Live Music Bars in Beijing
Address: West courtyard former site of Duan Qirui Government, Zhang Zizhong Road 3-2, Dongcheng District
Chinese Address: 张自忠路3-2号段祺瑞执政府旧址西院
Phone: 010-6404-2711
Transportation: Subway Line 5 at Zhangzizhong Lu
Open Hours: Daily 2pm to 2am
Website: www.yugongyishan.com
On Myspace: www.myspace.com/yugongyishan
Map of Yu Gong Yi Shan
This wonderful performance space is the best live music venue in Beijing. Its new location at Dongcheng District (relocated
from Workers’ Stadium car park in September 2007)), with its high stage, stellar sound system, elegant classical design
and upstairs lounge will please both those who come for the music and those who come for the scene. The owners have a
knack for turning up the best local acts, from blues, jazz, rock and punk to reggae, hip hop, live dance and Mongolian
mouth music, and everything in-between -- means you can visit night after night.
Address: 21 Liangmaqiao Lu (inside the Maple Garden drive-in movie theatre, two miles east of the Lufthanas Center),
Chaoyang District
Phone: 010-8196-4820
Open Hours: 9:30pm-late daily
Website: www.2kolegas.com
Map of 2 Kolegas Bar
Opened by two music-crazy friends from western China who were lured to Beijing by its comparatively thriving music scene,
this bar is a great place to hear underground rock and punk acts at ear-blistering volumes.
Address: 161 Lanqiying (west side of Chengfu Lu, at Liaqiying East bus stop, look for the neon 13 light), Haidian District
Phone: 010-8262-8077
Open Hours: 8pm-2am daily
13 Club is a student venue that leans heavily in the direction of serious punk. The very basic decor,consisting of cement
floors and heavily graffiti-covered walls, proves it’s all about the music, since there’s precious little else to look at. With
everything from death metal and rock to punk and ska, the 13 Club is the place to find the real heart of the metal scene.
Address:16 Dongsanhuan Bei Lu,(beside the Agricultural Exhibition Hall), Dongsanhuan Bei Lu, Chaoyang District
Phone: 010-6506-8288
Open Hours: 3pm- late daily
Beijing’s only dedicated jazz venue.
Address: 53 Donganmen Dajie, connected to RBL by an underground passageway
Phone: 010-6522-1389
Open Hours: 6pm to 2am
Set in a warehouse that once stored the ice for the Forbidden City, Icehouse is the "B" in RBL(classy, modern sushi bar,
RBL stands for Restaurant Bar Lounge). Currently, a respectable blues band from Australia headlines, and the proprietors
are hoping to attract top international acts.
Address:Building 14, Area 1, Anhuili, Yayuncun(walk 200m north from the T-intersection with Yayuncun Hospital at the
corner), Houhai
Phone: 010-6489-1613
Open Hours: 8pm-late daily
This well-hidden venue is in one of the larger pubs in town with two levels and a decent size stage. The cover charge-
usually around RMB30-includes a beer and the music is usually heavy rock. Decorated in a rather obscure camouflage
theme this is a favorite with the Chinese punk crowd.
Address: A1 Xingba Lu, Nuren Jie, Chaoyang District
Phone: 010-8448-3335
A large dance floor full of young things gyrating to hip-hop beats make your chances of getting lucky pretty decent.
Address: 43 Sanlitun Beijie (100m west of Sanlitun North Bar street, Youyi Youth Hostel, behind
Poachers Inn), Chaoyang District
Phone: 010-6415-1954
Transportation: Subway Line 2 at DongSiShiTiao
Open Hours: Mon-Sat 11am-late; Sun 1pm-late
Website: www.treebeijing.com
Map of The Tree Bar
The Tree has a great selection of beers and some of the best wood-fired pizzas in Beijing. The music is incidental to the
business of drinking, but the occasional act impresses. A cover band usually plays on weekends.
