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Beijing Nightlife

Beijing's nightlife and entertainment scene is undergoing a revolution, as modern Beijingers seek to offload disposable income their parents never dreamt of. The most popular bar area (heavily frequented by expats) is Sanlitun. The bars here offer Western beer at Western prices, and are generally much livelier (in both a good and a bad way) than elsewhere. Much more laid back and with a more underground vibe to it, thanks to its live-music scene, is the area around the Drum and Bell Towers (known as Gulou), including the bars on and around historic Nanluoguxiang alley. Nearby, the lakes of Houhai are lined with bars and cafés, which are great places for a drink in the sun, but which transform into noisy, neon-lit karaoke bars at night.

Beijing is the cultural capital of China and many pre-Cultural Revolution art forms are being revived to sit alongside Beijing's strong contemporary music, arts and literary scenes. Western influences have also been embraced to transform traditional Chinese art forms into contemporary theatre, with Chinese translations of Western plays also available.

The three best city listings magazines are The Beijinger (www.thebeijinger.com), which also publishes the extremely helpful Insiders' Guide to Beijing handbook, City Weekend (www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing) and Time Out Beijing (www.timeout.com/cn/en/beijing).

Bars in Beijing

Drum & Bell

Strong candidate for coolest location of any bar in Beijing, Drum & Bell sits on the western edge of an historic square, with the Drum Tower at one end, and the Bell Tower at the other. Its tree-shaded roof terrace affords views of both Ming-dynasty towers, as well as of the grey-tiled rooftops of the low-rise houses in the surrounding hutong alleys. Downstairs is lazy lounge seating plus café-style tables and chairs.

41 Zhonglouwan Hutong, Dongcheng, Beijing
Tel: (010) 8403 3600.

Great Leap Brewing

Beijing's only true microbrewery is not only the place to come for a genuinely good pint of real ale, but it's also housed in a Qing-dynasty courtyard building so is laced with old-Beijing charm. Beers are all brewed in-house, using mostly domestic ingredients, including some unique flavours such as Sichuan peppercorn. Note that the bar is only open from Tuesday to Saturday.

6 Doujiao Hutong, Dongcheng, Beijing
Tel: (010) 5717 1399.
Website: www.greatleapbrewing.com

Q Bar

This swanky bar is near enough to Sanlitun to feel part of the scene, but far enough away to feel safe from the binge-drinking riff-raff. It claims to have the largest selection of Martinis of any bar in Beijing. Whether true or not, this is certainly a place to come to sip cocktails, rather than swig beers. The interior is modern and funky, but most punters prefer to drink outside on the roof terrace.

6 Baijiazhuang Lu (Top floor of Eastern Inn Hotel), Chaoyang, Beijing
Tel: (010) 6595 9239.
Website: www.qbarbeijing.com

Clubs in Beijing

Mix

Like Vics Club, which sits directly opposite it, Mix is one of Beijing's many booty-shaking super-clubs; only this one tends to favour hip-hop rather than house music. It's cheesy all the same, and the dance floor is uncomfortably small, but this place still packs in the punters and attracts some reasonably well-known DJs.

Workers Stadium north gate, Gongrentiyuchang Beilu, Chaoyang, Beijing
Tel: (010) 6506 9888.

Tango

Not quite as large as Vics Club, but another enormous place, Tango, located by the south gate of the Temple of Earth Park, is less tacky than other, neon-loving super-clubs in Beijing and occasionally attracts internationally renowned, rather than just famous-in-China DJs. There's a huge dance floor, a smaller lounge bar and you can sometimes catch live music here too.

79 Hepingli Xijie, Dongcheng, Beijing
Tel: (010) 6428 2288.

Vics Club

Arguably the king of Beijing clubs, the cavernous Vics Club, located inside the north gate of the Workers Stadium, mixes up a nightly thrash of soul, R&B, pop and reggae, and is popular with visiting celebrities and music stars.

Workers Stadium north gate, Gongrentiyuchang Beilu, Chaoyang, Beijing
Tel: (010) 5293 0333.
Website: www.vics.com.cn

Live Music in Beijing

Jiangjinjiu

This pint-sized bar, a couple of doors down from the Drum & Bell bar, and also sandwiched between the city's two historic towers, is the best place to come to see live folk music in Beijing. The focus is on the central Asian sounds of China's remote western province of Xinjiang, but you'll hear music with its roots in other ethnic minority areas too. Live music is on Thursdays to Sundays only.

2 Zhongku Hutong, Drum and Bell Square, Dongcheng, Beijing
Tel: (010) 8405 0124.
Website: www.jiangjinjiu.cn

Mao Livehouse

More popular with Chinese punters than its main rival Yugong Yishan, Mao Livehouse is another fabulous place to catch local bands in Beijing. Smaller in size, the atmosphere is more intimate here, if less refined. Less remote than Yugong Yishan, there are plenty of bars and restaurants nearby for pre- or post-gig action.

111 Gulou Dongdajie, Dongcheng, Beijing
Tel: (010) 6402 5080.
Website: www.maolive.com

Yugong Yishan

Housed in part of the gorgeous former headquarters of the short-lived government of Chinese warlord Duan Ruiqi, Yugong Yishan is one of Beijing's coolest live-music spots. It boasts a high stage, a stellar sound system, elegant interior design, an upstairs lounge and an excellent list of mostly local acts, mixed with a few not particularly well-known foreign names.

3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng, Beijing
Tel: (010) 6404 2711.
Website: www.yugongyishan.com

Classical Music in Beijing

National Centre for the Performing Arts

Designed by French architect Paul Andreu, the giant silver dome west of Tiananmen Square is known simply as "The Egg" and hosts Chinese and international art performances of the highest calibre. The theatre complex houses an opera house, a music hall and a drama hall, and can seat up to 6,200. This is the flagship performance space in Beijing, and in China, and few visitors leave disappointed.

2 Xichang'an Jie, Xuanwu, Beijing
Tel: (010) 6655 0000.
Website: www.chncpa.org

Dance in Beijing

Tianqiao Acrobatics Theatre

Just west of the Temple of Heaven Park, this 100-year-old theatre is located in an area once associated with market stalls and street performers. It now offers arguably the best acrobatics shows in Beijing, performed by the Beijing Acrobatic Troupe, and is far less touristy than shows held at other, bigger venues.

95 Tianqiao Shichang Jie, Chongwen, Beijing
Tel: (010) 6303 7449.

Culture in Beijing

Laoshe Teahouse

For many foreigners, having to sit through three hours of high-pitched, Chinese-only storylines at a full-blown Peking Opera is a step too far. Laoshe Teahouse offers a nice alternative, with snippets of a number of types of Chinese theatre including Peking Opera, Sichuan face-changing, acrobatics and martial arts. The atmosphere is informal with the audience sat at tables, sipping tea and chatting, while performances are played out on a low-level stage.

3rd Floor, 3 Qianmen Xidajie, Xuanwu, Beijing
Tel: (010) 6303 6830.
Website: www.laosheteahouse.com

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