20 brilliant things to do in Beijing this January

Know more, do more this January

With a bevy of some of the best local and international DJs, stage divas, musos and Hollywood blockbusters heading our way, this year's already shaping up to be a real corker. Events in Beijing are always wonderfully diverse – and January's definitely set to be no different. Take a peek at our top picks of the best films, gigs, parties and exhibitions to keep you busy all through the month.

NIGHTLIFE

Headhunterz

One Third. Jan 5. 180RMB; 100RMB (presale)

After veering towards more of an EDM sound over the past few years, veteran Dutch DJ and producer Willem Rebergen (aka Headhunterz) made a triumphant return to his hardstyle roots in 2017 with his latest track 'Taking It Back'.

Danny Avila

Sir Teen. Jan 6. Tickets tbc

After dropping off the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs list in 2016, Spanish house producer Danny Avila made a massive leap back onto the chart in 2017, re-entering at number 52 after a particularly jam-packed 12 months, during which he signed an international deal with Sony Music and collaborated with Aussie duo Nervo.

Cyantific + The Prototypes

Dada. Jan 19. Tickets tbc

Cyantific and The Prototypes are currently two of the biggest drum 'n' bass names in the scene and it’s set to be an absolutely epic showdown when these two heavyweights collide at Dada. Support by DJ SS.

Shinedoe

Dada. Jan 26. 80RMB

Nigeria-born beatstress and founder of Intacto Records, Amsterdam-based Shinedoe has released records on the lauded Get Physical label, and traffics in warm, deep and dubby Detroit techno and funky house via US garage. Now, she's returning to China after first playing in the capital 16 years ago.

MUSIC

Mando Diao

Yugong Yishan. Jan 5. 300RMB; 240RMB (presale)

Maybe you've never heard of them, but Mando Diao, who hail from Borlänge in Sweden, are pretty well-known in their homeland. Their 2013 album Infruset went four times platinum, topped the Swedish album charts for 17 weeks and produced an eponymous single that lingered on the charts for 167 weeks, 86 of those at number one. Their sound borrows from classic rock acts such as The Kinks, Beatles and Rolling Stones, they just put out a new record in spring 2017, and this is their first China tour in a decade.

The Chameleons

Yugong Yishan. Jan 7. 180RMB; 150RMB (presale)

Billed by their China promoter as 'the greatest band you have never heard of', Manchester post-punk act The Chameleons were originally active between 1981 and 1987, before falling apart in acrimony. They've since kissed and made up for a number of reunion tours and shows based around the central duo of Mark Burgess and John Lever – this being one of the latest.

Foster the People

Tango. Jan 14. 680RMB; 480RMB (presale)

American indie-pop band Foster The People make their way to China for the first time ever as a part of their world tour which includes cities like Singapore, Tokyo, and Taipei. The band achieved commercial success after the release of viral hit 'Pumped Up Kicks' off their Grammy-nominated debut album Torches.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Yugong Yishan. Jan 28. 180RMB; 150RMB (presale)

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is essentially a vehicle for the songs of the band’s main songwriter Kip Berman. And great songs they are too, with NME branding the band 'pure indie-pop to hold close to your heart'.

STAGE

Vasily Petrenko and London Philharmonic Orchestra

NCPA. Jan 5. 380-1,680RMB

Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko leads the distinguished London Philharmonic Orchestra in a programme that features Berlioz's Overture to Béatrice et Bénédict, Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's iconic piece Scheherazade.

The Merry Widow

NCPA. Jan 18-21. 100-880RMB

Franz Lehar’s witty, upbeat operetta about a young widow with an inheritance of 20 million francs. Desperate to keep the money in the country, the government orders Count Danilo Danilovitch to court her, but when he discovers she is a long-lost love he refuses. The widow, however, has never quite gotten over him, and now has a second chance.

