Beijing's Best New Club is a One-Room Venue in Lido

Afficionados of Beijing’s DJ club scene are well aware that, unless you live within the Third Ring Road, pickings are rather slim here in the Northern Capital. Aside from the well-worn but always dependable trinity of Dada, Lantern, and Zhao Dai, there’s not much to shake a glow stick at. Bar Street’s odd stepchild Aurora makes it a solid quartet on a good night, but that still leaves anyone beyond Gulou or the greater Sanlitun area out in the techno tundra.

Wigwam’s emergence in Lido, just a stone’s throw from the swanky 798 Art District and directly above the indestructible Mandrill pub, gives at least some of the city’s more far-flung party people reason to rejoice. Boasting an impressive blend of local up-and-comers and deck veterans along with the occasional international heavy hitter (SCSI-9, Saafi Brothers, Elliott Power), Wigwam is a welcome addition to the Beijing club scene, not to mention a convenient alternative for those who live closer to the airport than to the Workers' Stadium.

The diminutive space (cut Dada’s dance room in half and you'd still have room to spare) might be a tad claustrophobic for some when packed to capacity, but we prefer to think of it as intimate. Rubbing up against sweaty bodies here in the wee hours of the weekend is a foregone conclusion, but if you’re the shy type or someone who likes to do their dancing mid-week, Wednesday’s showcase for young DJ talent might be the thing for you; on other days, the club transforms into a laidback bar, the perfect place to enjoy their small but solid selection of craft beers while a choice playlist of shoegaze and indie rock tunes swirls about the cozy yet minimalist decor. Additionally, if you're camera shy or just concerned that your boss may stumble across pictorial evidence of you, the hot Saturday mess, fear not as the club operates a no photography policy.

Opened by a group of friends who cut their teeth organizing free, invitation-only club nights at various large-scale venues (including a soundstage-based luau) across the city, Wigwam has largely flown under the radar since its opening this past April. Its days as Beijing’s best-kept secret look to be numbered, however, as this Friday boasts what is certainly the club’s most significant booking yet: French electronic pioneer Christophe Monier, AKA The Micronauts. Originally formed as a duo in 1995, the act has been at the forefront of the electronic dance music scene under Monier's helm for nearly 20 years, boasting collaborations with the likes of Trainspotting OST faves Underworld and Daft Punk (who remixed the act’s first single). Like the decks that will host him this weekend, Monier's influence cuts a wide swath across EDM genres, from minimal techno and acid house to electro and UK garage.

With acts like Monier on the slate, Wigwam has not only established itself as the hottest spot on Beijing’s fringes but announced its presence with a reverberating authority across the city’s entire nightlife landscape. As such, it's likely not long before bored Second-Ringers start asking each other, “I wonder what’s going on in Lido tonight?"

Wigwam
4 Jiangtai Business Street, Chaoyang District
朝阳区将台商业街4号

READ: Beijing's Best Hip-Hop Clubs for Homies, Husslers, and Shorties

Images: Dazhong Dianping