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If you are planning to visit the amazing city of Beijing for the Olympics this year, you will be happy to discover that there is no lack of places to eat, dance, and watch live entertainment each night. There are also many great places to sit back and relax while enjoying food, drink, music, or film. In addition, Beijing is known for its discos and karaoke. Therefore, the most difficult part of enjoying your nights in Beijing will be deciding which place to visit. Here are some places where you can enjoy Beijing’s famous night life:

The Sanlitun Entertainment
The Sanlitun Entertainment District in Beijing, which used to be a small area with a few bars that visitors frequented, has transformed into a very large entertainment district. It is a popular stop for tourists and is divided into four sections. At one point, nearly all the city’s bars were located in this area. You will still find plenty of bars there today. In fact, there are so many that district is called North Bar Street, or San Li Tun Jiuba Jie.

There are several different areas in the Sanlitun Entertainment District. The Sanlitun North Area is the original section, before the area expanded and grew. It is comprised of a series of streets with popular destinations such as Milan Club, The Tree and Lan Gui Fang. The Sanlitun West Area, which is home to the Workers Stadium, is about 10 minutes to the west. Along the stadium, there are some bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, such as Outback Steakhouse, Lava Lounge and Vics. The Sanlitun Central Area is where you will find businesses mixed with hotels and malls. The well-known Power House bar is located here as is the Rock & Roll disco, which is very popular in Beijing. Another set of bars is situated between this area and the Workers Stadium.

Other Popular Entertainment Regions
In addition to the Sanlitun entertainment district, there are other popular entertainment regions to be enjoyed in Beijing. The Hou Hai Bar Area, for example, is becoming more and more popular as the prime bar area within Beijing. It is built around a lake just north of Beihai Park and is a somewhat peaceful area with just a few trendy bars.

East of here, the Nan Luogu Xiang is packed with eateries and bars. Also, there are a number of quality hotel bars in this area such as the Centro, Red Moon and Cloud Nine. Some locals and visitors prefer to head to the Haidian district for drinks, which tend to be less expensive. It is also an area with fewer tourists.

Enjoying Dancing and Music
Beijing is known for its discos and there are many to choose from when you hit the town.Club Banana/Spicy is one of the best known and is filled with loud music and dancing patrons. The Gun Shi is less disco and more techno, but still is a dancing venue and is usually quite full.

Jazz and Karaoke in Beijing
If live jazz music is your preference, try The Loft, which is known for its performances and also has somewhat of a traditional American feel. If you prefer singing rather than listening to singers, try the karaoke bars. Party World should be your first stop. This is a chain venue and offers free food. It is open 24 hours a day.

Live Shows
And, like Las Vegas, Beijing has a nice offering of floor shows at several locations. Among them is Success, which is near Sanlitun Bar Street. It offers nightly dancing and singing shows.And, The House, which is in the Wangujing area, offers dancers, singers and even magic.

Other night offerings include the Beijing Opera. Acrobatic shows can also be found at the Wansheng Juchang, which is on the north side of Bei Wei Lu near the Temple of Heaven.

Film Choices
If film is your choice, there are movie houses available, such as Cherry Lane Movies, which shows Chinese films with English subtitles (on the weekends only located at Kent Centre. Also, the Box Café, near the Tsinghua University, has free shows on Tuesday and Saturday, showing primarily independent films. The UME International Cineplex is a major theater located south of Renmin University. It shows major Chinese hits and sometimes American films.

Whatever you need, you can find it at night in Beijing.

Jennifer Gregory is a writer with a passion for travel. After completing her degrees in Social Work and eBusiness, she traveled through Europe, across America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. She now writes for the On the Go Travel Blog.

11 Responses to “Beijing Night Life”

1. Wayne Phillips on July 20th, 2008 9:07 pm

   Unless you’re black.
   http://shanghaiist.com/2008/07/18/the_racist_games.php

2. NomadicMatt on July 20th, 2008 9:12 pm

   well, like you say on your blog, i hope that is not true and i tend to believe that won’t happen given that so many of the athletes and vistors are black. it just doesn’t make sense.

3. Daniel on July 20th, 2008 10:13 pm

   Great post! I’m moving to Seoul next month, and China – especially Beijing – is definitely on my list of places to visit from there.

4. Mark H on July 20th, 2008 10:57 pm

   I can’t see China allowing that to happen. I similarly hope that it is simply not true.

5. Helen on July 21st, 2008 2:02 am

   lol, since i’m in beijing, i’m going to have to check out some of the recommendations and write about them myself! i’m way overdue for a posting

   ps I saw a black guy drinking in the sanlitun area this weekend not that I was particularly scouting out the ethnicities in the bar

6. Julie on July 21st, 2008 2:25 pm

   I traveled to China about 10 years ago and three African American women were in my group. They were considered very exotic by the Chinese in the town where we were living, and people would come up to them on the street and touch their hair and their skin. I wouldn’t call this racist; I simply think that when someone hasn’t had another ethnicity within their frame of reference, their first encounters are likely to be somewhat sensationalized. WHat I saw was a genuine curiosity, not racism.

7. NomadicMatt on July 21st, 2008 3:36 pm

   @helen/dan: Glad you guys have something to do!

   @mark/julie: I agree. I don’t see it happening and I think the article is a lot of hype about nothing.

   Julie, when I was in Asia they were always fascinated by black people. It’s very very exotic for them and so opposite what they are used too.

8. Erica Johansson on July 21st, 2008 6:00 pm

   Great tips! Will keep these in mind when I travel to Beijing.

9. Christine Gilbert on July 21st, 2008 11:02 pm

   Great pics for this article! I’ve had black friends travel to china and tell me about being approached by everyone, having them take pictures or touch them. I agree with Julie, it sounds more like curiosity than racism.

10. Greg on July 29th, 2008 10:47 pm

    Without a doubt, you have to go to a “K-TV” in Beijing…its the most hard core Karaoke I’ve ever seen. You rent a private room for your group by the hour with servers and attendees. There are couches, a widescreen, and even buttons on the walls for applause and jeers. They are serious about bad singing there!

    - Greg

11. Jeff on August 5th, 2008 5:23 pm

    These are some great tips! I can’t imagine how amazing it must be to be in Beijing during the Olympics! I know that when I make my way to Beijing, I will definitely try plenty of different restaurants and bars…but I am more excited to check out the live entertainment, especially musical and acrobatic/circus-like performances. Beijing seems like such an amazing city, so I can’t wait until the first chance I get to explore it!

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