By Matt P. Jager (That's Beijing)
Updated: 2007-09-26 10:53

Okay. There's a new Pure Girl. Seriously. We have already made all the obvious jokes (Pure Girls spreading like Starbucks, no pure girls at Pure Girl, etc), so here's a history lesson instead.

The ancestral Pure Girl was a dive on old South Street. The founder had an 8-year old daughter named Zhenzhen-a cute human name, but not a catchy bar name. In honor of his beloved child, he called the bar Qingchun Nühai, meaning a virginal, simple and innocent lass – a pure girl.

He charged RMB 20 a beer -the nerve!-and was bought out by his managers, who transformed Pure Girl into the dive it remains today. After the destruction of South Street, the managing partners went their own ways. One eventually re-opened Qingchun Nühai in the Tongli Studio area. A few months later, another opened a bar next door called Chunqing Nühai, meaning a devoted, traditional, one-man little lady.

Mysteriously, through sheer blind chance, this also translates into Pure Girl. The newest franchisee is a Chunqing Nühai, the southernmost of the Pure Girls, and for what it's worth, has the snazziest decor of any Pure Girl, living or dead. Drinks, however, remain Pure Girl drinks, which is equal parts burden and blessing. Also, there is a door on the toilet.

Pure Girl IV
Open: Daily 7pm-late.
Location: Sanlitun Houjie, Chaoyang District
Tel: 138 1108 2668