As the curtain of night is hanging down, nightlife starts after a busy day. Nowadays, Chinese people are finding their nightlife more colorful and themselves intoxicated（使陶醉）in various entertaining ways. Many young well-paid white collars regard the night as their hard-earned reward for a long, highpressure working day.

经过一天的繁忙，夜生活伴着夜幕的降临开始了。如今，中国人的夜生活越来越丰富多彩。人们陶醉于各种时尚流行的娱乐方式中。许多高收入的年轻白领甚至将夜晚视为其在高压下辛苦一白天所换来的回报。

However, in ancient times, going out after dark was actively discouraged in order to instill（灌输）temperate（有节制的） habits in the popuLace（民众）. Centuries ago, night-time activities had either politically subversive（暗中破坏的) or corrupt connotations. It is the ongoing evolution from an agricultural to an industrial society that altered the traditional Chinese concept of night. The development of science and technology has also gradually changed the traditional attitudes towards nightlife. The first introduction of gas light made it possible for people to step out of their homes in the evening, and go to public places of entertainment- teahouses, bars, and theaters. Evening gradually became a time for recreation.

然而，在古代，为了给民众灌输有节制的生活习惯，是不提倡夜晚外出的。数百年前，夜间活动甚至具有搞政治破坏及腐败活动的含义。随着中国由农业社会逐步向工业化国家迈进，人们对夜晚的传统观念得到转变。而科技的不断发展也使得人们对夜生活的态度发生变化。自第一盏煤气灯产生后，人们在夜晚去茶馆、酒吧、剧院等公众娱乐场所便成为可能。夜晚逐渐成了人们消遣娱乐的时段。