By Amanda Ma (That's Beijing)
Updated: 2006-10-23 10:49

When my Skype therapist traipsed all the way from Europe to Beijing for a business project, I was in a quandary as to how to pay off all the free consulting he had offered me earlier online. He had, however, expressed a particular interest in the hedonistic side of Beijing's nightlife, so I asked him if he'd like to spend his first night in town at Suzie Wong's-for research purposes, of course.

We were both stunned by how little it took to gather a good crowd on a Wednesday night. We settled in a corner; behind us, a delicious collection of men striking cool poses but paying close attention to the saucy waitresses clad in skimpy, thin fabric or short hip-hugging skirts, parading their extra long legs around the bar for the men's amusement.

In frank astonishment, my friend asked me why there were no ladies at ladies' night. Apart from the waitresses there were only men, Chinese and foreign- frumpy, needy men peering down from their second floor perch. Without even asking, our waitress explained, "It's still early. We get busy around midnight," as she placed the drinks list in front of us.

As we sipped on our first drink of the night, we noticed packs of girls giggling their way up to the second floor. Some wore fishnet stockings and denim mini skirts, with "nudie" t-shirts cut in irregular shapes, and when they passed on their way to the terrace, they left a thick fog of perfume in the air. Suddenly, the cacophony ceased and the tussle began: a woman arrived alone. She was gorgeous, almost as if she'd just stepped off the cover of Vogue. Her black mandarin dress bared her sexy, long back. She held a dainty purse between her fingers as she strode to the bar like a gazelle in her tasteful heels and ordered a dry martini. Then one by one, queens, goddesses and divas made their entrance, amidst puffs of cigarette smoke. Even when they feigned conversation with their peers, their squinting eyes betrayed their lies.

The men, with heads craned and eyeballs trained, enjoyed the parade of exotic women, who had definitely labored (and perhaps too much if you ask me) in perfecting their appearances. During its climax, ladies' night was just like a jungle: full of predators and their prey.

It dawned on me suddenly that it was in actuality a men's night, and calling it ladies' night was simply a ruse. It was really just a night for men to have their ocular jollies. A night of exercising one's attraction to the opposite sex. A night no different from any other in history: women meeting men and men meeting women... and so the game continues.

As we began to make our way out for a cab, I took a last glance at the ladies and men, and wondered what lay in store for the rest of the night? A one-night stand perhaps, or maybe something lasting a lifetime, some shameless yet harmless flirting, some hot and heavy petting-all under the same roof? Certainly some would go home empty-handed, and some would not. In a city of millions, women carry the burden of making a stunning impression, by appearing gorgeous and following the rules of a man's world. And the rules brought them all together in this ladies' night for men.

Suzie Wong
Location: West Gate of Chaoyang Park, nearAnnies Italian Resturant and JennyLous
Tel: 010-65936049