You saw this one coming. Cyovape is Beijing's first electronic cigarette boutique shop, specializing only in electronic cigarettes and related accoutrements. They're pushing the "Cyovape" brand range of e-cigarettes, components, accessories, and massive wall of "juice" -- the different flavors of "tobacco" you can slot into your device. Electronic cigarettes are this huge craze in the West right now for two reasons: 1) People are not particularly fond of dying; and 2) People are not particularly fond of quitting smoking. Quitting smoking sucks ass, and plus cigarettes are cool as hell. They look great and taste delicious. That's just a fact. I, for one, love the little bastards. Enter the e-cigarette. E-cigarettes purportedly deliver that sweet (sweet, sweet) nicotine to your system without all the pesky cancer, emphysema, throat holes, and death. Plus they look really future. Like what gangsters smoke in sci-fi movies done in the '80s. Originally an L.A.-based company, Cyovape in Beijing is a one-room boutique, with their range of e-cigarettes on display right in the middle. These are them. You take these out for a test drive... ... and then select your model from the case below. It comes in a slick box with a bunch of other fun-looking stuff. They come with a charging device -- e-cigarettes are battery-powered "atmoizers", relying on a heating device to vaporize the liquid you inhale -- and a few vials of that sweet nectar. Prices: Cheapest entry model is 398rmb. Then it starts climbing higher -- 500rmb, 1000rmb, 1380rmb, 1480rmb -- and the granddaddy is 1,580rmb. It's about the size of a bicycle pump and comes with 4 vials of live-giving vapor juice. That's when it starts to get a little intense. Next comes choosing your flavor... ...which can get a little daunting. You are now entering VAPOR COUNTRY. Cyovape has a massive wall of flavors to choose from, mostly fruit-based -- banana, peach, watermelon, coffee (gah), strawberry, and more, more, more. A humble suggestion. Try the Churchill, my friend. IT TASTES LIKE THE BLOOD OF GERMANS. Bliss in a bottle... Yeah, safe to say, there's a few to choose from. Depending on how fast you smoke, you stick with one device and then just re-up on the different flavors as you go. Bottles are cheap, cheap. Of course, because you're on Gulou Dong Dajie, there's some cutsie variations on your delivery devices. Here's a lil' bunny guy on top with a demonic, horned skull on the bottom. That pretty much bookends all the manifestations of Gulou-style adult-onset infantilism. A vapor bong for m'lady? And for the cash-strapped, here's disposable ones. These offer a 550-puff charge, which you then throw away after. These are only 28rmb and come in a range of flavors. Maybe get one of these to see if you're an e-cigarettes kind of person. Test drive that shit. Now, not two doors over, Cyovape has a tune-up station for you e-cigarette. You can bring your device by there and they'll fit some decals and lights on it, and you can even mix up your own juice. Serious. Call it a "craft e-cigarette juice bar". Let that sink in for a bit. "A craft e-cigarette juice bar." Oh yes. Oh. Yes. *** So, do these things work or what? Um. Jury is still out on that. Some say yes. Some say no. Everyone is pretty sure, though, that they're very much more healthy for you than actual cigarettes. Different strokes for different folks on whether they help you quit. And even if they actually provide a comfortable substitute for cigarettes if you want to keep sucking nicotine into your system indefinitely but don't want to smoke. Your call. But if you're looking for it, here's what the shop looks like... And here's where it is... Cyovape is at 105 Gulou Dong Dajie. The shop is the one closer to Andingmen. The brew-your-own-juice is closer to Mao Livehouse. They're open daily from 1pm to 11pm. Here's the company website.