VA Bar

A place for musicians, jazzy ones in particular, to congregate. Rather than luring musos with flashy drinks or brash design, Qi Bin has equipped his little bar with a stage, drum kit and piano, and what he rates as one of Beijing’s best sound systems. No similarly sized Beijing venue is set up quite so sincerely for live music, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays. Film screenings take place on other nights. Even without the music, V.A. feels different from the many hutong cafe-bars that threaten to spread Wi-Fi addiction and hipster listlessness to the general population.