Chris Smith (pseudonym), an American who has been in Beijing for over three years, felt upset when he heard that his favorite bar, Modernista, was rumored to be shutting down.
He heard that the bar located in Baochao Hutong in the Gulou area is faced with revamping due to the recent renovation of the hutong.
Smith lives near the Lama Temple and frequents some of the popular bars in Gulou after work with friends, such as Modernista and 4corners in Dashibei Hutong.
Smith said that the hutong bars give him a different feeling than the fancy bars in downtown areas such as Sanlitun.
"Every one of my favorite hutong bars has its own unique characteristics. For example, Modernista has two storeys, and it is decorated in the style of a European bistro with black and white checkered floors. At night when there are performances or dancing events, the room is filled with Chinese and foreigners. The vibe is so good," said Smith. He hopes the renovation of some hutong areas would not have much influence on the bars.
Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, many new bars have been opened in Beijing as a large number of foreigners swarm into the city. However, in recent years, due to the tightening policy on getting a license and frequent renovations of some hutong areas, some bars have been closed or face hardships.
Policy issues
Smith recently found out about the changes happening with Modernista on WeChat.
He recalled that a foreigner in the WeChat group said that he went to Modernista and saw that the hutong was undergoing renovations; the bar was closed and looked like it was going to be demolished.
Though the bar reopened after one week, there was still fear among bargoers, especially in the expat community, of multiple businesses shutting down when pictures were shared on WeChat of bars and restaurants in the hutong area being bricked up.
According to a report from the website of People's Daily in October, the government launched a crackdown on illegal shop fronts in Baochao Hutong for safety and sanitation concerns. From October to November 20, they will crack down on 189 illegal shop fronts with a unified look and roads in order to restore the historical style and features of the old hutong.
Another report by news portal qianlong.com on November 10 said that a crackdown on illegal shop fronts in the Nanluoguxiang area has been launched and will go on until December 15.
Besides renovations, policies on business licenses also influence the hutong bars.
Badr Benjelloun, owner of Cuju, a sports bar in Xiguan Hutong, said that no new business licenses are being issued in all hutong areas, and if you want to open a bar, you need to find a location with an existing business license.
Five years ago, Jun Trinh, co-owner of 4corners, just purchased the license from the previous owner, which was easy but expensive.
"Now it's invaluable. Policies for licenses and leasing houses in the hutong have tightened up in the past several years. Five years ago was the last time you could get a license for a private ownership house in the hutong," said Trinh.
"You could still get a license on a public house, but now with the demolitions in old hutong areas, they (the government) are not allowing the hutong public house landlords to lease, rent, sell or loan out their buildings. This means that if you are not an owner of a public house but plan to open a legitimate business, then you are kind of out of luck," said Trinh.
Smith thinks that it is good for legal, safety and cultural protection concerns, but the thriving bar scene mainly lies in the hutong neighborhood.
He said that after repeated renovations, the Gulou area will be flooded with more tourists, sending some of the original residents and bargoers fleeing.
