Beijing Beat: Den of Dins

Giving budding Bejing bands a much needed platform for live gigs...

He doesn't do it to make money. Lu Ying has to sell a lot of beer to make the 15,000 yuan monthly rent on the latest 'What?' bar and rock club he opened in late 2005 in Beijing. But the painter-turned-rocker ought to know what he's doing. Lu, a 30-year-old artist from Hebei, the province which encircles Beijing, opened one of the Chinese capital's first rock bars in the mid 1990s. His new bar in Beijing's Chaoyang district breaks tradition with his earlier establishments: whereas before Lu opened clubs in old buildings (a previous bar was located in a garage) the new 'What?' is a spacious and well-equipped venue on the purpose built, if slightly soulless, new Yuandadu Bar Street.

Lu opened the latest and largest of his 'What?' bars in October 2005. It was the fifth: all the others bar one have fallen to Beijing's voracious appetite for prime real estate. The tiny 'What?' bar near the west gate of the Forbidden City will stay open "as long as it can," vows Lu, who opened his first bar the bar to provide a rehearsal space for his band. Others quickly converged on the space and today his friends' groups play nightly gigs at the two remaining 'What?' venues.

The bars' name were both taken from Lu's band, which he fronts as singer and guitarist. "We were playing a strange combination of rock and folk and we were always wondering 'What?' what do we call this?' So we called the band 'What?'" Lu also writes songs and music for the group's retinue of folk songs. A long-time fan of American folk-rocker Tom Waits, Lu's upbringing in Inner Mongolia gave him his first taste of Asian folk. His discovery of the gravelly rock-folk style of China's pre-eminent rock star, Cui Jian, was another turning point in Lu's progression to the current 'What?' sound. The two men have since become not just friends but also occasional collaborators and Cui is a regular caller to Lu's new bar.

Location aside, building audiences isn't easy in Beijing. Rock remains a minority taste in China, where most young prefer to go to karaoke clubs. Compared to the west there's fewer chance to make contact with rock music. "China's education system ensures children must be good and can't go wild. Parents often think rock is bad music," says Lu, who was recently honoured with an invitation to play a song on national television. Programmers insisted on a song he wrote in middle school.

Still, starting from nothing there's been a explosion of rock clubs in Beijing. There are now at least four large-sized rock venues in the capital. Lu would like to see more. "I don't think of them as competitors. I hope there will be a lot more rock bars in Beijing. Local bands are growing and trying their best, but they need more chances to play." Getting good talent to play the bars is hit-and-miss. "There's a real shortage of people will play their original songs. Too many play other people's music," says Lu, who compensates for thin smattering of talent by showing films on a large screen near the stage - a Michael Jackson concert was playing on the screen when I called by.

Running the two bars has become a full time job for Lu, who gave up his career as an artist to focus on 'What?' - the band and the bars. Much of the west section of the new bar street is built in a uniform faux-imperial style but inside Lu's minimalist leanings show in a neat, slick space. He designed the interior himself. "I wanted to keep it as simple as possible, the main attention should be on the music." Oil paintings on the walls follow a bird theme, herons cut in thick red paint against a deep green background. The paintings, his own, suggest Lu has a future as artist. Making a living from running the bar hasn't been easy, he concedes. "There's a lot of pressure. The rent is very high. But the last bar went well before it was torn down so I think I can make this one work too."

He manages both 'What?' bars but Lu spends most of his time in the new Yuandadu venue. "Nearly every night there's a gig. Mondays to Thursdays we have solo artists and then larger rock bands play weekend nights." An admission price of 20 yuan comes with a free draught beer. Millions of dollars were invested in the upscale street, where over thirty bars line a section of the Tucheng River, but Lu doesn't expect Yuandau to be as successful as Sanlitun, the famed bar area which sprung up around Beijing's embassy area in the late 1990s.

Unlike Sanlitun, bars on the new street have clean toilets but few visitors on the Friday evening this writer called by. Its off-centre location on the far northern reaches of the third ring road doesn't help. Beijing's other rock clubs are centred on Sanlitun and near the city's largest universities. For musicians there's the advantage of space, which the cramped but atmospheric Forbidden City venue lacked. "The equipment is better here," explains Lu, "and for some bands you need more space." In a hint to his ambition perhaps, Lu sells imported rock DVDs and CDs by critically acclaimed western rock and folk singers, as well as some by local talent. Tom Waits and Cui Jian both feature.

Mark Godfrey