1A Nongzhanguan Lu, west gate of Chaoyang Park
10/6500-3377
HOURS: Daily 8:30 p.m.-late
METRO: Tuanjiehu (Line 10)
It may come under fire among locals and expats for its tacky charms, but Suzie Wong’s is a mainstay of Beijing’s nightlife scene. Situated on the cusp of Chaoyang Park, it was responsible for kick-starting the bar industry in this part of town.
It’s well known as a pick-up joint, to which the opium den decor, canopy bed, and red lighting all attest. The club is split into a basement nightclub playing mainly house music, a lounge, and a roof terrace, and is prime people-watching territory.
It takes its name from the 1957 novel by Richard Mason in which a British artist falls in love with a Chinese prostitute in Hong Kong, and is as glamorous and vice-driven as its eponymous heroine.