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Beijing Night Life

July 20, 2008

Beijing Lights 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. To make sure you don’t miss out please see the list below.

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.

For more information on the schedules, events, venues and attractions in Beijing this Olympics check out the free to download Beijing Olympics Guide Book it’s a great resource whether you are heading to Beijing in person or whether you plan to watch all the action of the games from the comfort of your own home.

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.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Asia | 11 Comments

Tibet, China, and the Olympics

April 8, 2008

Lately, I haven’t been able to turn on the news without hearing something about Tibet, China, and the Olympics. It seems that with the Olympics fast approaching, many activist groups are using this opportunity to shine a light on China’s horrible record on human rights, Tibet, and China’s relationship with Sudan. This attention has only been amplified by the recent crackdown by China in Tibet that led to the death of 20 to 100 people, depending on which news agency you ask.

Yesterday, protesters in Paris disrupted the torch rely forcing officials to distinguish the torch 5 times. Similar incidents happened when they lit the Olympic torch in Greece and when the torch was run through London. There is talk in the US of boycotting the opening ceremonies, Germany is talking about boycotting the whole event, and many groups are calling for the general populace and for athletes to boycott the event altogether.

All of this is designed to “shame” China on their human rights record and thereby cause them so much embarrassment that they hopefully change their ways. I think that view shows a total lack of understanding about the Chinese government and history.

None of this is going to get them to change their ways for two reasons. For starters, China has had a long policy of staying out of people’s affairs. They stay out of other people’s business because they don’t want anyone getting into theirs. China does not think its any one’s place on how to live their life and thereby take great offense when people tell them what to do. Their sense of nationalist pride is at stake and they won’t to bow to foreign pressure. Chinese history is filled with the west interfering and the Chinese still harbor a lot of resentment about their past with the West. Issues like Tibet and Taiwan are seen through the prism of historical events like the Opium Wars. Any talk of what “China must do” is only going to increase their resistance and harden their position.

Secondly, the general population of China isn’t clued into any of this. Most people there don’t get the news or read what’s going on. They just listen to the Chinese national media and that’s that. China filters out websites they don’t like so most people just don’t know and really don’t care as they just try to live and get by.

All the boycotts and protests in the world won’t change China’s position. China entered the world through engagement in the 1970s and will only change through further engagement. The best thing that can be done is that people go, talk, and get the Chinese people involved because, if there is both internal and external pressure, you might get some change.

However, if the Olympics are a disaster and China views this as the west shaming them and making them lose face, they will only be more resistant to working with us on a lot of other issues. We can’t let that happen. China is too important- we need them on big global issues like climate change, Darfur, and Iran. They matter and they know it. Yes, their human rights record is awful and I don’t support any of their actions but looking at Chinese history will show you how they will act now. We should work with them on resolving these issues but boycotting the Olympics, an event the Chinese see as their coming out party, isn’t going to get them to do that. Imagine if you boycotted your best friend’s sweet 16 party? She wouldn’t talk to you for a long time.

Don’t boycott the Olympics. Go and spread some ideas. That’s how you’ll change China. From the bottom up.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Asia | 5 Comments

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