Address: 72 Bei Chang Jie (north of the West Gate of the Forbidden City),Xicheng District
Phone: 139-1020-9249; 133-4112-2757
Transportation: Subway Line1 at Tiananmen Xi
Open Hours: 3pm-midnight Mon-Thru; 3pm-2am Fri-Sun
Just to the west of the Forbidden City, the grammatically challenged What?Bar has a capacity of about 15. With three small
tables, a tiny bar and a stage that forces a three piece to sit on each other’s laps, cozy is an understatement. But with a
mixture of jazz or blues and some very amateur rock, it’s an interesting place in which to catch a glimpse of the underbelly
of the Beijing music scene. The improvised jam sessions are great fun.
Address: 242 Chengfu Lu (two doors west of 13 Club), Haidian District 海淀区成府路242号
Phone: 010-6265-3177
Open Hours: Daily 6pm-2am, closed Monday; Movies shown Wed-Thu 7-10pm
Located in the university district, D-22 provides a venue for new and experimental music in Beijing. The club is dedicated to
providing a platform for local artists, and most of the employees are musicians or filmmakers. Also screens films every
Wednesday and Thursday evening.
Address: 3/F, Tango, 79 Heping Xijie (50m north of Yonghegong subway station), Dongcheng District
东城区和平西街79号糖果三层（雍和宫桥路北50米）
Phone: 010-6425-5677, 010- 6426-0211
Transportation: Subway Line 2 or 5 at Yonghegong
Open Hours: Daily 6.30pm-late
Website: www.thestarlive.com
The cool music acts(Ziggy Marley, The Roots, Sonic Youth) are finally coming to Beijing, and they seem to like playing at
The Star Live. This place is nothing like thumping, downstairs neighbor Tango (a dance club, 010-6428-2288, music
ranges from hip-hop to electronica), rather, it is small and intimate, with excellent acoustics.
Address:111 Gulou Dongdajie, right behind Nanluoguxiang and just east of the Drum Tower, Dongcheng District 鼓楼东大
街111号
Phone: 010-6402-5080
Website: www.maolive.com
Opened in February 2007, this 500-capacity live music venue is backed by Japanese label Bad News, home of local punk
band Brain Failure. Plenty of aspiring punk rocksters have already become loyal fans, to both the band and the bar.
Address: 2/F, 2 Qianhai Nanyanlu (just to the west of the post office on Dianmen Waidajie), Xicheng District
Phone: 10-8403-2131
Open Hours: Daily 11am-late
Opened by legendary jazzman Liu Yuan - ex-manager of CD Jazz Cafe, the stylish interior of East Shore is
hidden behind a non-descript exterior. Featuring live jazz from Thursday to Sunday, go there for the music,
the vibe and the panoramic views of Qianhai. Drinks are priced as elsewhere in Houhai.
Address: Kerry Centre Hotel, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District
Phone: 10-10-6561-8833
Open Hours: Daily 24 hrs
Website: www.shangri-la.com/en/property/beijing/kerrycentre
Map of Kerry Centre Hotel
It may be a hotel bar but it's Beijing's classiest bar where you can guarantee to find a crowd and, quite
possibly, visiting rock stars, government ministers and Chinese film directors. A giant bar, spacious
lounging areas, a stage, a private room, wine cellars – the Kerry Centre's bar is well-designed and
branded right down to the carpets, but far from being oppressive and overdone, Centro is a surprisingly
comfortable spot to down a drink and do your best Cary Grant impression. Nightly live jazz performances.
Now boasting two happy hours. Happy hour 5-8pm daily.
Classical Music Venues in Beijing
Address: 2 Changan Jie Xi, West of the Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square, Dongcheng District
Phone: 010-6606-4707
Transportation: Subway Line 1 at Tiananmen Xi (exit C)
Website(Chinese only): www.chncpa.org/n16/index.html
Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts (Chinese: 国家大剧院, formerly known as the National Grand
Theatre, nicknamed the "egg"), which opened in December 2007 after three years of delay, is designed to be
China's foremost cultural center. The $400 million Complex, one of the most talked-about and controversial
architectural projects for years, is an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake and sits in stark
contrast next to the monolithic, 1950s Soviet-style Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square. Designed by French
architect Paul Andreu, the 149,500 square metre (37 acre) building has a 2398-seat opera house, a 2,019-seat concert
hall with pipe organ and a 1,035-seat theatre for plays, with competitively priced tickets.
