The Forbidden City Nightclub

The Forbidden City was a Chinese-themed nightclub and cabaret in business from the late 1930s to the late 1950s , in San Francisco. The Forbidden City featured Asian American singers, dancers, chorus lines, magicians, strippers, and musicians. Charlie Low opened the Forbidden City in 1938, naming it after the Forbidden City in Beijing. It was the first, and most famous, among approximately 12 Asian-themed cabaret clubs in Chinatown. It thrived during World War II, and throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

This is a major inspiration for 'Gosney & Kallman's CHINATOWN.' We get asked a lot why we chose to call the club CHINATOWN. Besides the fact that we think it is cheeky and clever, cities all over the world have Chinatowns and it is where the East meets West. Shanghai, being in the forefront of the most happening cities in the world, deserves to have it's own Chinatown- where West meets East.