Beijing Visitor's Guide: Nightlife by Area
Ever since China began expanding its visa-free travel and 72/144-hour visa-free transit policies to more countries last year, have you had any friends or family members who have come to Beijing to visit since then? Anyone you know planning to come? What sort of essential tips would you give them? The Beijinger is running a new series providing such essential tips for short-term visitors to the capital. We hope it’ll make things easier for overseas visitors, and help make your life easier inviting and receiving visitors from back home. Check it out and give us your feedback below!
As a city of more than 20 million, Beijing has more than a few areas of town with clusters of nightlife hotspots. What follows is a quick guide to some of these areas, each with a few recommendations, as well as suggestions for places to visit that lay outside of these main areas.
This guide isn't meant to be definitive, but more of an introduction to the nightlife of each of these particular areas. For more nightlife venue options, please check out the full list of bar and clubs on Visit Beijing
Gongti / Workers' Stadium 工体周围
Short for 工人体育场 Gongren Tiyuchang (Workers' Stadium in English), the Gongti area essentially comprises a series of nightclubs plus a few restaurants to the west and east of the stadium, although its borders aren't too strictly defined. Once and always the place to go for Beijing clubbing, the nightclub strip is always filled with partygoers and thumping music every night of the week.
Recommended Spots:
BEEN – The newest club to hit the Gongti strip. It's massive, and the halls are regularly filled with the sounds of house and more genres from domestic and international DJs.
PH Club – A popular nightclub, especially among China’s younger crowd, with reasonable cover charge and drink prices.
Sanlitun 三里屯
Sanlitun is the most popular dining and nightlife area in Beijing, with it's popularity known not just in the capital but across the country as well. Just east of the Workers' Stadium lies a mix of restaurants, bars, chic shopping complexes, and cafés that spreads outward from the futuristic walls of Sanlitun Taikooli. Start here in the afternoon for shopping, grab a bite to eat, then an after-dinner drink, all in the same walkable area.
Recommended Spots:
The Local – A true "local spot" in the heart of Sanlitun, this bar and restaurant has a large drinks selection, with beer, cocktails, and even Tiki drinks on the menu. A good place to begin the night before moving elsewhere in Sanlitun and Gongti.
The Bricks – One of the oldest jazz clubs in the city, a great place to go and listen to the classics and new songs by local artists and groups.
Casa Bacardi – For those who want something a little more boisterous, a rooftop bar and club with Latin vibes and music.
Puff & Chill - an unofficial "afterparty" spot, Puff & Chill is hidden in Sanlitun SOHO and stays open later than late for those who hit the clubs and want to chill after. Regular rotating DJs and occassional food deals make this a nice spot.
Gulou 鼓楼
Named for Beijing’s Drum Tower – Gu l ou in Chinese – this neighborhood of classic Beijing alleyways is dotted with cool beer and cocktail bars as well as live music venues and other surprises.
Recommended Spots:
Great Leap Brewing #6 – The original home of one of Beijing's most famous craft breweries. Come sample an extensive menu of IPAs, golden ales, and more, to be enjoyed in a quiet courtyard space.
School Bar – For fans of metal and punk, this is the place to go for hopping shows and the loudest of loud rock.
The Factory – To get a taste for how craft beer in Beijing is progressing, then this multifaceted venue is the place to go. They've got new flavorful brews on the regular on draft, plus a cocktail and DJ lounge hidden upstairs for more drink options.
Modernista – Looking for something a little more mellow or eclectic music wise? Modernista hosts jazz, blues, and more genres from within an abode inspired by France's Belle Epoque, with tapas and good food on offer to boot.
Wukesong 五棵松
On the west side of the city is a huge cluster of bars and restaurants centered aroud the Wukesong Sports Arena. In it you'll find chic and fun restaurants, bars, and all kinds of entertainment facilities.
Recommended Spots:
NBeer Brewery & Restaurant – The Wukesong branch of this popular and avant-garde beer maker. Come for exciting flavors in both brews and bites.
Lift Bar – Wukesong's cocktail scene is as parched as Sanlitun's is saturated. In fact, Lift pretty much goes it alone in that west-end haunt. It also stands out from the gaudy lighting of most other Live Hi-Up bars with a design sleek enough to rival Sanlitun's most hyped lounges.