NCPA Drama Commission: King Lear

NCPA. Jan 20-28. 180-680RMB

One of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies, an old man’s vanity turns his daughters into vipers and brings his kingdom crashing down around him as, predictably, tragedy ensues. Award-winning actor Pu Cunxin stars as Lear.

The Lady from the Sea

NCPA. Jan 31-Feb 3. 200-880RMB

The daughter of a lighthouse keeper struggles to adapt to life inland. Increasingly obsessed with missing the sights and sounds of the shore, she comes across a tourist ship and a mysterious man. Stars Chen Shu (The Martian) in the title role.

ART

Fallen Blossom: Whispering

Galleria Continua. Dec 14-Feb 28. Free

For his second solo show in Beijing, Giovanni Ozzola presents a series of photographs, videos and sculptural installations. The videos and photographs feature his common iconography: beautifully lit, carefully composed views through ruined buildings. Here, some newly-made Beijing versions of these signature images also feature.

Troposphere: Chinese and Brazilian Contemporary Art

Beijing Minsheng Art Museum. Dec 9-Mar 3. Free

It’s not often that 21 artists from each of the emerging countries of China and Brazil are specially brought together. This show features internationally recognised practitioners like Song Dong, Vik Muniz, Ma Qiusha and Saint Clair Cemin as well as some impressive younger artists, all working in a variety of mediums across the large museum space. The show aims to foster dialogue between the lesser-known art scenes of the world. 

Comfortably Dumb

KWM Art Center. Dec 15-Mar 2. Free

For the next step in his late-blooming art career (he was previously involved in business and finance in America), Zhao Gang, perhaps fittingly, takes over the only art gallery in Beijing’s CBD. A number of Gang’s half-surreal, half-tangible oil paintings find a fitting home at the space.

FILM

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

In cinemas around Beijing on Jan 5

One of 2018’s most anticipated films of the year, Star Wars: The Last Jedi races intoBeijing cinemas on January 5. The follow-up to 2015’s The Force Awakens, this thrilling instalment of the epic space opera sees Rey attempt to recruit a disillusioned Luke Skywalker to the Resistance in a bid to defeat Kylo Ren and the First Order.

Ballad From Tibet

In cinemas around Beijing on Jan 9

An early contender for 2018’s most earnest film, Ballad From Tibet hits Beijing cinemas in the first month of the year. Ballad tells the story of three blind Tibetan children who hear of a reality television talent contest taking place in Shenzhen and – led by their almost-blind friend and laoban Thupten – decide to hitch their way over and try their luck. Cue adventure, conflict and beautiful scenes of rolling Tibetan hills as the gang of four finds its way to Lhasa.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

In cinemas around Beijing on Jan 12

The plot of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle feels less like a sequel to the Robin Williams movie about the magical board game and more like The Breakfast Club, upgraded with body-switcheroo comedy and some retro Indiana Jones thrills. It follows four high-school stereotypes sentenced to detention – jock, popular girl, nerd, brainiac – who find an old video console that sucks them into its jungle hell. Trapped inside the game, the gang find themselves in the bodies of its avatars.

Jackie

In cinemas around Beijing on Jan 19

A biographical film about the aftermath of John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination, Jackie (as the film's name suggests) follows Jackie Kennedy in the days immediately following her husband's death. Supported by a director (Pablo Larraín) who often places his camera mere inches from her nose, Natalie Portman excels in a portrayal that no First Lady has ever been blessed to receive onscreen (nor any American President, come to think of it).

Wonder

In cinemas around Beijing on Jan 19

Children don’t get to decide how pretty they are when they’re born, yet how they behave determines, to a large degree, how beautiful they become. So it goes in the sincere, unusually thoughtful Wonder, in which two unfairly attractive parents (Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson) bolster the confidence of their young son, Auggie (Room’s Jacob Tremblay, the real deal), born with a facial deformity that even his active imagination can’t fully overcome.

For more crackin' things to do this January, hit 'Read more'.

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