The best things to do this March

Know more, do more this March

With a bevy of some of the best local and international DJs, stage divas, musos and Hollywood blockbusters heading our way, March is already shaping up to be a real corker (particularly after the quietness of February). Events in Beijing are always wonderfully diverse – and March is 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.

THINGS TO DO

Bookworm Literary Festival

The Bookworm. March 8-25. Various

After last year's hiatus, the Bookworm Literary Festival is back for 2018 with a crackin' lineup that more than make's up for the long wait. Covering topics as far flung as how technology shapes storytelling, to China's sex trade, to the launch of an anthology of women's writing, to stand-up comedy, you'll be out of breath and before you know it on this intellectual whirlwind.

2018 Beijing Invitational Craft Beer Festival

TRB Copper. Mar 23-25. 200RMB (per person, per session); 550RMB (three sessions, one on each day); 988RMB (all sessions, plus brunch)

After the success of its previous instalments, Great Leap Brewing's Beijing Invitational Craft Beer Festival returns for a fourth year. More than 20 craft breweries from around the world have been invited to participate, bringing with them only the choicest of brews for your sampling pleasure. Ladies and Gentlemen, let there be beer. (To purchase tickets, visit our site).

The Hutong Cookie Monster Charity Bake-off

The Hutong. March 25. 150RMB; 100RMB (members of The Hutong)

If you've got yourself a sweet tooth, head down to The Hutong's Cookie Monster Charity Bake-off to sample what Beijing's best bakers have to offer. With 15 different cookies to sample, a selection of warming drinks, and a charity raffle, there's no better way to satisfy your sugar cravings during this long, cold winter. Tickets are 150RMB (100RMB for members), which includes a sample of all of the cookies and a complimentary cup of warm milk. 

And for those of you who'd actually like to take part in the competition, the competition is accepting applicants until Monday 12 March. Email Kristen ([e-mail]) with your recipe and a photo of your cookies to enter.

NIGHTLIFE

Armin van Buuren

One Third. Mar 10. 380RMB; 280RMB (early-bird tickets)

Easily one of the biggest names in dance music, Dutch trance legend Armin van Buuren's been ranked number one on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs list a record five times, and is also one of few DJs to be nominated for a Grammy Award (for his single 'This Is What It Feels Like'). He touches down in Beijing this March for an exclusive performance at One Third. Support by Ring.

Zedd

Sir Teen. Mar 28. 260RMB

Anton Zaslavski, better known as Zedd, is a Russian-born German DJ who has consistently topped the dance charts since the 2012 release of his smash hit ‘Clarity’. He has produced remixes for Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas and his original track ‘I Want You to Know’, featuring Selena Gomez, went platinum in 2015. Tickets can be purchased off Sir Teen's WeChat account.

Tiësto

One Third. Mar 31. 380RMB; 200RMB (early-bird tickets)

Widely regarded as the 'Godfather of EDM', Dutch DJ and producer Tiësto has been voted 'the best DJ of the last 20 years' by DJ Mag readers and also named 'the Greatest DJ of All Time' by MixMag. He also nabbed a Grammy Award for his remix of John Legend's monster hit 'All of Me' back in 2015.

MUSIC

Mogwai

Tango. March 14. 450RMB; 360RMB (presale)

Iconic instrumentalists Mogwai make a very welcome return to China, as New Noise present the internationally-renowned Scottish band in Beijing. They'll be touting new album Every Country's Sun, which the blurb says, 'takes two decades of Mogwai's signature, contrasting sounds – towering intensity, pastoral introspection, synth-rock minimalism, DNA-detonating volume – and distills it, beautifully, into 56 concise minutes of gracious elegance, hymnal trance-rock, and transcendental euphoria'. Sounds pretty damn good to us.

Beach Fossils

Omni Space. Mar 18. 230RMB; 180RMB (presale)

New York indie-rockers Beach Fossils are undertaking their first China tour, touting their 2017 album Somersault as they do so. Somersault, which features guest appearances from Slowdive's Rachel Goswell and Cities Aviv, was described as 'an acrobatic leap' for the band by Pitchfork, with orchestration and powerful rhythm sections replacing their previous dream-pop sound and resulting in 'some of [co-founder Dustin Payseur's] best songs to date'.  