Address: 43 Baojiajie, Xicheng district, Beijing
Phone: 010-6641-2585, 010-6641-9936
Fax: 010-6641-3138
Transportation: Subway Line 1 or 2 at Fuxingmen
Tickets: RMB50-RMB600
Website(Chinese only): www.ccom.edu.cn
Concert Hall of CCM: concerthall.ccom.edu.cn
The concert hall of Central Conservatory of Music was historically known as the birthplace of Emperor
GuangXu (Kuang-hsu, 光绪) of the Qing Dynasty. Today, the no-frills concert hall of the best music
conservatory in China hosts regular concerts from a number of international guests, established Chinese
musicians playing both Chinese and Western instruments, and students. The past musicians included Yehudi
Menuhin, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Seiji Ozawa,
Zubin Mehta and Carles Dutoit; and the orchestras included the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the
Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, the French National Symphony Orchestra and the Israel philharmonic
Orchestra. It’s the ideal venue for a quick classical fix and you might spot a new virtuoso.
The Central Conservatory of Music is also the home of the EOS orchestra. (010-6641-2017, eos.ccom.edu.
cn, a youth orchestra as an intensive three-year training programme for orchestral, not solo music. And
intensive it is; EOS concentrates on ‘all Mozart’, or ‘all Beethoven’ programmes)
Address: 1 Bei Xinhua Jie, Xicheng District, Beijing
Phone: 010-6605-5812/7006
Transportation: Subway Line 1 at Tiananmen Xi
This elaborate concert hall has nightly performances of classical Chinese music plus international repertories including
Western Classical music. The venue is the home of the China National Symphony Orchestra.
Address: In Zhongshan Park, Xichangan Jie, on the west side of Tiananmen Square, Xicheng District, Beijing
Phone: 010-6559-8285
Transportation: Subway Line 1 at Tiananmen Xi
Website(Chinese only): www.fcchbj.com
Located on the eastern side of Zhongshan Park, this is the most central venue for performances of classical and traditional
Chinese music. The annual Christmas performance of George Frederic Handel's Messiah draws a loyal crowd (www.
beijingifc.org). There are also occasional opera performances. Tickets can be purchased at the concert hall box office
inside the Friendship Store.
Address: 1/F Poly Plaza, 14 Dongzhimen Nandajie, Dongcheng Disttrict, Beijing
Phone: 010-6506-5343; 010-6500-1188,ext. 5127
Transportation: Subway Line 2 at Dongsishitiao
Located in the Poly Plaza right by Dongsishitiao subway station, the Poly hosts a wide range of performances including
ballet, classical music, opera and traditional Chinese folk music. If you're seeking a performance in English, this is your
best bet.
Address: 40 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
Phone: 010-6466-4805
Musical presentations here are perhaps smaller in scale than those at other venues - they feature smaller orchestras and
solo performances where the violin, cello and flute get centre stage. Ballet performances are also presented.
Address: 1 Anxiang Lu, Changyang District
Phone: 010-6641-2585
Tickets: RMB50-RMB500
Website: www.ccmusic.edu.cn/ywwz/index.htm
The China Conservatory of Music (Chinese: 中国音乐学院; also called China Conservatory, Chinese
Conservatory of Music, or China College of Music) is a music conservatory in Beijing, China. It was established in 1964.
The China Conservatory of Music should not be confused with the Central Conservatory of Music, which is also located in
Beijing. Whereas the China Conservatory of Music keeps its ears tuned to primarily traditional Chinese music and
traditional Chinese musical instruments, the Central Conservatory of Music is geared toward Western classical music.
- Yugong Yishan 愚公移山
Address: West courtyard former site of Duan Qirui Government, Zhang Zizhong Road 3-2, Dongcheng District
Chinese Address: 张自忠路3-2号段祺瑞执政府旧址西院
Phone: 010-6404-2711
Transportation: Subway Line 5 at Zhangzizhong Lu
Open Hours: Daily 2pm to 2am
Website: www.yugongyishan.com
On Myspace: www.myspace.com/yugongyishan
Map of Yu Gong Yi Shan
This wonderful performance space is the best live music venue in Beijing. Its new location at Dongcheng District (relocated
from Workers’ Stadium car park in September 2007)), with its high stage, stellar sound system, elegant classical design
and upstairs lounge will please both those who come for the music and those who come for the scene. The owners have a
knack for turning up the best local acts, from blues, jazz, rock and punk to reggae, hip hop, live dance and Mongolian
mouth music, and everything in-between -- means you can visit night after night.
