Beijing Boyce

In an earlier newsletter, I described China Doll, the new three-floor club in Tongli Studio, as having “skipped the large open spaces, excessive neon and annoying light displays of other places and gone for intimacy - cozy seating, subtle lighting and clever use of mirrors and space.” What I didn’t mention was a short continuously looping video that plays on the first and second floor, and sometimes borders on soft porn. It’s hard to describe, so let me slide into stream of consciousness mode for a few minutes and try:

“A lithesome Asian woman dressed in gaudy jewelry, a thong and high heels swims in place underwater, her long hair billowing. (Patriarchal theme?) Upon reflection, maybe it’s less that she’s swimming and more that she’s STRUGGLING FOR AIR! (Symbolizing male domination?) Oh, now there is a MAN in the scene. He’s underwater, too, but fully clothed, and the woman is tackling him. (Fighting inequality!) Okay, I judged that one too quickly. She’s not tackling him. She’s trying to escape and - ouch! - kicking with those high heels. (Her gender is her weapon!). Look out! Major shift o’theme! Now a pair of dudes coated in what might be margarine are doing the clothing optional, underwater, slow-motion luge. (Olympics theme? We’re in Beijing, shouldn’t it be a summer sport?). Now they’ve been replaced by two women wearing tacky lingerie and lace gloves. (Salt water on lace!) One is behind the other, kind of frolicking, then reaching around and grabbing her breast. (Is that a summer or winter sport?) I’d go on, but my stream of consciousness ran dry. My guess is that the anonymous swimmer is one of the co-owners, Ai Wan, who appeared in that Robert Palmer Addicted to Love video, and the two luge mates are her bodyguards, who will pummel me next time I’m in the club. I could be wrong - especially and hopefully about the second part.

Anyway, the video gets tiresome by the third loop, though I worry about its effect on the impressionable minds of the young employees who’ve likely seen it a thousand times. Don’t be surprised if ten years from now some margarine-coated ex-China Doll staffer goes postal while watching the winter Olympics or passing by a lingerie shop.

Video aside, China Doll is a cool spot. The first floor faces Cheers and features a bar and lounge. The second floor is tightly organized and ringed by both canopied and open lounge areas, most of them with seating for six to ten. The dance floor is in the middle. Behind it is an excellent four-sided bar with padded areas for sticking your elbows! With this layout, even a dozen people is enough to give the place a good vibe. The top floor has the private rooms.

As for the decor, the “sex” theme extends beyond the video to the backlit nude photos, curvaceous lamps, and so on - a bit cheesy. Fortunately, the use of mirrors, subdued lighting and warm colors (such as yellows and reds) nicely pairs with the water-themed photos on the wall - the atmosphere is intimate. (Candles would be nice, but I guess it would raise fire concerns.) China Doll feels part Centro, part Suzie Wong and part Q Bar.

The drink selection is somewhat limited - the menu simply lists “standard drinks” for the Gin Tonic et al crowd - although there are fun house cocktails. A shot of Bourbon runs 35 to 40 kuai, a Heineken is 35 kuai, and Newcastle and Guinness are 45 kuai. The bar employees are quick and polite, and impressively handled a massive amount of traffic on a Saturday night. The management is visible and attentive. (The only problems I had during five visits were on the first floor, as two wait staff forgot my group’s order.)

While the clientele tends toward young and professional, it is nonetheless diverse. During my last visit, I left the second floor bar, which held a half-dozen nationalities spanning 30 years, and passed a big group of middle-aged Europeans in a lounge area on my right and a group of young local Chinese in the one on my right, all of them swaying to the music and having fun. Good times.

(Note: One wonders from where China Doll will draw patrons. I’m guessing it will siphon people from nearby Bar Blu and Browns, from the Gongti West club scene and those tired of Suzie Wong, and from the crowd that had such high hopes for Rui Fu, as well as fans of the old Cloud Nine - the one that was chai’d just down the street two years ago.)