Nali Patio has been completely torn down as of this week, with bulldozers seen crawling over the rubble left in the wake of the former Sanlitun nightlife spot’s destruction.
Having been a hub of the Sanlitun and Gongti areas for dining and late night carousing since 2008, the location officially closed last year on Jul 31. The closure was met by Beijing’s expat community with an outpouring of sadness, and while many of the restaurants and bars there have managed to find new locations across the capital, the loss of Nali still leaves a hole in the capital nightlife circuit.
When news surfaced of Nali’s impending closure last summer, there was a bit of hesitation and a sense of déjà vu: Rumors of its closure had come for the first time a year prior when the outgoing landlord wreaked a path of destruction across the complex after their sublease expired. That episode passed with Nali reopening after extensive repairs.
Sadly, the rumors the second time around turned out to be true, with all tenants vacating the premises as of July 2023. Nali has sat dormant since then, with the only telltale sign of coming change being green fencing erected around the building.
Design plans for the lifestyle and shopping space that will take Nali’s place dropped a few months back, and now the time for implementation has finally arrived.
In a bit of a bittersweet twist, La Social, the popular Latin bar hidden behind Mosto, has finally found a permanent home in Sanlitun Courtyard No. 4, meaning one of the last of the remaining Nali venues is safe and sound.
Have you visited the new La Social or any of the other former Nali businesses? What are your feelings now that Nali is completely gone? Let us know in the comments!
READ: Din Tai Feng to Close Shops in Beijing, Other Cities
Images: Uni You, The Beijingers, Jiazhu Chaoyang (家住朝阳)