- 2 Kolegas Bar (Liange Haopenyou, 两个好朋友酒吧)
Address: 21 Liangmaqiao Lu (inside the Maple Garden drive-in movie theatre, two miles east of the Lufthanas Center),
Chaoyang District
Phone: 010-8196-4820
Open Hours: 9:30pm-late daily
Website: www.2kolegas.com
Map of 2 Kolegas Bar
Opened by two music-crazy friends from western China who were lured to Beijing by its comparatively thriving music scene,
this bar is a great place to hear underground rock and punk acts at ear-blistering volumes.
- 13 Club (13俱乐部)
Address: 161 Lanqiying (west side of Chengfu Lu, at Liaqiying East bus stop, look for the neon 13 light), Haidian District
Phone: 010-8262-8077
Open Hours: 8pm-2am daily
13 Club is a student venue that leans heavily in the direction of serious punk. The very basic decor,consisting of cement
floors and heavily graffiti-covered walls, proves it’s all about the music, since there’s precious little else to look at. With
everything from death metal and rock to punk and ska, the 13 Club is the place to find the real heart of the metal scene.
- CD Jazz Café (Sen di Jue shi，森帝爵士)
Address:16 Dongsanhuan Bei Lu,(beside the Agricultural Exhibition Hall), Dongsanhuan Bei Lu, Chaoyang District
Phone: 010-6506-8288
Open Hours: 3pm- late daily
Beijing’s only dedicated jazz venue.
- Icehouse (Ku Bing)
Address: 53 Donganmen Dajie, connected to RBL by an underground passageway
Phone: 010-6522-1389
Open Hours: 6pm to 2am
Set in a warehouse that once stored the ice for the Forbidden City, Icehouse is the "B" in RBL(classy, modern sushi bar,
RBL stands for Restaurant Bar Lounge). Currently, a respectable blues band from Australia headlines, and the proprietors
are hoping to attract top international acts.
- Nameless Highland
Address:Building 14, Area 1, Anhuili, Yayuncun(walk 200m north from the T-intersection with Yayuncun Hospital at the
corner), Houhai
Phone: 010-6489-1613
Open Hours: 8pm-late daily
This well-hidden venue is in one of the larger pubs in town with two levels and a decent size stage. The cover charge-
usually around RMB30-includes a beer and the music is usually heavy rock. Decorated in a rather obscure camouflage
theme this is a favorite with the Chinese punk crowd.
- New Get Lucky
Address: A1 Xingba Lu, Nuren Jie, Chaoyang District
Phone: 010-8448-3335
A large dance floor full of young things gyrating to hip-hop beats make your chances of getting lucky pretty decent.
- The Tree (Yin bi De Shu, 隐蔽的树)
Address: 43 Sanlitun Beijie (100m west of Sanlitun North Bar street, Youyi Youth Hostel, behind
Poachers Inn), Chaoyang District
Phone: 010-6415-1954
Transportation: Subway Line 2 at DongSiShiTiao
Open Hours: Mon-Sat 11am-late; Sun 1pm-late
Website: www.treebeijing.com
Map of The Tree Bar
The Tree has a great selection of beers and some of the best wood-fired pizzas in Beijing. The music is incidental to the
business of drinking, but the occasional act impresses. A cover band usually plays on weekends.
- What? Bar
Address: 72 Bei Chang Jie (north of the West Gate of the Forbidden City),Xicheng District
Phone: 139-1020-9249; 133-4112-2757
Transportation: Subway Line1 at Tiananmen Xi
Open Hours: 3pm-midnight Mon-Thru; 3pm-2am Fri-Sun
Just to the west of the Forbidden City, the grammatically challenged What?Bar has a capacity of about 15. With three small
tables, a tiny bar and a stage that forces a three piece to sit on each other’s laps, cozy is an understatement. But with a
mixture of jazz or blues and some very amateur rock, it’s an interesting place in which to catch a glimpse of the underbelly
of the Beijing music scene. The improvised jam sessions are great fun.
