World City Guide

Nightlife

Beijing’s nightlife and entertainment scene is undergoing something of a revolution, as modern Beijingers seek to offload disposable income their parents never even dreamt of. Throughout the 1990s, numerous new nightclubs were set up to cater for a chic and affluent clientele and new ones continue to open all the time. The music at these Western-style clubs covers a wide range, with techno and house being hugely popular and international ‘superstar Djs’ performing with increasing regularity. Many nightclubs are open nightly until the small hours of the morning and charge an entrance fee of RMB100-200.

The most popular bar area (heavily frequented by foreigners) is Sanlitun, in the northeast of the city. The bars here all offer draught beer at Western prices, and are generally much livelier than any of the hotel bars. Other places can be found on Xinjiang Kou, a street full of restaurants, which is the place to go on hot summer nights. New bar districts are opening up all the time, particularly in the lakeside area of Houhai and along Lotus Lane on the northern bank of the Ba River. Most bars open until about midnight but are liveliest around 2200.

Details of events (including gigs) are listed in the city’s guide Beijing This Month (website: www.btmbeijing.com) or on the Xianzai Beijing website (www.xianzai.com). The two best city listings magazines are That’s Beijing (monthly; website: www.thatsbeijing.com) which also publishes the extremely helpful Insiders’ Guide to Beijing handbook, and City Weekend (every two weeks; website: www.cityweekend.com.cn). Time Out Beijing began publishing a monthly edition in October 2004.

Bars: Situated on the Sanlitun is the ever-popular Poachers Inn, 43 Bei Sanlitun Lu. Deservedly Beijing’s best-known bar, this ex-pat watering hole is more English than most pubs in England, however, it is accessible and fun. It is very popular on Thursdays, when a jazz band plays, and on Friday and Saturday when the attached club holds a disco. Durty Nellie’s is a popular Irish pub on Sanlitun Lu with live music and great beer. Very popular with ex-pats is the Goose and Duck Pub, again at the west gate of Chaoyang Park, which has a beer garden out front. Artifacts, at the east gate of Chaoyang park, serves great mojitos, sangria and ‘unusual’ tea in a laid-back atmosphere, while Alfa (5 Xingfu Yicun, opposite Workers Stadium north gate) is the pulsating home to notorious party organisers, 010. World of Suzie Wong, 1A Nongzhanguan Lu by the west gate of Chaoyang Park, is an elegant and stylish faux-1930s throwback that serves killer daiquiris.

Casinos: Casinos are illegal in China.

Clubs: Undoubted king of clubs is the cavernous Vics, inside Workers Stadium north gate, which mixes up a nightly thrash of soul, RnB, pop and reggae and is popular with visiting celebs and music stars. JJ’s, 74-76 Xinjiekou Bei Dajie packs ‘em in at weekends and features lasers, a sci-fi theme and scantily clad Russian dancing girls; imported British DJs play a mixture of techno, reggae and house. Kiss Super Club, 35 Xue Yun Lu, is an enormous club with two dance floors and a booming sound system pumping out house and techno. Tango, South Gate of Ditan Park, is the latest superclub to open and much is expected form this suave yet sizeable new player.

Live Music: Live bands perform nightly at the May Flower Bar, Chang’an Boulevard, playing mainly pop songs in Chinese, occasionally English. The CD Café, East Third Ring Road, was once devoted to jazz but now offers more underground music. Offering a more authentic experience, the Sanwei Bookstore, 60 Fuxingmennei Dajie, features light jazz and Chinese folk music and is popular with ex-pats and arty Chinese.