This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nick Lappen, an American bartender and entrepreneur based in China. His words have been edited for length and clarity.
I first visited China when I was 22 on a road trip from London to Mongolia, and the experience left a lasting impression.
A few years later, in 2015, I signed what I expected would just be a six-month contract as an education consultant in a mountainous province in southwest China.
Instead, it changed the course of my career.
After briefly returning to the US, I realized I missed the lifestyle of China and moved back. I no longer wanted to teach full time, so I started to split my time between teaching and bartending. I also opened a seasonal rooftop bar with my then-girlfriend, which led to consulting work and helped establish me in the country’s growing hospitality scene.
I later moved to Shanghai to pursue bartending full time. But the pandemic forced me back to Boston, where I sharpened my skills behind some of the city’s best bars and opened a small one specializing in baijiu, China’s traditional distilled spirit, as a side project. It became a testing ground for the kind of bar I hoped to build in China one day.
Living in the US again confirmed that China was where I wanted to be. I missed the convenience and the general kindness of the people there.
I also missed spending weekends at off-the-beaten-path reservoirs in the countryside, where locals from nearby villages shared the same love of the water. We’d jump off cliffs into the pools, catch fish, paddleboard, swim, and enjoy local delicacies together.
Life in southwest China is low-stress, and I felt the pace and opportunities there were a better match for the future I wanted.
A new chapter in Chengdu
By 2023, I was back in China as head of bar at what is now Upper House in Chengdu. But after nearly two years, I felt ready to build something on my own.
The concept for Sugarcane Society, a rum bar, began by accident. Originally, my partners — a fellow American and a local Chinese friend I met in Chengdu — and I rented the space as an R&D site for our brand of liqueurs, bitters, and sprays. But we had extra space and decided to transform it into a bar.
The total cost to get Sugarcane Society up and running was 60,000 Chinese yuan, or under $10,000, including everything from the rent deposit and business registration to equipment and renovations.
The bar has been open since October 2025 and specializes in classic tiki cocktails. It’s been doing well, but we’re limited by space and can accommodate only 20 guests at a time.
One of the biggest challenges we face in Chengdu is visibility. The bar is not in a high-foot-traffic area. Most of our patrons are rum enthusiasts or fellow bartenders who seek us out based on our reputation for quality. Social media has been crucial for our marketing efforts, but building a following takes time and strategy.
What’s Next?
Over the years, I’ve been presented with numerous opportunities to leave China, whether for jobs in the Middle East or back home in the US. Each time, though, I’ve realized I’d be moving somewhere I didn’t want to live. The everyday experiences in China — the warmth of the people, the slower pace of life, and the constant learning — have only strengthened my desire to stay.
The notion that everything made in China is subpar is a misconception I want to dismantle.
The quality of the spirits, wines, and craft beers produced here rivals anything you’d find in the West. For example, XiaoPu, a “nomadic” winery that sources high-quality grapes from Ningxia, Gansu, Sichuan, and other wine-growing regions across China, makes some of the most interesting natural wines on the market.
Breweries like TripSmith in Guiyang and Wild West Brewing in Chengdu are also pushing the country’s craft beer scene forward.
I’ve come to appreciate local products, from clothing and tech to fresh produce. I use Xiaomi products like air purifiers, WiFi routers, fitness trackers, and even my cellphone in everyday life, and Chinese clothing brands like Anta, Li-Ning, and Feiyue are affordable and high quality. My vision for the future includes showcasing these kinds of products in my bars, further bridging the gap between East and West.
If the version of me who first landed in China could see my life now, I think he would be astonished at how much I’ve changed. Maybe that growth would have happened elsewhere, too, but it happened here.
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