The Belgian Bar: Xi'an's traveller pub by the South Gate

If you want one easy bar where English is spoken and other travellers are drinking, The Belgian Bar is the name TripAdvisor users keep coming back to: it sits at number two among Xi'an's nightlife listings and tops the city's pubs-and-clubs ranking. It is tucked about 150 metres inside the South Gate on the east side, in the old courtyard-style building shared with Jano's Backpackers, with its entrance facing the city wall; walkers on the wall can look down on the outdoor tables. The draw is a long list of bottled and draught Belgian beers — Trappist and abbey ales, Duvel and the like — plus classic cocktails, which reviewers note are hard to find in Chinese bars. Live bands have historically played at weekends. It is a short walk from Defu Lane and Shuyuanmen, so it works as the first or last stop of a South Gate evening.