Georgetown Universityā€™s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown Universityā€™s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown Universityā€™s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Enjoying Western Nightlife with a Chinese Twist

Westernized areas have popped up all over Beijing in recent years. One of the most popular areas isSanlitun, which boasts coffee shops, Western-style restaurants, shopping and one of the five legitimate Apple stores in China.

SanlitunĀ also has a number of bars and clubs. Chances are if you’re a foreigner living in Beijing, then you have been to (or at least heard of) Mix and Vicks, as well as the end-all-be-all of rooftop bars:Kokomo’s.

Typically my friends and I start at the former and end up at the latter. Mix and Vicks are housed in two large, industrial-looking buildings that face opposite each other. The only sort of decorations are glowing neon signs that let you know which club is Mix and which one is Vicks (though if they switched the signs, we wouldn’t know the difference).

Mix and Vicks charge cover ā€” on a decent night about 50 kuai (roughly $7.94) and on a special night 150 kuai (roughly $23.80). The latter feels like a fortune in China, a place where you can find a good meal for 8 kuai (roughly $1.27).

If you are feeling stingy with your hard-earned kuai though, there’s a Chinese club behind Mix that offers free admission. On a good night, Lamborghinis, Porsches, BMWs and Ferraris line the entrance to the club ā€” a playground for the Chinese elite.

I’ve given the club three chances, and every time it’s still the weirdest club I’ve ever been to. They strictly forbid the use of cameras, the decoration inside is a combination of Victorian and steam-punk, and they invite special performers like the Mirror People: a trio dressed in reflective full-body, alien-shaped suits that shoot laser lights out of their elongated gloved fingertips. The jury’s still out on that one.

Inside Mix and Vicks though, you’re met with the typical scene of a popular Western dance club: dozens of gyrating bodies dancing it out to Rihanna. The only difference is that the majority of the crowd is Chinese and the foreigners hail from every country imaginable. You can call it a cultural exchange (of phone numbers).

Beijing’s clubs are how Bruce (really the name says it all) finds Western girls to date. Bruce is a Chinese graduate student in Beijing who once studied abroad in Albania for eight months. Because of this study abroad period, Bruce found that he is attracted only to Western girls. Bruce’s role model is Bruce Lee, and yes, he told me all of this information within five seconds of meeting him. He also asked me to grab a hold of his impeccable biceps. I politely refused and left the club struggling to come up with a term for only liking white people (it’s “euro fever”).

For a less intense experience, Kokomo’s Bar is just a short rickshaw ride away. The rickshaws around Sanlitun consist of covered benches on wheels pulled by either a motorized or non-motorized bike. Every time I use a rickshaw, I somehow always pay double the price that the driver and I agreed upon before leaving. Once I cursed a rickshaw driver out in Chinese, shouting, “You’re a cheat!” He smiled as he pedaled away with my change.

The atmosphere of the rooftop bar Kokomo’s is a lot more chill, and consequently I’ve had some great random conversations with people from all over the world ā€” France, New Zealand, Egypt and my avorite trio: Wales, Ireland and England (They kept ripping on each other’s countries).

By 3 a.m., it is my feet and not my spirit that have begun to tire. Heaven waits immediately outside of Kokomo’s, where you can plop down on a stool and enjoy meat on a stick. This is like the equivalent of Tuscany’s appearing right outside of your door, right at the moment you crave greasy calories. The steam from the grill rolls up in thick curls, and the meat glistens as the cook rotates the sticks. The whole experience can be summed up best as Western nightlife with a Chinese twist.

Anastasia Taber is a junior in the College. She can be reached atĀ [email protected]. TheĀ Dating DalaiĀ appears every other Friday inĀ the guide.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All The Hoya Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *