Life's a Beach
By Wang Wen and Wu Yiyao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-22 09:34
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Beauty and booze are the perfect mix at the beach-themed bars now popular in the city.[Zou Hong / China Daily] |
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| Enjoy exotic cocktails by the bar. |
Beijing
Hankering for a holiday but can't find the time? Try a beach bar in the city where you can relax with a cocktail, enjoy the breeze and wiggle your toes in the sand. Wang Wen shows the way.
It's a hot and parched summer. The bosses have been extraordinarily long-winded and you need a real respite from all the office chatter. It's time to head up to some cool wines, balmy breezes and some beachside fun - on a rooftop bar.
That's right. An innovative entrepreneur has decided to create a unique scenario of sand, swaying palms and exotic cocktails all on the roof of a city center building.
"Everyone loves the beach but there isn't one in Beijing," says Ivan Maksimovic, a partner of the Beach Lounge Bar. "So we moved the beach to the city."
Certainly there is a lot of sand, soft and inviting. Four red sofas are placed in the center of the lounge right on top of sand scattered five centimeters deep. Footprints trail across the "beach".
There is no sea, but shower stalls imitate those by the water with blue bathroom tiles on the wall and beach towels to boot. The bar counter is shaded by a colorful canopy. Clients prop up the bar, nursing equally colorful cocktails. Most are expatriates seeking shelter from the summer heat.
The Beach Bar Lounge is not exactly on top of a skyscraper, but it does command a good view of Chaoyang Park, one of Beijing's largest green spaces, through its glass walls. Be sure to check the weather, though, even if you do have the choice of moving down to the indoor bar a floor below.
Another beach-themed bar is the KOKOMO, one of the oldest bars along the Sanlitun backstreet. But it's more like a deck than an actual beach.
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Red sofas are placed in the center of the Beach Bar Lounge right on top of sand scattered five centimeters deep.[Photo/China Daily] |
You go up through narrow iron stairs to the 200-square meter bar on the rooftop. White canvas covers the bar, an unadorned dcor that conjures images of rough and ready seamen ready for their tot of rum.
The bar has been in operation since 2005 when it was the lone outlet in the area. It originally occupied the third floor but when the fourth floor rooftop became available, the owners placed some deck chairs on top and it became unexpectedly popular with guests escaping the stodgy indoors.
The bar is open in all weather, leaving customers to duck under the canvas or brave the rain showers. In winter, a glass roof provides shelter and warm sunshine filters through - fuelling the illusion of a beach in the city as you lounge in the deck chairs.