The best events to book on Time Out tickets right now

The best concerts, films, comedy shows and more on Time Out Tickets

SPORT

Run to the Beat 2018

Ming Tomb Reservoir. May 20. 128RMB (5km); 188RMB (10km); 228RMB (half-marathon)

Run to the Beat is the first music half-marathon in Beijing. Taking place this May in the beautiful Ming Tomb Reservoir Scenic Area in Changping, this race features live bands and DJs performing alongside the course to entertain runners. The party then continues at the main stage after you cross the finish line. Registration closes on May 16. Participants must be 16 years or older.

FILM

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

On general release until Jan 31

Rolling up with the kind of intergalactic swagger that gives us a cosmically infuriating phone prank within the first five minutes, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a work of supreme confidence: witty, wild and free to roam unexplored territory. If J.J. Abrams’s franchise-rebooting The Force Awakens (2015) was the creation of a boy who lovingly dusted off old toys and put them through their expected poses, its superior sequel is made by a more inventive kid (director Rian Johnson).

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

On general release until Feb 3

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.

Legend of the Demon Cat (Yao Mao Zhuan)

On general release until Jan 31

This sprawling, special effects-laden spectacle follows a Chinese poet and Japanese monk who team up to investigate paranormal activity during the Tang Dynasty. After a talking demon cat appears, bringing with it death and destruction, the two men must work together to uncover the reason behind the feline's wrath. With its stunning cinematography and top-notch graphics, Legend of the Demon Cat is undeniably beautiful (even if the story can get a bit all-over the place).

THINGS TO DO

Flying lessons at the Great Wall

Beijing Badaling Airport. Runs until 31 Dec 2018. 1,980RMB

Learn how to pilot an SR20 while soaring over stunning Beijing landscapes. During your 15 minute lesson, a flight instructor will teach you how to takeoff, ascend, dive, hover, circle and descend. Students can customise the whole flight and how much they want to control the plane. The flight instructor will also takeover from time to time so that passengers can snap photos of Beijing's scenery, whether it's the Great Wall, Kangxi steppe or Yeyahu Wetland Park.

A History of China in 50 Objects

National Museum of China. Runs until 31 Dec 2018. 290 (adults); 240RMB (children aged under 14 years)

Inspired by the New York Times bestseller and wildly popular radio series, Newman Tours has created a tour that explores the human history of China through 50 of the most celebrated art objects in Beijing’s National Museum of China. This tour will take you on an informative and entertaining journey of 4,000 years, using the most venerated objects of the museum’s collection to illustrate the principal developments of China’s epic history.

MUSIC

Foster the People

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

Best known for the catchy-as-hell viral hit 'Pumped Up Kicks', American indie-pop band Foster the People are performing in China for the first time in January. Hitting up LA, Melbourne and Tokyo before making their way to Beijing on January 14, the four-piece will be rocking Tango's stage with new songs from their latest offering Sacred Hearts Club.

Jason Moran and The Bandwagon

Blue Note. Jan 26-27. 480RMB

In almost every category that matters – improvisation, composition, group concept, repertoire, technique and experimentation – Moran and his group The Bandwagon – with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits – have challenged the status quo, and earned the reputation as 'the future of jazz'.

The xx

Beijing Exhibition Center. Feb 3. 480-1,680RMB

First bursting on the music scene after releasing their self-titled debut album back in 2009, British indie-pop trio The xx would go on to have one of one of the great sleeper hits of the last decade, nabbing them the Mercury Music Prize in 2010. Playing at the Beijing Exhibition Center on February 3, this performance marks the first time The xx have performed in mainland China and will also be their only performance on the mainland as part of their I See You tour.

STAGE

Legally Blonde the Musical

Poly Theatre. Jan 10-14. 180-980RMB

A fabulously fun award-winning musical based on the adored movie, Legally Blonde the Musical follows the transformation of sorority girl Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes, snobbery and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. Equal parts hilarious and heart-warming, this musical is so much fun it's barely legal.

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.

National Theatre: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre. May 24-27. 99-880RMB

Christopher, fifteen years old, has an extraordinary brain – exceptional at maths while ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. When he falls under suspicion of killing Mrs Shears' dog Wellington, he records each fact about the event in a book he is writing to solve the mystery of the murder. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that upturns his world.

Cats

Century Theatre. 22-28 Sep 2018. 100-1,080RMB

Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-running musical Cats is set in a larger-than-life junkyard playground that's home to variety of feline characters. With spectacular sets, breathtaking choreography and of course, the hit song 'Memory', Cats is a musical like no other.

Rent

Century Theatre. 11-17 Oct 2018. 80-880RMB

A re-imagining of Puccini's La Bohème, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical Rent follows a year in the lives of seven impoverished artists struggling to survive in the thriving days of New York City's Alphabet City, all while under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.

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