Beijing Rule #1: Don't go to Maggie's

A couple nights ago I went out to Sanlitun, Beijing's hopping expat bar area, with a few guys from my program. It was thursday and it wasn't too crowded but we ended up hopping around a few bars and ending up at one place called Bar Blu, which was having a ladies night.

A girl made eye contact with me and came over to sit at our table. She ended up speaking Japanese, which one of the guys knew as well. We decided, although she was probably a little older than us, she was smart enough not to be a prostitute. We danced a little with her and then she suggested we go with her to another place. We agreed and soon we were in a cab headed to some place we knew not where.

The cab pulled up next to an old style Chinese building with a round entrance gate and a neon sign reading Maggies. Once inside, my other fellow classmate was dancing with this woman. It was at this point that the other guy I was with, who had grown up in Beijing and knew the city's bars well, told me that we had been taken to Beijing's most notorious hooker bar.

Indeed, upon realization, I noticed we were the youngest ones there by about 10 years. The room was filled with grey-haired white guys and young Chinese women, many of whom were probably xiaojie, literally Ms. but colloquially prostitute. The girl who took us was probably one too. And sure enough, she disappeared into the mix after realizing we weren't going to purchase her services.

We left, realizing we had been tricked but not too bad, and it was worth the story. But not we know what someone has in mind if they suggest going to Maggies.