It's Friday night and you're enjoying a well-deserved pint after a hard week slaving over spreadsheets. But have you ever wondered how your night-out looks like from the other side of the bar? Suzhou's pub and club owners reveal all. First up, Grace Wang, who had never been in a bar before she started working in one.  

"I had a great barmaid who left after a Norwegian customer gave her a goodnight kiss. Unfortunately her boyfriend was there and insisted she quit. We tried to explain it was just a friendly gesture in the West but he was unconvinced. I still miss her.

I saw a sign in the window advertising for a waitress who speaks English. I applied and 18 days later I was running the place.

This job may seem unusual for a young Chinese woman but I've had an unusual life. When I was young my father was wrongly imprisoned. He escaped and went on the run for 10 years, moving from city to city until finally his innocence was proved.

Even now I am really shy and nervous about going into other bars because it has never really been part of my culture or lifestyle.

Some of my friends think I'm crazy doing this and I have to admit that I half agree with them.

I love Chinese culture and history so that's why I chose to live in Suzhou. Most people let their job decide where they live, but I came here first and then looked for something to do. 

All of my customers are from overseas and most of them come from the Sheraton over the road. It's not an ideal situation because if the hotel doesn't have much business then nor do I.

I have trouble locating certain bottles on the shelves so I get friends to test me by shouting out names like 'Jim Beam' and 'Gordon's'. Then I see how long it takes me to find them. I'm getting faster.