The Best Jazz Club in Beijing

By Lina Tornquist, Poppy Toland

When Liu Yuan started playing the sax, jazz was still seen as bourgeois and chord charts were hard to come by. Raised by folk-musician parents, he performed with Cui Jian, the father of Chinese rock, before dedicating himself--under the influences of John Coltrane and Miles Davis--to jazz. Now Liu's East Shore is the most promising venue in Beijing's budding jazz scene. Located on the banks of Lake Houhai, East Shore is a refuge from the trinket sellers and gaudy bars along the crowded shore. Its large windows give clear views over the water, and leather armchairs and dark wooden floorboards provide the necessary sultry ambiance. Thursdays through Sundays, a constellation of house bands, including the owner's Liu Yuan Jazz Quartet, plays from 10 p.m. until late, usually packing the 30-some-seat bar.