Scene & Heard: Cloud Nine x Youdai Coffee

Heaven is a place on Earth and that place is Cloud Nine in Wangjing. (Yes, Wangjing.) This new music venue is the second project of owner and music devotee Youdai, who previously owned a Sanlitun club of the same name from 2003 to 2005. 

Enter through the venue’s coffee shop inside Kirin Place – Youdai Coffee – which offers typical brews during the day. A mysterious button-activated door at the back unlocks a sultry and spacious room defined by impressive decor: a swanky bar, comfortable lounge seating and uh, a colossal dinosaur sculpture designed by renowned Chinese scientific illustrator Zhao Chuang. (Hey, Youdai’s a man of eclectic interests and it somehow works.) 

Cloud Nine’s special cocktails are all aptly named after legendary songs like Purple Rain and Yellow Submarine – a tart and sweet passionfruit-based cocktail. Hosting primarily impressive jazz acts from all over the globe, the new venue might just make Wangjing an exciting nightlife destination. (OK, maybe not – but if it ever happens, you heard it here first.)

[Designed by STUDIO+0601, photo by Misae Hiromatsu]

See a listing for Cloud Nine