(beijing weekend)
Updated: 2007-06-19 10:15

Rambunctious resident DJ Dana says his favorite thing about working at the Drum and Bell is the amount of breathing room he's given in the DJ booth. Turned loose behind the turntables, the 48-year-old mixes a musical melange that wanders from salsa to Sinatra to ska and back again.

"At other places, the bosses want to control you. It's real political," insists the 10-year Beijing veteran. Here, perched atop a wooden stool in a makeshift DJ booth created by rearranging wooden tables, he can be his one-button-shirted, slicked-back-hairdo-sporting, wearing-sunglasses-by-candlelight self.

Between head bobs and twists of knobs, he says with characteristic emphatic-ness: "They're really laid back here."

Surely, the environs reflects management's attitude, as Drum and Bell is one of the most chilled out places to spend a hot summer night.

Here, anything goes - on the walls, at least. Insets and shelves are loaded with an eclectic mix of oddments, and traditional teapots, Mao memorabilia and abstract paintings peacefully coexist.

Nestled in the shadow of the Drum Tower, this hutong hideaway best captures all that is special about siheyuan.

The first floor is a labyrinthian sprawl of rooms cluttered with scuffed wooden furniture, wicker chairs and clusters of kang beds. The courtyard of this level is capped with glass, and two closet-sized rooms warehouse trees that sprout through the wooden-slat ceiling to shade the rooftop terrace.

Unlike most of the single-section, deck-slat rooftops of Beijing's bar scene, Drum and Bell's confoundingly compartmentalized pavilion is tiled with maroon slabs.

While few seats here afford a view of the plaza below, visitors enjoy a skyline crowded with rustling treetops, ancient wuyan-styled eaves and, of course, the looming Bell Tower.

Beers start at 15 yuan, while cocktails start at 25 - a mid-ranged price befitting of their quality.

Those who believe DJ Dana's mission to march to the beat of a different drum rings true for them also would find the Drum and Bell Tower to be among the freest-spirited of siheyuan.

Opening hours: Daily, noon-late.
Address:41 Zhonglouwan Hutong, Dongcheng District.
Tel: 010-8403-3600.