After my return to Xian I went to check out out my old haunts. What I mostly found was that most places had closed, The Belgium Bar Xian was though an exception.
How do I know the Belgium Bar? Well I quite literally moved to Xian in 2006 when no one spoke English and there were barely any foreign style bars. Well it turns out no one speaks English still and that there really are not many foreign bars.
It turns out that Bar Street is pretty much gone, or rather is now a hipster hell, all the hostels by the wall are gone and that well there is not much a scene anymore.
The Belgium Bar Xian
I cannot remember when the Belgium was opened, but it was done so by a Kiwi guy called Bart. He became a friend as I worked for not just YPT, but also China Grooves a magazine in the city. In fact YPT actually rans the tours for him in the hostel he briefly ran below.
His success came from having actually good beer, but charging more than everyone else, who were all trying to be the cheapest. This went so well that he was bale to eventually sell the bae at a fair profit and exit.
The Belgium Bar in 2024
And it is for these reasons that I thought the Belgium Bar would be no more in 2024, but not only are they are alive and well, but surrounded by other great bars. In fact he area looks like quite the place to be.
Ironically not all that much has changed at the Belgium Barrow which includes the prices. Right now it is 60 RMB for a pint of Vedet, the same as is what 10 years ago, while the bars snacks are the still the same too.
The big differences though are that now the bar serves food, such as hamburgers, although they are not as good as at Sharky’s. And the other thing? This used to be a great place to meet fellow foreigners, bur sadly these have all pretty much gone now.