A bar with no bar

Change is afoot at my beloved Jianghu.

As we know, change is our constant companion in Beijing. As we also know, change is rarely a good thing. Even if change might possibly have its positive aspects, its justifications, it is always a bothersome, discomforting, disorienting thing to deal with. And it is a particularly bad idea when the place you are changing is currently pretty damn near perfect.

The Chinese don't seem to appreciate the proverb 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'. In fact, my curmudgeonly buddy Big Frank once sourly remarked that their attitude seemed to be rather 'If it ain't broke - break it'.

When I dropped in the other day for my regular Thursday-night fix of mellow music and wee-small-hours drinking, I discovered that the bar (that is, the serving counter) had disappeared. I looked in again last night, largely to doublecheck that I hadn't just imagined it.... and hoping that the owners had perhaps swiftly repented of their aberration. But no joy: my favourite little bar was still bar-less.

The 'plan', apparently, is to create a new bar along the end of the courtyard area. This will involve demolishing the wall of the 'kitchen'....... which may in turn cause the collapse of adjoining walls and ceilings, domino-fashion (awareness of structural relationships is not one of this nation's strong points). And there is no sign as yet of this great work commencing - so, the removal of the existing bar was certainly premature.

And it was such a good bar, too: tall, dark wood; good for leaning on (though an elbow or middle-of-the-back lean, somewhat above the ideal hip-height), and with 3 or 4 high bar-stools for when standing became wearisome or unsteady. It was my habitual vantage point for enjoying the music there. Oh, how I miss it!

I can see the logic behind the move: it creates substantially more space in the small back room; and the new location is more central, more convenient of access for the other two areas of the bar (and a lot of the punters do seem to be favouring the middle courtyard bit of late).

However, it has, I fear, ruined the atmosphere of the main room, the back room, the music room. That room was the bar - the hell with the supplementary 'chill-out' areas! You're much more confident of getting served promptly if you're actually sat at the bar, rather than forlornly waiting to try to catch the attention of one of the staff and summon them to your table to take an order. That immediacy of refreshment is a key part of the appeal of any bar; and it has been a central element of Jianghu's magic for me for the past year. The atmosphere of the music room seems irrevocably changed already: that small boost in seating capacity has instantly made it seem more lounge-y, has fatally increased the level of background chatter, diminished the focus on the musicians. Boo! I would lobby the boss to reconsider, but I don't suppose it will do any good.

Perhaps it will all work out OK. Perhaps when the new bar is built, things will seem better. Perhaps we will see that familiar, beloved dark wood counter in operation once again (though I rather fear they've junked it for firewood). We can but hope. These are anxious times.