Hip crowd has taste for the high life

Beijing's nightlife is on the up and up, writes Christina Pfeiffer.

Above the gnarl of traffic and glimpses of rooftops in the Forbidden City, the bar on the 80th floor of the China World Trade Centre is abuzz. It's 10pm and our group of five is having difficulty finding seats in Atmosphere (shangri-la.com), pictured above, which is Beijing's highest bar. The after-dinner crowd of well-dressed Chinese is sipping cocktails and soaking up the city's lights through floor-to-ceiling glass.

As China's economic fortunes grow, Beijing, which has more than 3000 years of history as a capital city, is in the throes of moulding a 21st-century culture. Contemporary Beijing is flashy and fast. Mao is out. Louis Vuitton is in. It's a world of designer shops and cutting-edge avant-garde art galleries. It's a growing realm of glitzy restaurants sponsored by Michelin-starred chefs and plush bars with dazzling chandeliers, where 30-year-old single malt whisky is ordered by the bottle.

Atmosphere is the "in" spot for China's new rich, who are on a mission to enjoy the best the world can offer. It's a place where the cool crowd comes to splash cash on cocktails, imported cigars and French cognac that costs as much as a small car (a bottle of Camus Cuvee 3.128 is listed as 48,888 yuan ($7,500) on the drinks list).

After a few cocktails, I return to my room on the 64th floor in the China World Summit Wing, which is a five-star hotel that occupies the 64th to the 79th floors of the China World Trade Centre.

Opposite the World Trade Centre, China Bar (beijing.park.hyatt.com) on the 65th floor of the Park Hyatt is another popular high spot hopping with live jazz.

Most five-star hotels in developing cities will usually have a decent bar and restaurant. But you know a city has changed gears when cool bars and fine-dining restaurants appear independently. In Beijing, bars and restaurants are beginning to grow like mushrooms in the Sanlitun district.

Sanlitun is centred around 1949 the Hidden City, the former Beijing Machinery and Electric Institute factory that was converted into a chic Western-style entertainment complex.

Order wine by the glass at Bar Veloce, which has a list created by former Aman Resorts sommelier Krishna Hathaway. Nearby, Everwines, a wine bar owned by Spanish group Torres, offers a choice of 300 wines.

Slip into the glamorous Janes & Hooch, one of Beijing's newest bars that has dark wood and leather decor, a cool crowd and a tongue-in-cheek US Prohibition-era theme. Beer lovers will like Brussels (brussels-beijing.com), for its Belgian brews and hearty Flemish beef stew. Happy Hour runs from 5pm to 9pm, when a Vedett Blond is half price at 25 yuan.

The writer was a guest of Shangri-La Hotel Beijing and China World Summit Wing.