Location: Zhuhai, China 

Capacity: 2,000 

instagram.com/clubillusionzhuhai 

China’s nascent club scene took a particularly brutal hit from Covid-19, which left its national borders closed to visitors for three years — more than any other country on the planet — with ultra-tight domestic restrictions enforced for the majority of that time. Suffice to say, then, the team behind Club Illusion are hoping this will be a year defined by full recovery of the scene, with their space already getting back to business as was usual before the Great Pause.   

An after-dark focal point for the 1.5 million living in Zhuhai, those running the show have a solid reputation for inviting international dons to play the fine-tuned L-Acoustics rig. Meanwhile, residents Poppy, Lee, Scotty, Rilling and K Roy have established themselves as genuine ones to watch. Expansion this year — including a second venue in town, Illusion Dance Club, and plans for ‘branches’ in other cities — betray a renewed confidence in the future.