HSK Exam - A whole new world

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CITYLIFE / Bars & Cafes






A whole new world


By Erik Nilsson (Beijing Weekend)
Updated: 2007-09-14 10:14





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Cosmo lives up to both meanings of its namesake - alluring Beijing's
"citizens of the world" and capturing the essence of the classic
cocktail. The opening of this new nightspot in June marked a vocational
about-face for soldier-turned-entrepreneur Wang Xiaolong, who came from
Hubei to Beijing to patrol Sanlitun in 1993, "when there was only one bar
there".

And this former military man's dream-come-true is worthy of salute as an
antithesis to the tawdriness characteristic of much of Sanlitun.
Following a regiment of reductivism, Wang created a minimalist milieu at
Cosmo that is the first of its kind in the neighborhood.

The establishment's unadorned, plaster walls are purposefully painted to
resemble concrete, while a few spots were intentionally brick-lined in
order to achieve the "industrial" charm characteristic of Dashanzi.

Another bizarre but brilliant decorative device is the use of miniature
furniture - tiny tables and small sofas, knee-high to the average adult -
in a spacious room with conspicuously high ceilings. The effect is a
confounding of patrons' sense of scale that is truly unique among
decorating schemes.

Lighting here is provided almost exclusively by candles, and the only
decorations take the form of reed-filled urns, two massive mirrors and a
projection screen upon which staff show an eclectic mix of international
music videos.

However, in the room next to the main seating area, which houses a dance
floor, the music and dcor get louder - but not much. The walls here are
patched with mirror tiles, and a disco ball dangles amid a cluster of
robotic lights above an oblong section of hardwood floor set into the
concrete.

Cosmo hosts parties twice a month, which it announces on its bilingual
website www.bjcosmo.com.

Chatty wait-staff serve up more than 70 varieties of beer (20-25 yuan)
and cocktails (30-45 yuan). Its specialty drink, the BJ Cosmo, adds a
splash of raspberry juice to the mix, deepening the drink's hue to a more
vibrant shade of red - "the color of Beijing", Wang says.

Nightlifers seeking thrills without frills would find Cosmo to be a
refreshing watering hole among Sanlitun's often-garish grab bag of
nightspots.

Cosomo
Location:? Room 78 of Grand Rock Plaza (accessed through east entryway),
Gongti Bei Lu, opposite Asia Hotel
Opening hours:?8pm-late
Tel: 010-5190-8918























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