Baitasi 白塔寺
Just past the Second Ring Road, sandwiched between Subway Lines 2 and 4, lies Baitasi, a quaint neighborhood surrounding the White Pagoda Temple. Once known only for a smattering of hip coffee shops, it has grown lately to include everything from award-winning burger restaurants, breweries, and new branches of well-established F&B brands.
Recommended Spots:
Slowboat Brewery – One of Beijing's homegrown breweries also serves up award-winning burgers. The view of the White Pagoda Temple from their second floor is sublime.
El Nido x Fang Bar – The western branch of this ever-growing craft beer/cocktail chain is minimalist, pared down, and a great place to while away the evening with drink in hand.
Wudaokou 五道口
This is the spot for the capital's college crowd, thanks to its proximity to the city's university district. Here you’ll find plenty of inexpensive international restaurants as bars, plus a few drinking dens and bona fide Beijing classics worth checking out.
Recommended Spots:
Lush – One of Wudaokou's hot spots for two decades, Lush provides students with a caffeinated study spot by day, and by night becomes a place to cut loose. Sunday nights Lush puts on the most vital and eclectic open-mic night in town.
Pyro Pizza – Wudaokou’s favorite pizza keeps things simple with New York style pies, a highlight being their oddball, Mexican-inspired Nacho Beef pizza ... and of course beer.
Financial Street 金融街
A newly renovated area that’s become one of Beijing’s slowly expanding food and nightlife districts. Worth a visit for any diehardgourmets.
Recommended Spots:
Xuanlang Bar & Lounge – This bar, which sits comfortably in the Ritz Carlton, goes beyond the average hotel bar. Keeping in stride with many of the city's other top bars, here you'll find a menu of signatures and drinks that go beyond just the classics.
Guomao 国贸
The beating heart of Beijing’s domestic, international finance, and trade business, Guomao – short for Guoji Maoyi Zhongxin (World Trade Center) – is as sleek as the city can be in everything you’ll see. Inside and around the towering skyscrapers of the Central Business District (CBD) lie top tier international restaurants, thumping bars, and terraces with commanding views of the night lights and street below.
Recommended Spots:
Migas Mercado – Spanish restaurant and bar with fantastic terrace views of the China Central Television building and the rest of the CBD. Hosts regular live DJ events and parties.
Atmosphere – Located on the 80th floor of the China World Tower, the highest bar in Beijing has an extensive menu of 300 cocktails to make things even more impressive.
Shuangjing 双井
Although smaller in scope than its northern neighbor Sanlitun, this enclave south of Guomao still holds its own, centered around a dozen massive residential compounds that are home to many a white-collar worker. There are more hidden cocktail bars here than one can count, and a great many new and old neighborhood Western restaurants worth visiting.
Recommended Spots:
Plan B – One of the granddaddies of Beijing's Western food scene, with burgers, crisp beers, and bar food galore.
Sihe Whiskey & Cocktail Bar – A more refined establishment with a menu inspired by Chinese culture, featuring drinks that make use of local ingredients to great effect.
Out of the Way Spots 其他值得的去的地方
DADA Beijing – A nightclub in the Ritan Park (Temple of the Sun Park) area. This local gem is prized for its themed nights, with music on these occassions ranging from eclectic electronic genres to '80s and Brit Pop.
ByeByeDisco – An underground club near Beijing's Maizidian and Liangmaqiao areas specalizing in all sorts of eclectic genres, with a bit of '70s disco thrown in from time to time for good measure.
Gate of the Nine Dragons – A bar, nightclub, and arts space hidden within a converted courtyard home in Dongsi Shitiao in eastern Beijing, complete with a club space hidden in a bomb shelter disguised as a rock feature.
YAN Whisky Bar – Award-winning whisky bar with a great selection of whiskies and cocktails, with a minimalist, comforting design to boot.
Blue Note Beijing – The Beijing branch of the popular Blue Note jazz bar chain located within the former American legation complex just east of Tiananmen Square.
READ: Beijing Visitor's Guide: A Guide to Payment Services in the Capital
Images: Uni You, The Beijingers
