24-Hour Party Prompts: Helping You Make the Most of Beijing After Hours

Calling all Beijing party people: no matter what time you crawl from your office, home or hotel to your night out, we’ve compiled some suggestions to take full advantage of the nightlife scene in the Jing. While we don’t endorse following these prompts every single night of the week, it’s certainly possible.
 

Get Started with Happy Hour

Created to get you loaded in an economical fashion, start your night by getting a little jovial at these happy hours. We often frequent The Local for their extensive selection of tasty cocktails at discounted prices, lasting from 4-8pm (we recommend the Bourbon Street Ice Tea). More inexpensive drinks can be found at XL Bar, where the happy hour (4-9pm) deals have the potential to incapacitate you, with mixed drinks running at RMB 20, drafts at RMB 25-30, and cocktails at RMB 25-30. If you hail from the Gulou area, check out the delightfully Euro-flavored Modernista, where every day, from 6-9pm, all cocktails are RMB 35.
 

Buy a Bottle and Have a Proper Drink With Your Meal

One of our favorite boozy activities is stopping by April Gourmet on Xingfucun Zhonglu to pick up a bottle of something nice, and then get “Peking ducked” over at Jingzun across from the Holiday Inn Express on Chunxiu Lu. While you usually pay a very meager corkage fee (RMB 10-50) it is often worth the trouble. Not only is it far more satisfying and efficient than a lukewarm Yanjing, but you can also take this idea to the next level by setting up a little cocktail station at the end of the table. Although this is generally done at the beginning of the evening, feel free to repeat at the end of the night at your own risk.
 

Meet the Mixologists

Sanlitun should be your first stop to experience the expertise of Beijing’s mixologists. Within a half-kilometer radius, you can hit up at least 10 different establishments known for creative cocktails. Some of the local favorites include Bottle, Boot, Cigar (BBC), Janes and Hooch, Hidden House, and Parlor. All of these have a classy atmosphere, with the standard amount of pretension expected from a speakeasy type watering hole. We love BBC because every drink is made to match your individual taste and by true artists of the mix.

Looking for something a little more casual? Check out Revolution, one of the originals in the area, serving up a mix of classics and Beijing-inspired drinks that will get you feeling the uprising at a furious pace.
 

For the Club Kids

If you enjoy strutting your stuff on the dance floor, then you’re in luck. For standard top 100 EDM madness, head over to Gongti, where you’ll find discotheques like Live In Vac, Circle, or Elements. Also on this strip is Lantern, Beijing’s original venue for underground techno.

If you require a more posh mix of funky new disco and house, then stroll to Migas, where you can experience a wide variety of funky jams blasting from their roof terrace. The best club in town for deep music of every style is Dada. They focus on bringing the best in underground talent from around the world, while promoting local producers and DJs from every genre. All of these venues rage on until morning.
 

Pub Crawl Beijing

If you are reluctant to subject yourself to our suggestions, you could always put your evening in the hands of the pros. Pub Crawl Beijing meet at Nanjie Bar in Sanlitun every Saturday at 9.30pm. They bring together an international crew of party animals, then visit three bars and a club, all on their out-of-control party bus. For just RMB 100 you get free welcome shots at each bar, then even more shots on their party bus, and free entry into the final club with drink tickets and table seating. This excursion will give you a surface level introduction to how to rage in the capital.

More stories by this author here.

Email: danielkippwhittaker@thebeijinger.com
 

Photos: Kipp Whittaker, Pub Crawl Beijing