Nightlife was unknown to many people in Beijing 20 years ago, and the word wasn't even used. But nowadays it is very common, especially for young people, to go out in the evenings and spend their time at cinemas, theaters, nightclubs, song and dance halls, Karaoke clubs, restaurants or bars.  The admission fee is usually about 50-80 yuan and beer is 15-20 yuan.  It's best to stick to places that have been recommended by other tourists or Chinese friends.

There are many bars in Beijing.  Here are just a few: Bars in Beijing

Probably the most popular bar area to be seen is Sanlitun Entertainment District, frequented by locals, tourist and ex pats alike.

Another upcoming area is an area situated round a man-made lake at the north of Beihai Park. This place seems to be taking over from Sanlitun as the major bar area of Beijing. Boating is available on the lake till 11pm or 12am (in the summer of course). 
However when you leave a bar and feeling a tad romantic just  remember this snippet of news.....

I'M IN UR CITY, WATCHING U DOIN SEX

The next time you're in Beijing and fancy kissing someone in public, be warned - you could be caught on closed-circuit television, and labeled as a criminal by the computers who monitor the footage.

According to reports, Beijing's couples are being warned that 'intimate acts of lovers may be initially categorized as "kidnapping" or "robbery" by the computers, which are programmed to be sensitive to violations of safe distances.'

But fortunately, the young lovers' fate won't be decided purely by some emotionless machine which doesn't understand the concept of 'love'. In such situations, police officers monitoring the cameras will look at the footage of the kissing people to decide if the situation really is dangerous. Which is both reassuring, and slightly creepy.

But there will be some warning for amorous couples, the Xinhua news agency said. Signs will go up next month in areas covered by the cameras, saying in Chinese and English 'you are entering a camera-monitored zone.' Which should kill any romance nicely.

Closed-circuit cameras are becoming more common in Beijing, and Xinhua said that before next year's Summer Olympics the city plans to unify the monitoring of the cameras. There are currently networks monitored separately by the police, and transport, public utilities and maintenance departments.