Even at midnight, Jiefang West Road, a bar street in Changsha, Hunan Province, is still crowded. A first-time visitor wouldn't think that the economic slowdown was having any impact on this well-known nightspot.

Changsha, home to "Super Girl" -- the Chinese version of "American Idol" -- is one of China's most consumption-loving cities. Its 165 recreational venues -- including theaters, show bars, pubs and karaoke salons -- host nearly 350,000 people each night, equivalent to 17 percent of its downtown population, according to figures from the local cultural bureau.

But below the surface, there's uncertainty. Li Zhi, chairman of Glamor, the chain that owns the oldest and most popular club on Jiefang, said she has "felt the chill" of recession.

"The good news is we still have a full house today. The bad news? Our daily sales have dropped 30 percent since November. Customers who used to buy two bottles of liquor now buy only one bottle."

Li said she would only have her flagship pub, We Young, which is also the headquarters of her chain, on Jiefang West Road open during the Lunar New Year, which falls on January 26 this year.

Offshoots in Nanjing, Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Xi'an and Wuhan have already been closed.

One cultural official in Changsha who asked not to be identified told Xinhua that since the financial crisis began to hit China, recreational spending has diverged: corporations are slashing their spending while individuals are frequenting bars and pubs more but spending less each time.

Li Xi, a local real estate developer who has been visiting the Glamor almost twice a week, said this divergence wasn't surprising. During 2008, the yuan-denominated A-share stock market lost more than 20 trillion yuan (about US$2.93 trillion) in capitalization and many companies' profits have declined.

"Corporate expenditures are heavily affected by the economic cycle, but it's a different picture for individuals. The more stressed you feel, the more you need to ease the pressure. That explains why it's full house every day. But whether you drink more or less is completely up to you," he said.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported that the aggregate operating profits for enterprises with annual sales of at least 5 million yuan grew only 4.9 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of last year, marking the weakest performance since May 2002.

Those companies' profits grew 19.4 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of last year and 36.7 percent in 2007, so the 4.9-percent growth rate indicated a freefall-style collapse, in line with the recent sharp declines in industrial output and export growth.