New Club Aurora is a Fun Throwback to the BJ Underground of Yore

If you’re invited for a night of clubbing in Beijing these days, that usually means hitting up glitzy joints like Sir Teen or Lantern, or heading to Gulou for edgier sets by more boundary-pushing DJs. But Pancake Lee can easily remember a far different era. The longtime DJ (who spent 11 years producing at the local electronic label Touch, along with hitting the wheels of steel at numerous clubs around town like Lantern and Club Nine) now opens his own club, Aurora, set in the recently refurbished Tongli building on Dirty Bar Street, of all places. The vibe he’s striving for is that of lower-key, underground institutions like the now defunct Club Nine, which lured throngs of newly minted Beijing club goers in its heyday a decade ago.

Pancake Lee (standing in the back) hopes to shakeup Beijing's nightlife scene with Aurora

Aurora is certainly more intimate than its sprawling Gongti competitors, being able to house just over a hundred guests. But Pancake doesn’t see that as thinking small, instead offering an alternative to more discerning patrons who have grown weary of Gongti. The decor is stripped down nearly to the point of being jet-black bland with splotches of red lighting, though thankfully some kaleidoscopic light effects near the booth and intermittent placing of plants all punctuate atmosphere with splashes of color.

The first DJ to grace the decks during the venue’s opening bash this past Friday (Feb 2) was German DJ youANDme. The well-regarded house and techno turntablist told us, prior to his set, that Aurora has a fun underground vibe that will be well suited for other forward-thinking DJs and, even more so in his eyes, guests who have grown weary of derivative EDM.

Pancake is aiming to attract fans of other electronica genres aside from EDM

Pancake agrees, saying the club will instead focus on hosting tech house, deep house, and nu disco sets along with old skool hip-hop and trap DJ team performances on Thursdays. He already has several acts booked for March, including the tech house German DJ Agent!

Aurora will offer a selection of pre-club dining options to get clubbers through the doors early

Every evening, before the lights go down and the rhythms are let loose, Aurora also runs as a restaurant serving burgers and Texmex fare courtesy of Chen Wencai, a cook who cut his teeth at Luga’s. The satisfying burgers and snacks that we tried on opening night should also help bolster its appeal and get people in the door before things get too raucous.

Will it woo all of Beijing’s dancefloor diehards? Perhaps. But Sir Teen and Elements regulars will no doubt balk at the Tongli newbie’s far less glamorous digs and less pop-oriented DJ choices. Hopefully, Aurora will forgo that breadth in favor of depth and consistently put on nuanced, dynamic sets by both local talent and touring DJs. It’s certainly something different from what’s on offer at Gongti, something that clubgoers of varying stripes – from Club Nine vets to newbies clamoring to hear an acclaimed Berlin producer – can get behind.

Aurora
Daily 10pm-4am. 3/F, Tongli Building (South Entrance), Sanlitun South
北京朝阳区三里屯南同里总店三层302室

Photos courtesy of Aurora

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