Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 10:59 pm Post subject: Nightlife in Beijing (Bars, Clubs, Live music)
Nightlife in Beijing (Bars, Clubs, Live music)
Beijing’s nightlife and entertainment scene is currently undergoing something of a revolution, as modern Beijingers, who suddenly find themselves with a disposable income and living through comparatively liberal times, seek out new outlets for having fun. 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 with both tourists and locals. Many nightclubs are open every night until the small hours of the morning and charge an entrance fee of RMB100-200.
Details of events (including gigs) are listed in the city’s guide Beijing This Month (website: www.cbw.com/btm) or on the Xianzai Beijing website (www.xianzai.com). China Now (website: www.chinanow.com) also lists bars, clubs and live music venues and the Beijing entertainment guide, City Weekend (website: www.cityweekend.com.cn), has listings and is published every two weeks.
Bars: Situated in Tuanjiehu Park is the ever-popular Old Poachers Inn, 7 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, casual and cosy. 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 friendly Irish pub on Sanlitun Lu with live music and great beer. Sgt Pepper’s, situated at the west gate of Chaoyang Park, is a chilled-out place to relax with a rooftop beer garden and pool table. 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. The Pig and Thistle, Holiday Inn Lido, Jichang Lu, is another English-style pub.
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. Most bars open until about midnight but are liveliest around 2200.
Casinos: Casinos are illegal in China.
Clubs: One of the newest nightclubs in Beijing is the Heaven Star, Jianguomennei, which has a huge dance floor and a quieter bar. Beijing’s most chic club is JJ’s, Xinjiekou Bei Dajie, a cavernous club featuring 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.
Orange, 2-10 Xingfu Yicun, across from the Workers’ Stadium north gate, is a relatively new club making a big impact with its retro interior. Resident and guest DJs play mainly techno and trance with some hip hop. Neo Lounge, 99 Xingfu Cun Zhong, Chaoyang District, is a sleek, elegant club with minimalist decor featuring house, trance and hip hop.
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
I'd like to go to a KTV, check out this 'traditional' entertainment. I don't speak any chinese though, and don't want to get ripped off. Any suggestion? What should I expect?
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