Sevdaliza

Omni Space. Mar 24. 350RMB; 300RMB (presale)

The Dutch-Iranian experimental pop auteur burst onto the scene in 2014 with 'Backseat Love,' a single that anchored The Suspended Kid, the first of two four-track EPs released in 2015. Her debut studio album Ison (2017) explores womanhood and power through beat-driven, heartrending music.

STAGE

La Fille du Regiment

NCPA. Mar 14-18. 180-680RMB

Donizetti's classic two-act opera about a 'daughter of the regiment,' or rather, an orphan found on the battlefield and raised by soldiers who now has come of age and is on her way to get married. But on the way she falls in love with a local who saves her life. Comic machinations ensue and Donizetti's tripping, melodious score is beautifully displayed (with a record number of high 'Cs') but all ends well.

The Eggner Trio

NCPA. Mar 15. 160-280RMB

The acclaimed Austrian trio play a programme of Beethoven’s Piano Trio in E-flat Major, and Schubert’s Piano Trio in B Major and Piano Trio in E Major.

Chapterhouse Theatre Company: Jane Eyre

Nine Theater. Mar 22-24. 120-380RMB

Adapted from Charlotte Brontë's classic novel, Chapterhouse Theatre Company presents one of the greatest Gothic romances of English literature. Young governess Jane Eyre arrives at the mysterious Thornfield Hall deep in the Yorkshire moors and meets the enigmatic Mr Rochester. When a secret from the past returns to haunt them, can Jane and Rochester’s passion survive the forces that might tear them apart forever?

ART

Dali's Fantastic Universe

Yang Art Museum. Until Mar 31. 180RMB; 90RMB (students)

A collaboration between Shenzhen Mao Industries Company, Dali Universe and Espace Dali Paris, this exhibition features hundreds of works by the late Spanish surrealist, including sculptures, paintings, furniture and more.

National Geographic: A New Age of Exploration Since 1888

Beijing World Art Museum. Until Jun 24. 70RMB (presale)

Covering 130 years of the landmark magazine's stunning history, this exhibition brings to life photos taken from all corners of the earth and elaborates on the often haunting stories behind them. To purchase tickets, visit our site.

FILM

Black Panther

In cinemas around Beijing on Mar 9

For all their global dominance, everybody wants these superhero movies to be better: funnier, smarter, more inclusive, more super. A huge step in the right direction, Black Panther is that dream come true. Proudly African – even if its Africa comes in the form of the fictional country of Wakanda, a powerhouse of secret technologies – Marvel’s latest is, from top to bottom, a conscious reversal of racial paradigms. Handsomely mounted by Creed director Ryan Coogler and starring an enviable slate of black actors that makes cameoing comics godhead Stan Lee almost seem lost, the film is provocative and satisfying in ways that are long overdue, like its ornate, culturally dense production design and the deeper subtexts of honor, compassion and destiny.

The Shape of Water

In cinemas around Beijing on Mar 16

Reliably, director Guillermo del Toro’s mind goes to squishy, sexual places. He's a true voluptuary, not just the guy behind those bony creatures from Pan's Labyrinth but also, per last year's Crimson Peak, a believer in grand, melodramatic flourishes. Del Toro’s latest, the tremblingly romantic The Shape of Water, should be an orgasmic flood for his fans, who want their fantasies served with a side of adultness. If you can imagine an aggressively adorable (and somewhat effortful) version of Amélie in which our hero sleeps with the Creature from the Black Lagoon, then you'll totally be feeling this.

Francophone Film Festival 2018

Various locations. Mar 8-31. Prices tbc

The Francophone Film Festival has always been particularly adept at showcasing the diversity of the French-speaking world, with last year’s selection running the gamut from the Middle East and Africa to Vietnam. This year's festival is no different, and features a curated selection of 16 feature-length and short French language films from francophone states around the world.

Centred around a different theme each year, this year's festival is a celebration of women, with a programme that features an array of intriguing female characters confronting very different realities around the world. In documentary Maman Colonelle (Mama Colonel), an heroic policewoman embarks on a one-woman quest to stop violence and sexual abuse against women and children in Congo, while in cult black comedy Le tout nouveau testament (The Brand New Testament), ten-year-old Ea sets out to right her father's many wrongs – except her father happens to be God, a sadistic dictator holed up in a Brussels apartment. For a full list of film screenings, check our site.

For more crackin' things to do this March or for links to tickets, hit 'Read more'.

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