Hanging in Beijing: The secret garden of Sanlitun

May 25, 2009 - Zhongyu Hanging Garden - 2 comments

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I don’t know how many times I have walked past The Bookworm, looked at the mammoth building across from it, and spotted that Budweiser sign stuck to the facade on the seventh floor On Saturday night, ksquare and I decided to head up there, and we found a nice surprise – a rooftop garden complete with grass, running water, two pools, a small footbridge, a cozy bar, and dozens of cubby holes in which to sit.

The place is called Zhongyu Hanging Garden, just reopened for the summer, has space for upwards of 120 people, and requires a trip through the lobby of the building – at the northeast corner of where Sanlitun north and south meet – and a ride in the elevator.

Bottled Tsingtao and Corona are RMB12 and RMB20 respectively, and there is a decent range of whiskey, gin, vodka, and so on available at RMB20 per pour. The Budweiser that used to be on draft has since been replaced with Carlsberg. Admittedly, the place is still on the learning curve – we had to explain the concept of putting a slice of lime or lemon in the Coronas – but it does represent an unusual getaway in the heart of Sanlitun.

And while most of one side of the place is fronted by the facade of the building proper, it nevertheless offers decent views, including north past Sanlitun Village, south toward Guomao, and west where the new Soho is rising. The downside is the chain link fence, apparently required by law, that slightly obscures the view.

Note: The photos are not that good as I am still getting the hang of using my new camera at night (that’s The Bookworm in the third photo).

About the author

Get my Beijing bars and restaurants newsletter by using the sign up form on the blog. I also write about the China wine scene at grapewallofchina.com.