(that's beijing)
Updated: 2006-07-21 09:06

Big, loud and shiny – Mystique is the epitome of the Chinese club. Industrial video screens swathe the walls and ceiling with tripped-out color visuals. Tables and booths, each adorned with a single red rose, cover most of the floor space, while the patrons, enthusiastically clad in sunglasses and Crocodillo mobile phone pouches, neglect their half-finished RMB 880 bottles of 18-year-old Chivas to rattle dice.

A hydraulic platform behind the DJ stage occasionally emerges to present skimpily dressed podium dancers who wiggle in time to the mainstream house. The second level overlooks the carousing, and boasts a pleasant outdoor terrace and the customary VIP karaoke rooms. The crowd is beautiful, the atmosphere is amicable, and, with a little stimulation, it might just be possible to have a good time. But then there’s the name – Mystique – which says it all really...

Address:15 Sanlitun Bei (just north of Kai), Chaoyang District
Opening hours:8pm-late
Tel:010-64173228