Angel dust

Angel Club is a heavenly nightspot where Beijing's pretty things dance devilishly. Its 2005 opening reserved it an early-comer's seat on the city's mega-club bandwagon, and it remains legendary among the capital's tip-top hip-hop locales.

Even in the wee hours of most weeknights, the 12,000-sq-ft establishment seethes with a cast of characters endemic to the capital's club scene - middle-aged high-rollers rattling dice in VIP booths, lusty lasses writhing on the dance floor, and hipped-out break-dancers trying to out-spin both the DJ and one another.

The nightspot's relatively small dance floor is illuminated by a phalanx of state-of-the-art of robotic lights and lasers, some of which render 3D images in the haze belched from several smoke machines. But most nights, the overspill of dancers runs off from this space, filling the cracks among tables and chairs.