This laid-back place on the bar-cluttered Yandai Xiejie gets full marks for novelty. Formerly the Guanfu Taoist Temple, the shrine has been requisitioned for the city's exploding bar scene and simply decked out with art posters. The temple's roof guardians are still intact and the presence of religious statuary reminds visitors that they are on sacred turf.

Clamber to the roof terrace of this bar romantically slung between its namesake towers, duck under the thicket of branches and seat yourself down amid an idyllic panorama of low-rise Beijing rooftops. Rickety, a bit slapdash perhaps, but supreme all the same - plus it serves crinkle-cut chips.