Daily 8pm-1.30am
12A Chaoyangmenwai Beidajie, Chaoyang
6552 9059

A three-storey homage to latin dance: the second floor restaurant has a live feed so that diners can take in the third-floor dance floor action. Regular dance contests are held when the singers in the Cuban house band ask patrons to imitate their homegrown dance moves.

Daily 8am-4am
No.70 Sanlitun Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing
朝阳区三里屯路70号
6415 1558

Another one of Sanlitun’s long running bars, Skyline usually depends on spillover from the neighbouring Boys & Girls bar. The atmosphere is loud, smoky and there’s usually a barrage of pop music blasting from the speakers. Drinks and food are standard for the bar street strip.

East side No. 6 Nan Lu, Sanlitun, Chaoyang
6508318

Building 24, 1 Sanlitun North Street, Chaoyang

Quaint little bar on Sanlitun north street run by an enthusiastic female rock and roll fan.

Daily 8pm-3am
1/F Rosedale Hotel, 8 Jiangtai Xilu, Chaoyang
6436 1825

This upscale bar features a well-designed red and gold interior with private rooms, and dance parties on the weekends. The drink menu is varied, but not cheap.

Sanlitun South Street, Chaoyang

Live jazz and African band on weekends.

No.8 Sanlitun Bar Street Chaoyang District, Beijing
朝阳区三里屯酒吧街北8号
Ph: 64161633
QQ: 11137156
www.yuesebar.com yuesebar@163.com

Daily 2pm-3am
Building 14 west side, Sanlitun Beili, Chaoyang

Nestled in the same compound that houses those dubious gent’s clubs Messrs Cross and Bosom, Red Cafe Bar’s fuschia sign is a fresh addition to that oft neglected corner running away from North Bar Street. Battered old-style wooden tables and stools line the area by the bar, further back are plastic sofas. The interior walls are a deep shade of red, hard to tell exactly as its so dim inside. The toilets bear absolutely no relation to the bar’s layout in that they are chessboard type black and white squares.

Daily 5.30pm-4am
Dongdaqiao Xiejie (South Bar Street), Chaoyang
6591 5811

The cramped interior can only seat a handful of people, but if you’re lucky enough to get a seat, the friendly bar owners will be happy to chat with you over the raucous selection of jazz, blues, reggae and middle-eastern music playing on the home stereo.

Daily 1pm-midnight
11 Nongzhanguan Naili, Chaoyang
6591 7691

Owned by Tibetan artist You Tao, this drinking hole is stocked with Tibetan relics, painted mannequin torsos, and traditional wooden puppets, contributing to an overall vaudeville junkyard aesthetic.