybody over.
5. Her degree was in design, but she couldn't find a job (and broke up with her boyfriend) so decided to move to the bright lights of Shanghai.
6. Kathleen introduced her to Bob Boyce, and she became 'the best bartender ever' working in Blue Frog on Maoming Lu… when Maoming Lu was THE party street (if you know, you know).
7. One customer was so impressed, he put up the money for her own place, and the Cotton's legend was born. His name was Christian Aebi, and he's still her business partner 20 years down the line.
8. The very first iteration of Cotton's was stolen from her by an unscrupulous landlord (the community rallied round Cotton, boycotting the place, and it soon went out of business).
9. A beautiful patio and garden, an escape from big city life, are central to the Cotton's philosophy. As is live music, originally suggested to her by the legend that is Greg Smith of Cotton Club.
10. She's the girl from Hunan who turned up and took over. We'll drink to that!
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[All images courtesy of Cotton's; video by Eric Sun]
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