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The perfect Beijing bar – an old courtyard house kitted out with antique furniture, including kang-style beds. Excellent food, plus weekend DJs (see Bed Tapas & Bar).

Beijing’s classiest bar is off the lobby of one of the city’s swankiest hotels. Louche and loungey, it boasts live jazz, sexy waitresses, and the last word in cocktails.

A terrific location between the Drum and Bell Towers, and an appealing mix of aged furniture, Cultural Revolution memorabilia, cheap Tsingtao beer, and friendly staff (see Drum & Bell).

The oldest Hou Hai bar is also the best, with a ramshackle charm that defeats the copyists. Heated by wood-burning stoves, or cooled by lake breezes, it’s perfect year-round (see No Name Bar).

On a hutong dotted with several hostels, Pass By is a well- established travelers’ haunt. Two attractive rooms wrap around a pretty courtyard; food is a cut above, and there’s a lending library and guidebooks for salePass By Bar.

Where Beijing’s smart set mingles with Executive Class visitors. This is the sleek house bar of one of the city’s most high-powered hotels. Dress to impress for cocktails, sushi bar, and cigar lounge. Quality, of course, comes at a price.

Tucked behind Annie’s restaurant near the west gate of Chaoyang Park, Souk is where the Middle East (in the form of hookahs and Lebanese cuisine) meets the Far East. There are the obligatory kang-style beds for lounging and a courtyard for al fresco drinking, as well as weekend DJs.

While it may not be as historically significant as its namesake up at the Summer Palace, this Stone Boat does a good latte, it’s a WiFi hotspot and, come evening, it serves as a unique, candlelit venue for a quiet drink.

A huge favorite among the city’s expats, this is a convivial, stone-floored pub that marries a fantastic array of beers (40 Belgian brews alone) with excellent wood-fired pizzas.

The name is from a novel about a prostitute, but this Suzie Wong is wholly respectable. It set the mark for the “opium den-style” popular in Beijing bar-land and it’s stayed ahead of the pack thanks to its guaranteed good-time for all.