Since The Rickshaw rolled onto Sanlitun South Street last month, management insists the wheels are turning for a revitalization of this chai'd strip.

But as the fact that The Rickshaw's 22 cocktail selections cost 50 yuan across the board suggests, the new reincarnation of this row could be less cheap and cheerful than its former self.

And management says it's unconcerned about The Rickshaw meeting the same fate as the old South Street strip, because it commandeered the former location of Grappa's Pizzeria and Midnight Caf??right above a public restroom.

Rickshaw comes to Sanlitun South courtesy of the same people who brought Beijing The Saddle and Cox. And these nightspots?complete menus are available at their masterminds?latest installation, with the addition of site-specific servings, including breakfast. Best of all, this pub grub is served up by Sanlitunite's best-beloved barman, the famously friendly Lueger.

The locale is looking to go 24 hours once it can muster sufficient staff and now closes around 5am.

During the daily happy hour from 4pm-8pm, Tsingtaos (usually 15 yuan) drop to 10 yuan, while cocktails, shooters and mixers go for half price.

For now, the nightspot's decoration scheme is non-existent. The downstairs is a utilitarian arrangement of wooden tables and orange couches, while the upstairs is the same plus a bar, open balcony and four plasma TVs.

In order to spruce up the setting, management is hosting a rickshaw photo contest until the end of July. The top three submissions will not only win prominent places on the wall, but also vouchers respectively worth 3,000 yuan at The Rickshaw, 2,000 yuan at The Saddle and 1,000 yuan at Cox.

Those hoping to see the South Street caravan get rolling again should make their way to The Rickshaw, which, at least for now, is the driver's seat for revitalizing the once-ravaged row.

10am-late.
Address:Nansanlitun Lu (near Browns and the alleyway to The Bookworm), Chaoyang District. Tel: 010-6500-4330.