LISTINGS - The Rough Guide to Beijing - page 225

Beijing's newest hip-hop venue wows its beautiful, vapid clientele with features such as a DJ
booth made out of a Rolls-Royce. ￥ 50 cover charge. Wed-Sat 9pm-3am.
GT Banana 赛特饭店 , sàitè fàndiàn Scitech Hotel, 22 Jianguomenwai Dajie 010
65283636; Jianguomen subway (lines 1 & 2); map . Huge, gaudy and in-your-face, this mega-
club has three sections - techno, funk and chill-out - and features go-go girls, karaoke rooms
and an enthusiastic, young crowd. Cover charge ￥ 30 weekdays, ￥ 50 weekends, and more
when a big-name DJ is playing. Daily 9pm-4.30am.
Haze Guanghualu Soho, Guanghua Lu hazebeijing.com ; Yong'anli subway (line 1);
map . This was one of Beijing's most popular clubs at the time of writing - whatever that's
worth in this hectic city. House, nu-disco and techno pulse from two floors' worth of speak-
ers, and the atmosphere is relaxed, rather than manic. Cover charge ￥ 50. Fri & Sat 8pm-late;
occasionally Thurs too.
Vics 威克斯 , wēikèsī North Gate, Workers' Stadium 010 52930333, vics.com.cn ;
Dongsishitiao subway (line 2); map . Long-running hip-hop club, with a sweaty dancefloor
filled with enthusiastic booty grinders. The low cover charge and cheapish drinks (bottled
beer is ￥ 20) make it popular with students and embassy brats. On Wednesdays, women get
in free and receive free drinks until midnight. Thursday is ragga/reggae night, with hip-hop,
R&B and techno all weekend. ￥ 50 on weekends, free Mon-Thurs. Daily 9.30pm-2am.
WorldofSuzieWong 苏西黄酒吧 , sūxīhuáng jiǔbā Outside the west gate of Chaoyang Park
010 65003377, clubsuziewong.com ; map . Not as fashionable as it was, but still a stal-
wart with its striking neo-Oriental decor - think lacquer and rose petals. Dancing downstairs
and a cocktail bar above. ￥ 50 cover charge. Daily 8pm-3am.
THE FAR NORTH
Propaganda Huaqing Jiayuan 010 82863991; Wudaokou subway (line 13); map . “Oh
god, that place…” is the stock reaction when mentioning this bar to someone who's been in
Beijing for a while. Both the most famous, and the most infamous, of Wudaokou's student
clubs, it's a shameless meat market whose ￥ 50 all-you-can-drink nights (every Wed) are
crazily popular. The spirits are dodgy for sure, though; stick to the beer. Daily 8pm-late.
< Back to Drinking and nightlife
LIVE MUSIC VENUES
Mainstream Chinese pop - mostly slushy ballads sung by Hong Kong or Taiwanese
heartthrobs - is hard to avoid; it pumps out of shops on every street and can be heard live
at the Workers' Stadium . There's also a thriving underground scene, and a few jazz bars.
There will generally be a cover of around ￥ 30-80 at the following venues. In addition to the
regular city magazines , good event and venue listings are available online at beijinggig-