Spiral into Shamlitun

The US embassy advisory issued on June 12, which claimed that members of its staff were beaten in a Sanlitun nightclub, has served as a bitter reminder to the city's expats that the once hallowed nightlife spot has descended as a hub for anti-social behavior in Chaoyang district.

Cementing Sanlitun's infamous reputation is the crowded chuanr (skewered meat) stand-lined street of Sanlitun Houjie. Located at the rear of the polished glass stores that make up The Village, the street is renowned for its many bars crammed into a relatively confined space.

Goons of Sanlitun

The street became a menace to local residents, many of whom are older Beijingers who have lived most of their lives in the area, even before the surge of redevelopment that claimed low buildings and grassy plots.

"Most former residents from local communities here have moved away," said Zhang Hong, a 60-year-old resident of the Sanlitun South community compound. "I still live here, but that's only because I have no other place to go. Obviously the government doesn't have any plans to help us move."

Zhang explained that the most recent problem was a three-car collision between drunk foreign drivers outside her apartment compound at 3 am. No one came to deal with the situation, and desperate pleas for help from Zhang and her husband on Sina Weibo's microblogging service went unanswered.

"These kinds of occurrences threaten our lives. But it must be fine for some of the residents of the older compounds who have been moved into newer commercial buildings," she added.

Local residents note that even though there are many fights, the nature of living in a "foreign-oriented" neighborhood makes them feel safe, believing such an area should have tighter security. These claims contrast those from expats who routinely complain about the lack of a visible police presence.

A male police officer stationed at Sanlitun who requested anonymity told Metro Beijing that he wasn't in a position to comment on the situation in the evenings, but said it was his understanding that police patrol the area around the clock. When pressed about residents' complaints over the lack of police on the streets, he suggested this was a matter that needed to be taken up with the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Concern at police inaction

With so many bars in the same area, sporting events from abroad can be cause for concern for local residents. The recent Euro 2012 football championship was one such event.

"It's really out of hand. Some nights I can't get any sleep," said Chen Wenshu, who lives next to The Village. "Between 1 and 5 am, all you can hear is fights and people shouting. The way that this entire area has been developed has caused problems."

Prior to the emergence of the bar street, Chen said his biggest worry was sunlight reflecting off shop windows from The Village and into his apartment. But as more cafés open, other aspects of the area, such as the textured sidewalks for the blind, have begun to disappear.

Despite pleas to local community management authorities and the police, Chen said all they are given are assurances that problems are isolated incidents.

"Even when the police turn up, they complain that someone has taken over an area of the street and they will be back in a few days to check again," said Chen. "But then a few days later, everything returns to chaos."

Just how closely city planners are paying attention to what has become a renowned money-spinner and semi-tourist attraction remains to be seen. As residents move out of ground floor apartments, their former homes are snapped up by eager business owners. If more caution was given over who and what was taking up these spaces, the situation would be better, according to one urban planner.

"I think the problems [with Sanlitun] aren't so big that they can't be handled," said Lin Jitao, chief designer at Strategy Architectural Design.

"Take Shanghai's Xintiandi pedestrian street for example. It's also located in a downtown area, but it has less of a negative impact because of its good management. The key point for Sanlitun's management is to lead businesses to integrate positively with others around them."　

Lin explained that with a good mix of entertainment, as well as food and shops in any given area, problems are easier to avoid, even in popular nightlife spots.

Negative influence on kids

In February 2011, several "dive bars" leading away from the main Sanlitun Houjie drag were closed as part of a government attempt to clean up the area. The strip is now occupied by abundant tables and beer stands on the street in front of the Sanlitun No.1 Middle School and just meters away from Sanlitun Hospital.

"I think that one of the biggest influences that Sanlitun Houjie has is on the children," said Bian Yan, who works for a nearby clothing store. "There's not much in the daytime to bother shoppers or people, but remnants of the mornings after affect students at the local school. If the government could sort this problem out, it would really improve matters."

Several local bar owners declined to share their opinion on the issues surrounding Sanlitun Houjie, including the street stalls that often block the entrances to their establishments, amid fear of suffering a backlash from customers or authorities.

The area that has now become "bar street" actually started out in 1996, when two local expats, Nicholas Bonner, founder of North Korea tour group agency Koryo Tours, and Alex Pearson, founder of bookstore The Bookworm, opened Poacher's Inn Bar just off Sanlitun North Street. Problems that plague the street today were never an issue then, both agree.

"It was a vegetable market, then a clothes market and then a bar street," said Bonner. "It was somewhere to go rather than restaurants for drinking. But as they say, the times are a changing, and now it's had its day."

Xiang Xiangping and Wu Kameng contributed to this story