- D-22
Address: 242 Chengfu Lu (two doors west of 13 Club), Haidian District 海淀区成府路242号
Phone: 010-6265-3177
Open Hours: Daily 6pm-2am, closed Monday; Movies shown Wed-Thu 7-10pm
Located in the university district, D-22 provides a venue for new and experimental music in Beijing. The club is dedicated to
providing a platform for local artists, and most of the employees are musicians or filmmakers. Also screens films every
Wednesday and Thursday evening.
- The Star Live 星光现场
Address: 3/F, Tango, 79 Heping Xijie (50m north of Yonghegong subway station), Dongcheng District
东城区和平西街79号糖果三层（雍和宫桥路北50米）
Phone: 010-6425-5677, 010- 6426-0211
Transportation: Subway Line 2 or 5 at Yonghegong
Open Hours: Daily 6.30pm-late
Website: www.thestarlive.com
The cool music acts(Ziggy Marley, The Roots, Sonic Youth) are finally coming to Beijing, and they seem to like playing at
The Star Live. This place is nothing like thumping, downstairs neighbor Tango (a dance club, 010-6428-2288, music
ranges from hip-hop to electronica), rather, it is small and intimate, with excellent acoustics.
- MAO Live House 光芒
Address:111 Gulou Dongdajie, right behind Nanluoguxiang and just east of the Drum Tower, Dongcheng District 鼓楼东大
街111号
Phone: 010-6402-5080
Website: www.maolive.com
Opened in February 2007, this 500-capacity live music venue is backed by Japanese label Bad News, home of local punk
band Brain Failure. Plenty of aspiring punk rocksters have already become loyal fans, to both the band and the bar.
- East Shore live Jazz Cafe 东岸咖啡
Address: 2/F, 2 Qianhai Nanyanlu (just to the west of the post office on Dianmen Waidajie), Xicheng District
Phone: 10-8403-2131
Open Hours: Daily 11am-late
Opened by legendary jazzman Liu Yuan - ex-manager of CD Jazz Cafe, the stylish interior of East Shore is
hidden behind a non-descript exterior. Featuring live jazz from Thursday to Sunday, go there for the music,
the vibe and the panoramic views of Qianhai. Drinks are priced as elsewhere in Houhai.
- Centro 炫酷
Address: Kerry Centre Hotel, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District
Phone: 10-10-6561-8833
Open Hours: Daily 24 hrs
Website: www.shangri-la.com/en/property/beijing/kerrycentre
Map of Kerry Centre Hotel
It may be a hotel bar but it's Beijing's classiest bar where you can guarantee to find a crowd and, quite
possibly, visiting rock stars, government ministers and Chinese film directors. A giant bar, spacious
lounging areas, a stage, a private room, wine cellars – the Kerry Centre's bar is well-designed and
branded right down to the carpets, but far from being oppressive and overdone, Centro is a surprisingly
comfortable spot to down a drink and do your best Cary Grant impression. Nightly live jazz performances.
Now boasting two happy hours. Happy hour 5-8pm daily.
Classical Music Venues in Beijing
Address: 2 Changan Jie Xi, West of the Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square, Dongcheng District
Phone: 010-6606-4707
Transportation: Subway Line 1 at Tiananmen Xi (exit C)
Website(Chinese only): www.chncpa.org/n16/index.html
Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts (Chinese: 国家大剧院, formerly known as the National Grand
Theatre, nicknamed the "egg"), which opened in December 2007 after three years of delay, is designed to be
China's foremost cultural center. The $400 million Complex, one of the most talked-about and controversial
architectural projects for years, is an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake and sits in stark
contrast next to the monolithic, 1950s Soviet-style Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square. Designed by French
architect Paul Andreu, the 149,500 square metre (37 acre) building has a 2398-seat opera house, a 2,019-seat concert
hall with pipe organ and a 1,035-seat theatre for plays, with competitively priced tickets.
