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It’s amazing to contemplate, but 20 years ago there weren’t any bars in Beijing, save for a few in hotels for foreigners. Now, though, the city’s drinking scene has exploded. Whether you want to sip fancy cocktails in a stylish setting, down pints in a pub or hang out in a grungy student bar, you’ll be able to find a place to do just that.

As the number of bars has increased dramatically, so they have spread across Beijing. Once famous as the city’s main bar street, Sanlitun Lu is now strung with generic tourist traps to be avoided. Instead, head just south to Nansanlitun Lu for some of the city’s coolest lounges, or head off the main drag to the bars in the surrounding streets. South Chaoyang has a number of very smart spots that cater to the CBD crowd.

To the east, Dongcheng has an ever-increasing array of hip hutong bars. The area behind the Drum and Bell Towers and Nanluogu Xiang hutong are good places to head to. Nanluogu Xiang in particular has become one of Beijing’s busiest bar streets and is absolutely jumping on the weekends, with crowds spilling out onto the street.

The nearby Houhai Lake area is swamped with bars, many with lovely lakeside views, that are popular with the locals. Be discerning here and avoid the places with aggressive bar touts trying to pull you in. In the northwest of Beijing, the large student population based in Wudaokou keeps the lively bars on and around Chengfu Lu busy.

Although most Chinese would rather sing karaoke on a Friday night, or share a Y2 beer and some street food, than drop Y60 on a cocktail, rising incomes and the more Westernised attitude of young Chinese means that increasingly you’ll find a good mix of locals and expats in bars. Some of them are now opening their own places aimed at the locals, rather than the expats who used to keep Beijing’s bars afloat.

The free English-language listings magazines are the best way to find out what the hot new drinking spots are.

The whole gang will be here any minute – one of the bars on the strip around the Houhai Lakes area
RAY LASKOWITZ/LONELY PLANET IMAGES

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14