Ding House

In the hutong running alongside the east side of the Bell Tower, you can’t fail to notice an incongruous mélange of neon more suited to the banks of Houhai. This is Ding House. Except it isn’t really. The jumbled, arty interior goes no way to hinting that for RMB 15, the friendly staff will serve you finely crafted, dark wheat beer. They also serve food and all the drinks generally demanded of a barman (rum and coke RMB 25). What’s more, there’s live music most weekends to shake up the relaxed ambience. So that’s Ding House: real ale hidden in an art student’s graduate project with a frontage that screams at you to stay away.