An Intimate Look at Who Has and Hasn't Survived From a Pre-Olympics Sanlitun

Browns. Alameda. The Rickshaw. Len Len. Le Petit Gourmand. Bar Blu. Metro Café. The Saddle. Nam Nam. Bus Bar. The Den. Poachers Inn.

If you are one of the grizzled veterans who have been in Beijing since before the Olympics, you'll probably recognize more than a few of these now legendary Sanlitun food and beverage outlets that failed to stand the test of time.

In October of 2007, back when making paper maps was a sensible thing to do, our now-defunct sister brand Insider's Guide put together the most comprehensive look at the neighborhood prior to the era of ubiquitous smartphones and wonderful crowdsourced digital mapping technology.

Remember, this is a time when Beijing had not yet hosted the Olympics, Taikoo Li (South and North) was a construction pit, and Nali Studios was not yet Nali Patio and on the east side of the road. South Bar Street had recently been razed and a huge open field existed for an extended period on the ground that was to become Sanlitun Soho, and the last throes of the old bar street had its last hurrah with Phil's Pub and Black Sun Bar.

A rough check on the over 200 venues listed on the map shows that the vast majority are now but a memory – something between 70 to 80 percent – the result of an ever-rotating cast of foreign and local F&B mavens, steadily changing tastes, and fluid land regulations and rents (often in the favor of government or landlord).

However, despite the odds and the massive urban renewal that has taken place over the past decade, there are quite a few beacons that remain anchors of the neighborhood.

How long a venue has been in existence may not mean anything to a newbie out for a drink, but we'd like to recognize a few here that have stood the test of time ... this is by no means comprehensive list, but next time you are out wandering Sanlitun's streets, take a look around and soak up the history around you. It really does take grit to stick in this town.

RELATED: Rest in Peace: Beijing Bar Gems Taken Too Soon

Sanlitun area bars and clubs that have survived from pre-2007: Aperitivo, Beer Mania, Destination, Jazz Ya, Kokomo, Mix, Pure Girl, Q Bar, Salsa Caribe, Shooters, The Tree, Vics, Yugong Yishan (moved)

Sanlitun area restaurants and cafés that have survived from pre-2007: 1001 Nights, Assaggi, Banana Leaf (moved), Bellagio, Comptoirs de France, Din Tai Fung, Green T House (moved), In & Out, Morel's, Pizza Hut, Red Rose, Schindler's, Tandoor

For those of you who'd like to take a hi-res blast into the past, here's the enormous original file that you can gaze at or print out for your wall back home. Or, ya know, you could get out and enjoy the comparatively huge plethora of bars and restaurants that Beijing is now home to.

Images: the Beijinger