Jianghu Jiu Bar, which is one of the best and most respected small venues to see local live music in Beijing, celebrated its third anniversary last Sunday.

Located in Dongmianhua hutong between Jiaodaokou and Nanluoguxiang, it is a place people hardly stumble into. But once introduced, the music, the atmosphere and delicious 25-yuan glasses of German beer will be just a few of your reasons for coming back.

The bar's co-founder and manager Tian Xiao, is a well-known saxophone player in the Beijing music scene.

Tian said that how he came to open up the bar is a secret, but that he met a benefactor in Beijing and they both agreed about the bar concept: comfortable, not very luxurious, and open, where people can communicate freely.

"From the beginning I had an image in my head of what it would look like and that was this," he said.

"What makes the bar different is that it's not about the furniture, it's about the music, and that's the most important thing," he said.

"For example, this band," he pointed to the band on stage in the next room, playing catchy bossa nova rock. "They write their own songs and one of their songs is called Jianghu. People feel attached to this place."

Some celebrities like to choose this bar for interviews. Well-respected musicians, like Sa Dingding, in addition to stars from China Idol, are his friends.

"They live in other cities but when they come to Beijing they come here," he said.

Tian was born in a remote village in Guizhou province to parents originally from Harbin, and did not pick up the saxophone until college.

"My older brother played trumpet, so I tried learning it for a few days but it was really hard," Tian recalled.

"My brother's friend played sax, so I gave it a shot. I found the instrument itself was very interesting. That was initially what drew me to it."

After studying accounting for a year, Tian dropped out of college to study the saxophone seriously.