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Though shortened for the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing’s nightlife hours normally extend well past the time that residents rise for their morning tai chi. So before the bars and clubs begin to throw their locks at 2 a.m., NBC Today show weekend anchor Lester Holt accompanied young American expatriates on a tour of the city’s watering holes for the well heeled.
Megan Zaroda ’07 and her thirsty friends led Holt to several bars, ending the evening at the newly opened China Doll by famed Chinese actress Ai Wan. The Today crew taped the group mixing Beijing’s local drink – Chivas whiskey with green tea – and chatting about the Beijing scene pre-Olympics.
“The Olympics have really changed everyday life in Beijing,” Zaroda said. “It’s not just an event to us here; we live and breathe the Games.”
Though the city has implemented partial car bans, added subway lines, and loosened its control on foreign media, many aspects of the “old Beijing” have been squeezed out of existence.
“With Holt, we reminisced about the nightlife we were used to – the rooftop parties, staying out until it was time for breakfast, our favorite bars that had closed – but we were able to show him the glitterati of bars that have opened in time for their game-time crowd,” Zaroda added.
For Zaroda, being on the interviewee side of camera was a new experience.
“I’ve been a reporter and editor since I first wrote for my middle school newsletter that the cafeteria would serve a monthly hot meal,” said the former editor-in-chief of The Lafayette. “To be the one answering questions instead of asking them was nerve-racking at times. But Lester put us all at ease and I eventually forgot the cameras were even rolling.”
Zaroda works in Beijing as the publications manager for Our Chinese Daughters Foundation Publications, specializing in educational materials about Chinese culture. She is also a food critic for the city’s expatriate magazine, The Beijinger, and does English consulting for local businesses.
The “Beijing Nightlife” spot aired Aug. 9 during the weekend edition of Today.