- Central Conservatory of Music (Zhongyang yinyue xueyuan, 中央音乐学院)
Address: 43 Baojiajie, Xicheng district, Beijing
Phone: 010-6641-2585, 010-6641-9936
Fax: 010-6641-3138
Transportation: Subway Line 1 or 2 at Fuxingmen
Tickets: RMB50-RMB600
Website(Chinese only): www.ccom.edu.cn
Concert Hall of CCM: concerthall.ccom.edu.cn
The concert hall of Central Conservatory of Music was historically known as the birthplace of Emperor
GuangXu (Kuang-hsu, 光绪) of the Qing Dynasty. Today, the no-frills concert hall of the best music
conservatory in China hosts regular concerts from a number of international guests, established Chinese
musicians playing both Chinese and Western instruments, and students. The past musicians included Yehudi
Menuhin, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Seiji Ozawa,
Zubin Mehta and Carles Dutoit; and the orchestras included the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the
Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, the French National Symphony Orchestra and the Israel philharmonic
Orchestra. It’s the ideal venue for a quick classical fix and you might spot a new virtuoso.
The Central Conservatory of Music is also the home of the EOS orchestra. (010-6641-2017, eos.ccom.edu.
cn, a youth orchestra as an intensive three-year training programme for orchestral, not solo music. And
intensive it is; EOS concentrates on ‘all Mozart’, or ‘all Beethoven’ programmes)
- Beijing Concert Hall (Beijing Yinyue Ting, 北京音乐厅)
Address: 1 Bei Xinhua Jie, Xicheng District, Beijing
Phone: 010-6605-5812/7006
Transportation: Subway Line 1 at Tiananmen Xi
This elaborate concert hall has nightly performances of classical Chinese music plus international repertories including
Western Classical music. The venue is the home of the China National Symphony Orchestra.
- Forbidden City Concert Hall 北京中山音乐堂
Address: In Zhongshan Park, Xichangan Jie, on the west side of Tiananmen Square, Xicheng District, Beijing
Phone: 010-6559-8285
Transportation: Subway Line 1 at Tiananmen Xi
Website(Chinese only): www.fcchbj.com
Located on the eastern side of Zhongshan Park, this is the most central venue for performances of classical and traditional
Chinese music. The annual Christmas performance of George Frederic Handel's Messiah draws a loyal crowd (www.
beijingifc.org). There are also occasional opera performances. Tickets can be purchased at the concert hall box office
inside the Friendship Store.
- Poly Plaza International Theater (Baoli Dasha Guoji Juyuan, 保利大厦国际剧院)
Address: 1/F Poly Plaza, 14 Dongzhimen Nandajie, Dongcheng Disttrict, Beijing
Phone: 010-6506-5343; 010-6500-1188,ext. 5127
Transportation: Subway Line 2 at Dongsishitiao
Located in the Poly Plaza right by Dongsishitiao subway station, the Poly hosts a wide range of performances including
ballet, classical music, opera and traditional Chinese folk music. If you're seeking a performance in English, this is your
best bet.
- Century Theatre 世纪剧院
Address: 40 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
Phone: 010-6466-4805
Musical presentations here are perhaps smaller in scale than those at other venues - they feature smaller orchestras and
solo performances where the violin, cello and flute get centre stage. Ballet performances are also presented.
- China Conservatory of Music 中国音乐学院
Address: 1 Anxiang Lu, Changyang District
Phone: 010-6641-2585
Tickets: RMB50-RMB500
Website: www.ccmusic.edu.cn/ywwz/index.htm
The China Conservatory of Music (Chinese: 中国音乐学院; also called China Conservatory, Chinese
Conservatory of Music, or China College of Music) is a music conservatory in Beijing, China. It was established in 1964.
The China Conservatory of Music should not be confused with the Central Conservatory of Music, which is also located in
Beijing. Whereas the China Conservatory of Music keeps its ears tuned to primarily traditional Chinese music and
traditional Chinese musical instruments, the Central Conservatory of Music is geared toward Western classical music.
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